a story of a parking ticket

what can i say
these days
my life seems to revolve around swimming
around the pool
in the pool and revolving in the pool
(swimming underwater with fins on
spiralling around like a lunatic
is
lots
of
FUN
...
yup
*nod self*)

the other day
i got a parking ticket
and it was for the funniest reason
i'd arrived at the pool early
so that i could swim a bit on my own
and then help some of the kids with basic techniques
(i'd offered
and they'd accepted
to come early and swim and play!)
and as i pulled up
to this funky island behind the college
i noticed one entire side of it was empty
(it's triangular in shape)
now usually
every edge of this island
is parked full of cars
with the exception of the small sections
where they have distinct no parking signs
so i thought to myself
how lucky! so much space to park
and i won't even have to walk far today
not that i mind walking...
so i pulled up to the side of the island
and there is just enough room for 2 cars
IF and only IF one parks right up to the point of the triangle
now,
there's a stop sign on this corner
and in the back of my mind
i remember reading somewhere or learning at some time
that one should park 15 feet from a stop sign or fire hydrant
but if i parked exactly 15 feet away
no one would be able to park behind me
(small island eh?)
so i edged up a little closer
and left just enough room
for another car to park behind me
needless to say
i was 9 feet away from the stop sign
but i thought
heck,
everyone always parks here
it's in a low traffic area
behind a school
with alot of industrial buildings around
and it's after hours
so no one is working there
why not?
and so off i went
and had an amazing swim
and an even more amazing practice
because my kids are so amazing
even when they're slacking
(and i'm not just saying this...
i've had a professional swim coach assessor
say what an amazing group of enthusiastic kids i have)
finishing the night off
with a nice chat with some of the parents
who'd come to pick up their kids
and then off i went
to my happily parked car
only to notice
that some rent-a-cop
had given me a $50 ticket
for being 2.40 metres away from the stop sign
(ok, so i thought it was 9 feet and
it was really only 7.92 feet...)
no name, just a hastily scribbled rentacop id
and a very poorly written
description of my vehicle (colour, make and model, etc)
-poorly written as in the handwriting looked as if
someone just learning how to write
was trying to form letters
(ok,
i shouldn't be such a snob
but if you're going to be writing tickets on back streets
at least send someone educated beyond elementary school PLEASE!
*pause*
ok,
i apologize to all the elementary school kids out there
y'all are nowhere close to this level of crappiness)
of course,
the amount i got ticketed
was a few nights' coaching wages
*mutter*
and i drove home
a little quicker than normal
because i wasn't too happy
and i kept wondering to myself
as good as it is
to be considerate of other people
i guess i really shouldn't break the law
even a stupid one like this
(i should take a photo of the "intersection with the island"
it's really quite funny)
because in the end
there are people out there
whose lives and jobs depend on
writing tickets to make other people sad
mind you,
i'm sure it's nothing personal
it's just a job to them after all
and i WAS breaking the law
but what i really wondered was
what if the ticket writer knew
that the only reason i'd parked
that little bit closer
was so that 2 people could park
(and parking is scarce there quite often)
and maybe i'd make someone's day
(you know, it always sucks to see
when some inconsiderate person
double parks, eh?)
would this ticket writer
have given me a break?
i'd like to think so
after all
what goes around, comes around
and so,
the next day
i found out one could pay parking tickets at a bank
(they call it a "financial institution" on the city website...
i was there checking about the 15 foot rule)
so off i went
across the street
to my lovely little bank
with really really great staff!
(i love those guys!)
and wrote a cheque for my ticket with a smile
saying,
i was here to pay my tuition
on learning to be careful not to break the law

the biggest thing i took away
from this whole experience is
the realization
that if this had happened
maybe 5 or 10 years ago
i think i would have just gotten angry
and been a real jerk the next time i parked
just to "get even" y'know?
and now,
today,
i think i'll still be as considerate as the situation allows
but i'm going to be like at least 15.1 feet away from
any freaking stop signs...
*grin*
it's good to know
that one can let things go
and just go on
with stuff that's fun
:)
after all,
i've finally realized
happiness is seriously
just
a state of mind

help files rock

ok
taking the time
to read help files
really ... helps
;)
of course
so does a good night's sleep
anyways,
now that ive figured this part i out
maybe i can get a lil more creative
*grin*
the question is,
are there any limitations on these blog thingys
and photoblog/hellothingys
we shall soon see!

ko photo

this is me...  finally figured out how to post photos! yay!
...now just gotta figure out
how to stick the darn thing into my profile :P

rude people *WARNING* contains some profanity

just got back from coaching tonight
location: grant mackewan's center for sport & wellness
-in the pool of course
a little incident occurred
that's been ticking me off slightly
so now i vent...
situation is as follows
the club books two lanes for our swimmers to practice in
at 8pm, when these lanes are "ours"
the pool staff puts in another lane for public swimmers.
there was this guy
loose navy blue shorts
and a sagging belly
swimming in the lane just past 8pm
so,
when he swam into the wall and stopped
with a smile on my face
i said, "excuse me sir,
we've booked these lanes
could you please continue your swim over in lane 3?"
to which
the fat slob
(and i'm being totally objective here
he was fat
and he was slobby
one can just tell y'know...)
replied very sarcastically,
"excuse me, but i'm done swimming"
after which
he blubbered out of the pool
(which is when i really noticed
how slobby he was)
and left
now i must admit
even tho
i have spoken to the universe
and declared my intention to exist peacefully
i sure wanted
to kick him in the face
honest reaction
a guess a couple things held me back
the biggest being
that i realized that his plain rudeness
really got to me
and that tells me something about myself
(what exactly, i'm not totally sure just yet
but i'm sure it's something profound and deep)
the fact that my lil guys (8-14 year olds)
were just climbing into that lane
also influenced my decision
to set an example
which was basically me turning to the kids
with a smile
and with positive energy
and start detailing the practice
and to be completely honest
other than that first flash urge to smash his nose into his brain
with the heel of my foot
(a very brief flash)
or the impulse to say something back at him
(like, "you sure are a pathetic slob"...
ok, i wouldn't have said that,
but i did think of saying,
"strange how you've reacted with such sarcasm
to my courtesy..." prepare to die bastard -
these italics being representative
of the menace that i would cleverly disguise behind my polite manners
and which would be ready to unleash death and destruction
at the first sign of physical hostility from slobbyguy)
i think i handled the situation appropriately
but it's like one of those situations
where i'm flabbergastered
and wondering...
did anyone just hear what this asshole just said?
anyways,
i must say
that his rudeness did bother me sporadically through practice
maybe a thought here
and a thought there
and that's kind of interesting
i once read
a bio of an instructor i really admire
(patti stiles)
her stated pet peeve was "rude people"
i truly understand why
but what i don't get
is why i should let such pettiness
bother me so much?!
guess that's something for me to ponder
if anyone has any suggestions out there
any theories
any answers
i'd be happy to listen
i wonder if
it's an old habit
left over from being
unfailingly polite
to people i'm about to defend myself against
and especially after they've ceased to be a threat
then again,
perhaps it's easy to be courteous
to those whom one has... dealt with... appropriately
 
oh well,
i guess i have alot more of that spiritual type work to do
like sammy L jackson once said
"...i'm trying real hard to be the shepherd..."
and in my case
i'm still trying really hard
to be in that place of peace
so i guess i should end this
with a big sincere THANKS!
to the slobbyguy
because without him to push these buttons
i'd have had no idea
that i still needed to work on stuff
and then i'd be walking around
thinking i was an enlightened saint or something
and how foolish would that be now?
*wink*

just keep swimming

sometimes i wonder
why i swim
then i get into the water
and i remember why
it's about how i feel
it's about how i look
   or think i look
the water...
it's flowing
it's supportative
   but only if you constantly
pay attention to it's embrace
lose focus and you sink
or at least i do
under the water...
it's a different time
and a different space
no gravity
3-D
and you're lower on the food chain
unless you're in a swimming pool
 
sometimes i wonder why i coach
to share my love of the water world?
to help people improve their technical skills
and while doing so,
   maybe learn a bit about themselves?
what's the point of winning a race?
i think the answer is
very individual
and can change from moment to moment
i rarely race
but when i do
it's usually as a way of saying thank you
to the kids who have worked hard swimming with me
 
sometimes i wonder
why i swim
once i'm in the water
i feel fine
it's getting there that's the hard part
but if i don't think about it
and just do it
i find i have
no regrets
in the moment
...of course
sometimes lying in bed afterwards with stiff muscles
i realize
that stretching is a good thing
:P

ko's blog

-testing this out for the first time in my life
    as i made a suggestion to a friend of mine
who's recently left "home" for a new country
   (yup, that's YOU alanna!)
   that maybe she'd want to keep in touch with friends and family
thru blogging
when i really haven't the faintest idea what blogging is
i've only heard about it :P
*grin*
seems easy enough tho
now...
if only i can figure out how to put photos on the blog
and where to put them
*ponder*....