At least the clowns would have been funny
Feb. 24th, 2007 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigo_rose99My drive this morning started out a bit more entertaining than I had anticipated.
This was just sad.
This morning on my way to meet Trish and Stephan, walked out of my hotel around 9am. In the car park, I passed a minivan with all of the doors open. There was considerable scurrying. It appeared that two adults and possibly one small child were entirely repacking the contents of the minivan. It was not in a space, rather sitting out in the middle of the one-way driving aisle. Why they felt it necessary to do this in the aisle instead of a space, I have no idea. As I was about to reach my own car, I realized that the minivan was directly between me and the only exit. ....Great, now they went from Potential Entertainment to My Problem.
Unlocking my car, I heard doors behind me slam. A good sign? I had hopes. I got in and slowly pulled out of my space.
You have to understand this car park is the bane of my Irish driving experience. If you enter the car park with a car, you MUST go up at least one floor and then come down it again to exit. The act of turning a corner is very much like pulling into a VERY tight parking space... but with concrete on each side. This car park is the reason I beg the car rental place to give me the very smallest car possible every time I take a car from them. Parking anywhere else in Ireland is easy compared to getting in and out of this car park.
So I had a certain amount of sympathy as I pulled up behind the minivan (still blocking the only path out). Hmmmm... Could I actually pass them?... Maybe... I waited, considering. They turned on their lights. Since they continued to not move, I started to creep forward to pass them, realizing that I would likely have to roll down my windows and pull my mirrors in to make it. But they moved at the last second. Okay...
Since their next action would be to go down and around the corner to get out, I just sat and waited... I knew. I figured that there might actually be backing up involved in this process. Yep, they hit two curbs (that I could see, and I didn't have all that great an angle) as they went down a floor, and jumped at least one more before they passed out of my vision.
I slowly followed. At the bottom, they turned (another curb rub) to exit and found that they were too far from the machine to put in their card to raise the barrier. They stopped. Back up. Hit a curb. Went forward. Hit a curb. Stopped.
I'm laughing at this point. Since my window was down, perhaps this was rude.
In their defense, understand that I roll down my window, park my car, and actually step out of my car to feed the card through my open window when I regularly feed this machine. I realize that it is not an easy maneuver. The barrier-machine is at a really silly angle. Still...
The passenger side door opened and the guy got out. I expected him to walk around to the driver's side and put in the card. But no! He walks past the barrier-machine and to the guard desk. I notice with a sinking feeling that the guard has stepped away. Great.
I stare at the many signs detailing the cost of staying overnight in the car park. I examine the machine (next to the impatiently waiting guy) that you put your card in to pay and get out of the car park. We all wait.
The guard finally reappears. I cannot understand the guy's question (American accent. Figures.), but I can clearly read the guard's firm gesture to the paying machine.
The guy does something at the machine, comes back, feeds the card in the barrier-machine, and the minivan moves forward. Runs up and over a curb. Actually exits the car park without hitting anything else. Yay!
This morning on my way to meet Trish and Stephan, walked out of my hotel around 9am. In the car park, I passed a minivan with all of the doors open. There was considerable scurrying. It appeared that two adults and possibly one small child were entirely repacking the contents of the minivan. It was not in a space, rather sitting out in the middle of the one-way driving aisle. Why they felt it necessary to do this in the aisle instead of a space, I have no idea. As I was about to reach my own car, I realized that the minivan was directly between me and the only exit. ....Great, now they went from Potential Entertainment to My Problem.
Unlocking my car, I heard doors behind me slam. A good sign? I had hopes. I got in and slowly pulled out of my space.
You have to understand this car park is the bane of my Irish driving experience. If you enter the car park with a car, you MUST go up at least one floor and then come down it again to exit. The act of turning a corner is very much like pulling into a VERY tight parking space... but with concrete on each side. This car park is the reason I beg the car rental place to give me the very smallest car possible every time I take a car from them. Parking anywhere else in Ireland is easy compared to getting in and out of this car park.
So I had a certain amount of sympathy as I pulled up behind the minivan (still blocking the only path out). Hmmmm... Could I actually pass them?... Maybe... I waited, considering. They turned on their lights. Since they continued to not move, I started to creep forward to pass them, realizing that I would likely have to roll down my windows and pull my mirrors in to make it. But they moved at the last second. Okay...
Since their next action would be to go down and around the corner to get out, I just sat and waited... I knew. I figured that there might actually be backing up involved in this process. Yep, they hit two curbs (that I could see, and I didn't have all that great an angle) as they went down a floor, and jumped at least one more before they passed out of my vision.
I slowly followed. At the bottom, they turned (another curb rub) to exit and found that they were too far from the machine to put in their card to raise the barrier. They stopped. Back up. Hit a curb. Went forward. Hit a curb. Stopped.
I'm laughing at this point. Since my window was down, perhaps this was rude.
In their defense, understand that I roll down my window, park my car, and actually step out of my car to feed the card through my open window when I regularly feed this machine. I realize that it is not an easy maneuver. The barrier-machine is at a really silly angle. Still...
The passenger side door opened and the guy got out. I expected him to walk around to the driver's side and put in the card. But no! He walks past the barrier-machine and to the guard desk. I notice with a sinking feeling that the guard has stepped away. Great.
I stare at the many signs detailing the cost of staying overnight in the car park. I examine the machine (next to the impatiently waiting guy) that you put your card in to pay and get out of the car park. We all wait.
The guard finally reappears. I cannot understand the guy's question (American accent. Figures.), but I can clearly read the guard's firm gesture to the paying machine.
The guy does something at the machine, comes back, feeds the card in the barrier-machine, and the minivan moves forward. Runs up and over a curb. Actually exits the car park without hitting anything else. Yay!
