Monday, June 1, 2015

Achievement Unlocked: The Impossible Parking Space

This story is trivial but seems to be pretty amusing to my Facebook friends so why not. 

It all begins with a negligent, inept, or simply asshole driver. Whichever interpretation works best for you.

Earlier today, I was at the parking lot of Central Rama 2, hawking out legitimate parking spaces - I hate blocking other cars - during the peak hours on a holiday. Then suddenly, I spotted this space. It was pretty much next to the stairs, which would lead me right to the doors of Central. But here's the catch, why it remained unoccupied in an otherwise full and already double-parked lot:
To be honest, I didn't realize this was such a challenge until I started trying. And to be honest, the only reason I didn't give up halfway through when I was like "wait, WTF" was because there were cars waiting for me and I thought following through would take way less time than changing my mind. 

In retrospect, that could have been as stupid of a logic as parking like Mr. Inconsiderate here, but some misplaced sense of confidence got my car to back in perfectly at an angle to fit into this impossible pocket. 
My smooth skills.

And it was only when I turned off the engine and looked at the hairs' width of space between my vehicle and its surroundings that I finally realized that I DID NOT like car next to me. So I took a moment to grab the notepad and pen I keep handy in my car to write a very basic message to the owner of the car. It looked something like this:
I was going for "angry farang", writing it in English and all. #AECyo

Because I took some time before leaving my car, I was privileged with what happened next that would turn this so far mundane incident into one to remember.

The amount of time it took me to write the note to Mr. Inconsiderate was also the amount of time it took for the floor's parking lot attendant to ride his scooter from one corner of the lot to me. When he arrived, he immediately began examining the parameters of my car, in the manners of a car-medic, before looking up and saying to me "you are not ordinary" about 3 times. He then continued to examine my feat, applauding and adding that he had been warning people NOT TO ATTEMPT all morning. 

So that was a major boost for me because I have never really been singled out for my car-skills (though I enjoy driving). Moreover, when I returned to my car two hours later to find Mr. Inconsiderate's car still my neighbor, the same parking lot attendant came to see me again to greet me and just give me a friendly reminder to ease out completely before turning. 

As I did so, I waved goodbye to the enthusiastic attendant and Mr. Inconsiderate's car, and left the lot feeling really good about myself. Who would have thought that I'd ever have such a rush at Central Rama 2. 

Peace.