Thanks, Lots

Lisa and I took a trip down to San Diego this weekend. (Sadly, I did not utilize a for-hire vehicle designed by Knight Industries.) Because she was working during the day Thursday, we didn't leave L.A. until almost 9:30pm. That led to an 11pm arrival in "America's Finest City."

The late hour and the not-insubstantial drive left me susceptible to crankiness. This came into play when we pulled up to the entrance to the two self-parking lots for our hotel. The setup was simple: press button, get ticket, gate rises. Thank you, now go park your car.

So I drove up to the machine and pressed the button. A brief whirring, and out rolls the ticket. Grab the ticket and start moving the car forward. The gate, however, does not move. Another car has moved in behind me already, so I can't back up and try again. This leaves me stuck with nowhere to go, trapped with a useless ticket in my hand.

Why I Am Not Awesome: I may have loudly spent a few minutes turning into a totally crazy conspiracy theorist, loudly blaming Marriott for intentionally using a faulty device to force us to pay extra for valet parking. I may have made this argument to the valet who was trying to help us.

Why I Am Awesome: L.A. to S.D. in an hour and a half? I drive to win.