I got a parking ticket on Wednesday and it’s very frustrating. I parked at a meter spot downtown, and the meter had about 30 minutes left on it. Okay, I was going to grab lunch (at The Cheesecake Factory which also has great pizza) so I put a quarter in the meter. The time didn’t change. I put in another quarter, to see what would happen (theoretically giving me the hour I needed). Again, the meter stayed at ’30 minutes’. So I did what all mechanically minded people do: I smacked the meter to see if the coins just weren’t being processed. Nothing happened.

So I figured “must be busted” and went to have lunch. Predictably, I came back to a $15 ticket on my windshield and the meter – miraculously – flashing ‘expired’. I can contest it, I’m sure, but here’s the rub:

Contest the Violation – You must appear in person at the Boulder Violations Bureau between 10am and 3pm, Monday through Friday. You will then be scheduled for a court appearance at a later date.

It’s a hustle, isn’t it? I have to ask myself: are two trips downtown worth more than a $15 check and a swear word or two? And the answer is, of course not. So they’ll get their lucre and I’ll just grumble about it here on my weblog.

It’s one of those days.