I left a meeting this afternoon and as I walked through unfamiliar parking garage nothing looked familiar. The number 722 directing the way. After the first lap and not seeing 700s, I realized I didn’t understand how the different levels were laid out. I got back in the elevator and picked a different level. Found spot 722 right away.

Empty. No car.

Huh.

Guess it wasn’t 722. Keep walking, it must be close.

I walked between 3 different levels for 20 minutes, and ran into someone else with the same, ‘where did I park’ look on their face.

Sounded like we parked in the same section – some elusive section now disconnected from our current position. After a couple more increasingly frustrated laps, I worked my way towards the exit.

Found the car half a section from the exit.

Wow, it wasn’t this hard getting into the building.

I pull the sole $5 bill out of my wallet and head to the cashier.

$4/hour and $1 for each 30 minutes after.

“$6 please”, they request.

Nice. Real nice.

Reminder to Self: When I park at the airport, I take a picture of the parking spot and any distinct landmarks with my camera phone. Do the same for shorter parks as well.