In which I realize how lucky I am

This morning I woke up with a start. Not just an I-have-to-get-out-of-bed-ASAP start, but an oh-shit-I-can’t-believe-I-forgot-that start.

I had forgotten to renew my parking permit, so my car had been sitting, illegally parked for TWO WHOLE DAYS.

Maybe in some places this wouldn’t be a big deal. But in DC, it’s practically a death sentence for your car. What do you mean I’m exaggerating? I was once parked in the street – legally – for less than a day and I got two tickets within the course of two hours. (I fought it. I won. Nice try, DC.)

But this time, I knew I was in the wrong. There would be no fighting these tickets, if that was even the worst of it. As I rushed to my car I was praying (yes, praying) that there would only be tickets – that the car wouldn’t be towed, that there wouldn’t be a boot.

duh duh duuuuuuh (or some other scary music)

Once my little Ford Focus came into sight I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief (yay no towing!) and tried to guess how many tickets would be on my windshield. I settled on six, which I thought was conservative for 48 hours without a legal permit.

But the windshield was clear. And no boot!

I was in such shock that I actually walked around the car a couple times to see what the catch was. There was no way I could have gotten off scot-free, was there?

Apparently, there was.

Lucky doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt – the cost of towing and tickets really adds up – but I’ll take it.

How cute! A little lucky duck!

I still renewed my parking permit before I went to work, though. Luck happens, but I’m not about to bank on it.

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I fought the law and the law…LOST

Nearly four months ago, I received not one, but TWO parking tickets within a two hour period of time. It was a weekend, and I had checked the sign, which clearly stated that I was in the right:

Sure, the tickets were only $20-25 each, but it was the principle of the matter. I was right, dammit. So, for the first time ever, I contested my parking tickets. (To be fair, I’d only gotten a couple before these.) I sent a polite, yet firm, letter in with my tickets and my proof, which consisted solely of the above photo.

To whom it may concern:

I received two tickets the other weekend, one on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 11:22PM, and one on Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 1:07AM…

1) The signs on the…block…where I was parked, clearly state, “No Standing or Parking 7AM-9:30AM, 4PM-6:30PM, Monday-Friday.” I have included a picture of the sign by which I was parked.

2) Even if that sign were somehow out of date (which, for the record, should also not be my personal responsibility)…my ticket reads “No Parking 9A/1P/EXCP/SUN.” By that reasoning, given that I was issued the ticket at 11:22PM (i.e. after “1P”), this ticket should never have been issued in the first place.

Pertaining to the second ticket, issued less than 2 hours after the first…

The ticket that was issued on Sunday, May 3, 2009 has similar notes…that read “NO PKG 9A-1P EXCEP SUN, SIGN CLEARLY VISIBLE REAR.” Please note that Sunday is the exception. Please further note that the ticket was issued on a Sunday. Therefore, by your own comments, this ticket should be null and void.

As should the first.

And I WON!

Small victory? Perhaps. But please, let me revel.

They accepted my obviously eloquent argument and irrefutable facts and were truly sorry for the inconvenience they had caused. The time it took to craft that letter is time I’ll never get back.  (Or: They were too lazy to disagree and backed down the moment they were challenged, but I like my version better.) Their admission of defeat went to my parents’ house, as that’s where the car is registered, and my mother texted me the happy news the other day.

So take that, DC. I’m sure that fifty dollars less in your pocket will really hurt.

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