The facts of life-parking

Warning: if you are easily offended don’t read this post! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! This is my disclaimer. For those of you with tough skin, please, continue reading.

When it comes to parking on campus, ‘life is tough, get a helmet’ (sound familiar? It’s from Boy Meets World. Does anyone remember that show?!?!?! :D ).

We can’t always get what we want in life. For instance, I want a vacation on a warm, sunny beach, a winning lottery ticket and a cat that doesn’t do the number two on the floor. Am I going to get all that? Nope. Have I come to terms with the fact I won’t be getting all of that in near future? Yes-I built a bridge and I got over it.

Ah campus parking. How I love to hear people complain about it. NOT! I also don’t love hearing different suggestions about parking. Build a parking garage, knock down some houses and put in more stalls, the list is endless. However, are any of us going to be at UNK long enough to see these dreams come to fruition? I hope not!

Parking in a nutshell is as follows. If you have a green permit on your car, you park in the lots only made for the green permits. If you have a yellow permit on your car, you park in the lots only made for the yellow permits. Same goes for the blue permits and any other color I’m not aware of. Why does this simple color coded system dumbfound some people?

I have a yellow permit on my car and as my New Year’s resolution I refuse to drive around mindlessly looking for a spot five feet from my building. Why is this my New Year’s resolution? Two reasons: 1) save money on gas 2) it’s my free workout. On occasion, I have broken my resolution. I have driven through the smaller commuter lots to find a spot, but usually I head for the humongous lot outside the College of Ed. FYI this parking lot is HUGE! You are practically guaranteed a spot any time of the day!

Some of you may be thinking, ‘wow, that’s a lame resolution.’ I’m here to tell you it’s the smartest resolution on the face of the planet. By not driving around fourteen different commuter lots to try and find a space three feet from my building, I am saving gas by just heading straight for the lot outside College of Ed. The second reason is because I am entirely too busy to workout. Lifting weights, jogging, riding a bike, my foot, that just doesn’t fit into my schedule. Therefore, when I park at College of Ed, I am forced to walk a little extra to get to my classes. The workout comes from the fact that I speed walk because I’m usually freezing (my car heater doesn’t work properly), late or have hunger pains the size of Texas.

I will admit though, I have been tempted to park in the wrong lot this semester. Take for instance, last Tuesday. I was running a fever of 100 degrees, had a meeting to attend and a pressing deadline. Did I park in the faculty lot or the 30 minute zone that was calling my name? Nope. Call me a law abiding citizen, but I parked in the yellow lot made for my permit.

Sometimes you are dealt the worst hand in the world but you have to deal with it. I was dealt a fever of 100 degrees, a meeting and a pressing deadline but I met my deadline, attended my meeting and threw up afterwards. Build a bridge over parking everyone and get over it. Don’t moan and groan if you can’t park five feet from your building.

It’s a fact of life. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want. I won’t be leaving for my beach vacation and my cat won’t stop doing the number two on my new carpet any time soon. I’m over it. Buck it up and deal with campus parking. So I dare you. Complain about campus parking. I will just have to tell you to "suck it up pansy and get over it. You can't always get what you want."

Food for thought: do you complain to the Wal Mart greeters when you don’t get the stall right next to the handicap one? If you do, please, give me a break.