Here's something you might be interested in.
So, moving out of the grocery store, and into the parking lot, is a whole other mess. First, let me quickly say...Horton Plaza has spaces for pregnant women. How insane is this? If a woman is in good enough condition to go shopping and walking around the mall, she can certainly park 100 feet away. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the handicap spots (although it seems there are more then there need to be...and if you are handicap, I better not see you park in the regular spots), but pregnant spaces? And, who is to say it's not just a really big, fat woman? And, what if the woman is one month along, and not even showing? Is there someone there with a pregnancy test? Maybe that's an added job for the "mall cops". Do you need a little pink placard from the DMV to hang on your rear view window? That could also let the cops know why you're in the car pool lane with a "second person" (which, can get me on another rant.....why do kids count in car pool lanes? the whole point is to get "adults" to car pool for pollution and making the roads less congested; kids have no choice!)
Another thing with parking lots, is that everyone has SUVs now. Look, I'm all for protecting the environment, but I really have no problem with someone driving a Hummer or Range Rover, or whatever other 10 mile to the gallon tank they want. I mean, Al Gore bitches up a storm, and then he flies private jets to speaking engagements that pay him $100,000. That's hardly good for the environment. But...if you drive one of these monster vehicles, learn to park in between the lines. You can't just pull in and think you are close enough. Because, if you are hanging over the line on one end, and another SUV on the other, hell, even a Mini Cooper wouldn't fit in between that.
If you have to back up and take your time, do it.
And speaking of "taking your time," when you walk out with your groceries, and you see someone waiting...we don't expect you to run, throw your bags in, and peel out. But don't take your sweet time, just to be a jerk, because you feel like "I can do what I want. I have the spot." Don't get on your cell phone and sit there. Don't look for something in your glove compartment. Put your kid in his child seat, put your stuff away, and move. If you need to look at a map or something, be kind enough to move out of that spot, let the person in, and pull somewhere else to look at the directions.
Also, the amount of times I've been waiting for someone that was shopping (yes, usually a woman that needed to run in for something)...and someone bangs my car with their door, makes me wonder how often it happens when I'm not there. A lot, according to the amount of dings and scratches I have. When I get out of my car, I'm conscious about opening the door. When I have children in the car, I either tell them (if I deem them old enough), or I tell them I'll help them out, in which case, I hold the door for them, to avoid their carelessness. The next time someone does that on one of my two cars (both have custom, expesnive paint jobs), I will get their license plate, and contact my insurance. It's about time we start doing something about idiots that don't care about others property.
Leaving shopping carts in spaces....well, this doesn't bother me as much. I always put mine away (they make it so easy for you, with places all around the lot), but since the store employes kids to go fetch them, it's not a big deal. I still think, you are not being considerate, to someone that might want to park in a space. Or, I'll never forget, the time as a kid I saw a cart roll down the hill of a Price Club on Morena Blvd, and hit a Rolls Royce.
Speed limits in parking lots. I think, from my time in traffic school 15 years ago, I remember them being 5 miles an hour. Yet, we often see people zooming thru the lot. Now, I have no problem if you are doing 100 mph on the freeway. I'm not in the left lane, and you aren't bothering me one bit. But in a parking lot, you have older folks walking around. You have kids that jet in and out of cars, not paying attention, or playing games. Think about them, before you worry about saving yourself two minutes by going 30 mph.
I was in the Food 4 Less lot in Mission Valley, after racquetball around midnight. I was walking up, and one of those idiotic cars with the rims, loud hip-hop, and huge exhaust pipe, comes roaring around the corner. I froze with fear as the thing slammed on it's breaks a few inches from my knee cap. I screamed at the person. It was an African-American kid, who apologized. Well, I have this weakness for apologizes. Once you apologize, I have no problem with what you did. So, I raised my hand and said "It's cool."
I walk in, get my milk, and am looking at greeting cards for my friends birthday. I hear somebody saying something behind me, but I'm not paying much attention (I was trying to read the funny cards, which don't seem to have a high ratio of funny). When I hear the kid get louder, I turn around, and it's the African-American, and his short buddy. He's wearing this goofy, Dr. Seuss style hat, and he says something about "Don't be talking smack, unless you want to back it up, homes!" Sensing he wanted to fight, I took the aggressive approach. I jumped into his face and yelled a bunch of curse words, followed by:
.....you almost ran my ass over! And, when you apologized, I said it was cool. Now, you're going to come in here and harass me? You better get out of my face right now, before I drop your sorry ass!!!"
His short friend started saying, "C'mon man, let's go! He ain't worth it." The guy stared me down, with me not budging, and he walked away mumbling something.
I told my friend the story the next day, and she said "You could've been shot." I said, "So what. I'm going to stick up for myself. If I get shot, oh well. At least that will give me another topic to rant about."
She said, "Yeah, if you're alive."
So, moving out of the grocery store, and into the parking lot, is a whole other mess. First, let me quickly say...Horton Plaza has spaces for pregnant women. How insane is this? If a woman is in good enough condition to go shopping and walking around the mall, she can certainly park 100 feet away. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the handicap spots (although it seems there are more then there need to be...and if you are handicap, I better not see you park in the regular spots), but pregnant spaces? And, who is to say it's not just a really big, fat woman? And, what if the woman is one month along, and not even showing? Is there someone there with a pregnancy test? Maybe that's an added job for the "mall cops". Do you need a little pink placard from the DMV to hang on your rear view window? That could also let the cops know why you're in the car pool lane with a "second person" (which, can get me on another rant.....why do kids count in car pool lanes? the whole point is to get "adults" to car pool for pollution and making the roads less congested; kids have no choice!)
Another thing with parking lots, is that everyone has SUVs now. Look, I'm all for protecting the environment, but I really have no problem with someone driving a Hummer or Range Rover, or whatever other 10 mile to the gallon tank they want. I mean, Al Gore bitches up a storm, and then he flies private jets to speaking engagements that pay him $100,000. That's hardly good for the environment. But...if you drive one of these monster vehicles, learn to park in between the lines. You can't just pull in and think you are close enough. Because, if you are hanging over the line on one end, and another SUV on the other, hell, even a Mini Cooper wouldn't fit in between that.
If you have to back up and take your time, do it.
And speaking of "taking your time," when you walk out with your groceries, and you see someone waiting...we don't expect you to run, throw your bags in, and peel out. But don't take your sweet time, just to be a jerk, because you feel like "I can do what I want. I have the spot." Don't get on your cell phone and sit there. Don't look for something in your glove compartment. Put your kid in his child seat, put your stuff away, and move. If you need to look at a map or something, be kind enough to move out of that spot, let the person in, and pull somewhere else to look at the directions.
Also, the amount of times I've been waiting for someone that was shopping (yes, usually a woman that needed to run in for something)...and someone bangs my car with their door, makes me wonder how often it happens when I'm not there. A lot, according to the amount of dings and scratches I have. When I get out of my car, I'm conscious about opening the door. When I have children in the car, I either tell them (if I deem them old enough), or I tell them I'll help them out, in which case, I hold the door for them, to avoid their carelessness. The next time someone does that on one of my two cars (both have custom, expesnive paint jobs), I will get their license plate, and contact my insurance. It's about time we start doing something about idiots that don't care about others property.
Leaving shopping carts in spaces....well, this doesn't bother me as much. I always put mine away (they make it so easy for you, with places all around the lot), but since the store employes kids to go fetch them, it's not a big deal. I still think, you are not being considerate, to someone that might want to park in a space. Or, I'll never forget, the time as a kid I saw a cart roll down the hill of a Price Club on Morena Blvd, and hit a Rolls Royce.
Speed limits in parking lots. I think, from my time in traffic school 15 years ago, I remember them being 5 miles an hour. Yet, we often see people zooming thru the lot. Now, I have no problem if you are doing 100 mph on the freeway. I'm not in the left lane, and you aren't bothering me one bit. But in a parking lot, you have older folks walking around. You have kids that jet in and out of cars, not paying attention, or playing games. Think about them, before you worry about saving yourself two minutes by going 30 mph.
I was in the Food 4 Less lot in Mission Valley, after racquetball around midnight. I was walking up, and one of those idiotic cars with the rims, loud hip-hop, and huge exhaust pipe, comes roaring around the corner. I froze with fear as the thing slammed on it's breaks a few inches from my knee cap. I screamed at the person. It was an African-American kid, who apologized. Well, I have this weakness for apologizes. Once you apologize, I have no problem with what you did. So, I raised my hand and said "It's cool."
I walk in, get my milk, and am looking at greeting cards for my friends birthday. I hear somebody saying something behind me, but I'm not paying much attention (I was trying to read the funny cards, which don't seem to have a high ratio of funny). When I hear the kid get louder, I turn around, and it's the African-American, and his short buddy. He's wearing this goofy, Dr. Seuss style hat, and he says something about "Don't be talking smack, unless you want to back it up, homes!" Sensing he wanted to fight, I took the aggressive approach. I jumped into his face and yelled a bunch of curse words, followed by:
.....you almost ran my ass over! And, when you apologized, I said it was cool. Now, you're going to come in here and harass me? You better get out of my face right now, before I drop your sorry ass!!!"
His short friend started saying, "C'mon man, let's go! He ain't worth it." The guy stared me down, with me not budging, and he walked away mumbling something.
I told my friend the story the next day, and she said "You could've been shot." I said, "So what. I'm going to stick up for myself. If I get shot, oh well. At least that will give me another topic to rant about."
She said, "Yeah, if you're alive."