The Value of 10 Minutes

Today ten minutes made a difference.
Today ten minutes was how early I was.
Today ten minutes cost me $40.

Well.

Ten minutes didn't really cost me $40.
What I did to save those ten minutes cost me $40.
Wasn't even worth it.

Evidently my brain imploded earlier in the week. That's the only reasonable explanation for the extremely tight schedule I set for myself today. So when an opportunity presented to bend a rule to gain a little time this morning, I jumped on it. Wasn't my best decision of the day.

Today I arrived ten minutes early at the parking garage at the Huntington Metro Station. The garage and adjacent parking lots typically fill up quite early with commuters who start work at regular early times. I'm not one of those.

There are many spaces in the parking garage reserved for persons who purchase monthly parking passes. Those parking passes allow them to park their cars in the spaces reserved from 2:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. I'm not one of those either.

I'm one of the ones who waits until the 10:00 a.m. restriction lifts and then I park.

Except for today.
Today I was ten minutes early.
Today my schedule was tight.
Today I chose to live on the edge.
Today I threw caution to the wind.
Today ten minutes cost me $40.

I've seen the Parking Ticket Patrol in action at the Huntington Metro station. I think the Fairfax County Police Department funds their retirement plans with the tickets written to parked cars at that lot. Once a day they circle every single car looking for expired tags, county stickers and state inspection stickers. They write a lot of tickets there.

Today I learned they also look for parking permits. Today when I got back to my car, there was a $40 ticket on the windshield. Written at 9:51 a.m.. One minute after I'd left my car so irresponsibly parked in a spot reserved until 10:00 a.m.

The funny part?
The ironic part?
The train I was on didn't leave the station until 10:08 a.m.

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