damn

As anyone who has owned a car in NYC understands, street parking is quite difficult. This is particularly true in Brooklyn Heights, as most of the streets are very old and narrow, and one can only park on one side. In other parts of Brooklyn parking is available on both sides of the street, and it makes a huge difference. I just realized that, with my car in the shop, I am missing the last days of (relatively) easy street parking; lots of people are away, and there are far more parking opportunities. By the time I get my car back people will have returned from their summer sojourns, and the battles for parking will heat up. I wish that I could afford to keep the car in a garage, but alas, no.

On the other hand, as long as it is at the shop I don't have to worry about moving it on those alternate-side parking days. For those of you who are not familiar, it is too complex to explain. Just be glad you live in a place where parking is not so impossible. Then again, I could be carless and the problem would disappear. But I think the car represents a certain kind of powerful freedom; I could drive away at any time and no one can stop me. It is also a holdover from my previous life, growing up in Pennsylvania, where a car was absolutely necessary if you wanted to have a life.