I must relate this occurrence while it is still fresh, although fresh is a bad word to use because it completely stinks. I marked a green zone today which allows for ten minute parking. We give about fifteen. So because I was busy, I came back about a half hour later. I figured the zone would be clear. To my surprise, there was a vehicle still there and still marked. I pulled to the curb and got out, prepared to write the ticket. Of course the guy came out of the business. He gets into the car and as he does so I tell him that green zones are for ten minute parking only. He says nothing except "Okay". Then he asks me "Are you going to give me a ticket?"
I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to give the guy a break although he was already rubbing my rectum the wrong way. So I said, "No, sir, but please be more careful in the future." Does he say thank you? No. He is a selfish moron. As he drives past me he points to the vehicle that was in front of his (which is about one third into the green zone - it's ticket-able but kind of on the edge, you know?) and says "That guy's been here fifteen minutes."
Oh, how I wish I could have said one of a thousand things I was thinking. What I did say was, "I'm monitoring it, sir." I couldn't help but hear the venom in my voice.
Well, this putz drives away and what drives me crazy is: why in the world didn't I cite this guy? He certainly deserved it and he knew it! It's unexplainable even to myself.
All this does, at times, is make me be harder on the next person which I hate to do. I'm telling you, controlling myself is the hardest part.
Okay. Deep breath. I let him go and now I have to let this go.
Beer? You betcha!
Ten-Seven.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Happy New Year, citizens. At least, I hope it's going to be happy.
Some things have changed (some, unfortunately have not). Firstly, one of my colleagues passed away from that old devil, cancer. We were almost exactly the same age. She was a trusted friend and ally in a sometimes contentious job world. I miss her terribly. We would have lunch together and vent about all kinds of things: the job, our fellow PCOs, the bad-parking public, and just our lives (and loves) in general. She had a boisterous laugh and that is what I'll remember, and miss, about her most.
The other thing that has changed is my schedule. This is not unusual in police work, but I'm not a policeman. We are civilians who work for the police department. Anyway, I now have to work an hour later into the evening and it sucks. On the bright side, I have every Wednesday off. Which sucks for making travel plans. On the bright side, I can take a Tuesday off after a major or minor Monday holiday (Hello? [cough, cough] I'm not feeling well today), and have five days off in a row. Which sucks because I have to burn an hour of accrued time in order to get the tenth hour off on the minor holiday - um, never mind. If I try to explain it all to you, you'll get a headache - mine. Bookkeeping was never my strength and when it involves Time, it's even more confusing. With Time, first you earn then you burn. Hm, sounds like a life-lesson.
In any case, it all takes some adjusting. I hate adjusting. But, humans are nothing if not adaptable and believe it or not, us parking control types ARE human.
We wear a blue uniform shirt and I can tell you, so far this year, some of the blue has seeped through to my soul. Oh well. Bad rehearsal, good performance, right? Let's see how the rest of the year goes from here.
Ten-Seven
Some things have changed (some, unfortunately have not). Firstly, one of my colleagues passed away from that old devil, cancer. We were almost exactly the same age. She was a trusted friend and ally in a sometimes contentious job world. I miss her terribly. We would have lunch together and vent about all kinds of things: the job, our fellow PCOs, the bad-parking public, and just our lives (and loves) in general. She had a boisterous laugh and that is what I'll remember, and miss, about her most.
The other thing that has changed is my schedule. This is not unusual in police work, but I'm not a policeman. We are civilians who work for the police department. Anyway, I now have to work an hour later into the evening and it sucks. On the bright side, I have every Wednesday off. Which sucks for making travel plans. On the bright side, I can take a Tuesday off after a major or minor Monday holiday (Hello? [cough, cough] I'm not feeling well today), and have five days off in a row. Which sucks because I have to burn an hour of accrued time in order to get the tenth hour off on the minor holiday - um, never mind. If I try to explain it all to you, you'll get a headache - mine. Bookkeeping was never my strength and when it involves Time, it's even more confusing. With Time, first you earn then you burn. Hm, sounds like a life-lesson.
In any case, it all takes some adjusting. I hate adjusting. But, humans are nothing if not adaptable and believe it or not, us parking control types ARE human.
We wear a blue uniform shirt and I can tell you, so far this year, some of the blue has seeped through to my soul. Oh well. Bad rehearsal, good performance, right? Let's see how the rest of the year goes from here.
Ten-Seven
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)