Tow this Seattle

Uff! Today was a doooooooo-zay! I braved the 1-5 morning traffic foregoing my usual bus ride, opting instead to spend a hectic half an hour blasting country music in the Corolla. After finding free parking 20 blocks away from the UW, I hiked to class prepared to stick it out in the library for the rest of the afternoon. If only I would have paid more attention to the “NO PARKINGFROM 4-6PM” signs that lined 15th Ave on the way to class. At around 4:45 I finished the return hike to find…no car.

Apparently the city of Seattle takes their tow zoning very seriously. One call to Lincoln Towing and a 20 minute teary bus ride later, I found myself on a seedier side of town ready to fork over my debit card and get my car back. $140 later I drove away puffy eyed but ultimately thankful that I would get to relax with Ande over Mexican food in Edmonds.

I rebounded quickly. It’s hard to stay upset when a stranger on the bus (who’s watched you wipe snot on your hand for the last couple miles) touches your shoulder and says, “I hope you have a better day.” How can you complain when you know you have enough money in the bank to get the car back AND pay the parking ticket AND go out to dinner afterward? Sure, it’s enough to make you cut up a couple lemon wedges and shove them down the neck of a cold hefeweizen when you get home. But…things could definitely be worse.