Its starts in the dark
First creep of light comes through the bedroom window. You peek your eyes open to see that the alarm didn't go off but that's okay.
"I have over 3 hours before class starts", you say.
But wait, over 3 hours doesn't mean you have all the time in the world.
No.
3 hours means you only have 2 hours and 45 minutes remaining to look for parking. Oh the pain begins. You rush out of bed and grab the coffee (thank God you made it the night before). Forget breakfast; actually forget the coffee, with any luck you can find parking with just enough time to wait another 20 minutes for coffee at the local Starbucks (students need their caffeine you know).
It's now 7:20 AM and the sun is now bright.
It continues in the dark
Now you're telling yourself a bunch of stuff
"I'm just another college student looking for parking, it's OKAY, we are all heading the same place trying to get the same thing".
But then a 'kind-hearted' gentleman with his SUV of a Lincoln decides he is driving the smallest little car in the road and fits between you and another car with no signal, no warning, and not a care in the world. Wow, you know if he could fit there I could fit anywhere. With his guts I could run for an election but not to become president just to eat up the other candidate and not share any of my own policies or opinions. Now you just dated yourself, great.
"I just need one spot, that's all".
You're driving down the road now the next big decision of the day; Which structure are you going to choose? Don't choose wrongly because by the time you get to the next structure to look for parking it will already be full. The time is 7:40 AM and you feel like you have the guts of that driver from earlier. Let's head for Eastside parking structure.
As if
Nice one Copernicus.
To Narnia!
So maybe this is more of an inside joke but lots A and G I've always called Narnia because of the hardship and difficulty of getting to and from Narnia (a popular fiction by C.S. Lewis). So if you have a Fitbit you'll love Narnia because getting 10,000 steps seems like a walk in the park (Ha!). So you drive to Narnia because you gave up on the Nutwood structure along with your hopes of getting a college degree in a timely manner. You think for a second of how much you paid for a parking permit and the fact that you basically gave up Disneyland for a year to spend the equivalent amount of time looking for parking (I go to Disneyland a lot). But its best not to think about that... Just get to campus on time.
On the off chance
But more likely than not
You double park in Narnia and hand your keys over to a friendly attendant who you hope has a driving license. You wish you didn't have to hand your key over not because this person isn't nice but because when you get back here in 11 hours you want to just go home and now have to wait for your keys.
You get your 10,000 steps in, get to the local Starbucks and look at this! The line is only out the door! This is actually good news because now its only going to be a 15 minute wait for coffee. You want to buy a breakfast sandwich 'cuz you're hungry too but also you're a college student and financial aid is for the lucky. So stick with coffee. You can have some water from the drinking fountain if you're hungry later. Or go to the local shop and get some foo... oh wait, later you're still broke.
Then your classes begin
Go to class, takes some notes, get a B, C is okay too sometimes, and 8-11 hours later... go home.
Good thing you only have 1 semester left (maybe two 'cuz you might not get the classes you need next semester; oh wait, definitely two semesters because you won't get the classes you need next semester).
Some Stats:
Average wait time for parking: 25-35 minutes
Shortest wait time: 30 seconds (rare)
Longest wait time: 50 minutes
Average distance drove looking for parking: 1.5-2.5miles
In one semester I calculated that I spent over 20 hours looking for parking alone. The current price of a CSUF parking permit is $240
Perhaps I should just ride a bike... TITAN STRONG!!!
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