Parking Booth from Hell.

Well it feels like it's been a little while since I've posted. This weekend was SO fun. Dane was here for conference, and it was so great to see him again! We had a ton of fun partying. I loved seeing Kandice, Britt, Eugene, Kellie, Brad, and all the other wonderful people that I don't see very much! Friday was Jasmyn's birthday, so Hannah and I ran to WalMart and got some super cute birthday decorations for the room. She got some legit flowers from her family, and our room still smells like them. I LOVE it! On Saturday we went to in-n-out, which was nice since I was definitely having some withdrawals. And despite what Shelby says, I don't think it's cheating on California to eat it in Utah. Although the experience wasn't exactly the same. Sunday was conference, and then I took Dane too the airport. And now for the story of the parking pass.

So there I was, at the SLC airport to drop off Dane. I parked the car and walked in. Before we parked you had to stick a debit/credit card into a machine so that it marks when you get there, or just get a little ticket and pay with cash. I didn't have any cash on me (remember that for later) so I used my debit card. Took Dane inside, said goodbye, came back out, got in the car, headed to the exit. Got to the exit. Put my debit card in the machine to leave.. and it says INVALID. again. and again. and again. I'm not sure how many times I put my card in there, but it just kept rejecting me. By now, there's a line of about 7 cars behind me waiting for the idiot at the front to work the machine right. I push customer support, and the guy tells me I'm just going to have to go to a cash line so that an attendant can help me. So then they have to send someone to back out all 7 of the cars so the idiot (me) can get to a cash line. So then I get to a cash line, and someone else at the front is having an issue, so they have to back out all of us to move to a different line. By now, I've been in line for a half hour which sucks because they charge in 10 minute increments. I finally get to the front of the cash line, and find that the attendant doesn't speak English in a very fluent manner, which is always a sign that things are going to go super smooth. He takes the card, swipes it, and it continually doesn't work. He then proceeds to tell me that they need some sort of ID, and, being the genius I am, I realized that I had left my drivers license at home on my desk. I didn't think it'd be a big deal, so I gave him my BYU ID card. Turns out that wasn't good enough. He then asks me if the car is stolen, and if there is any way that I can prove that it isn't.. which is awesome since it isn't even my car. It's Shelley's. At this point I'm so so frustrated I just start crying, which is freaking him out big time. He calls a supervisor to come help out, and then supervisor then tells me that if they can't get the card to work and they can't find my car on the video tape of people coming in, I would have to pay the maximum fee for the day and an extra fee for ticket loss. Which totals up to $48. THAT I DON'T HAVE. They try to play the tapes to find my car, and they stop working about 3 minutes before I claimed that I had arrived. Which was awesome. Next, they tell me that I have used a different card. That's right, tell, not ask, which I find especially humorous since my debit card is the only card I have that would work on the machine. What did they think I was swiping? My H&M gift card? And then I got angry. I mean really really angry. There was no way I was paying the stupid $48 because their little machine wasn't working. So I told them that, and it turned into an argument including me saying "Well then I guess I'm going to live in a parking structure for the rest of my life because I'm not paying your stupid fee." Holly Smith = Captain Maturity. By some small miracle I look down and saw a 10 dollar bill on the ground, quite possibly Shelley's, quite possibly the answer to my prayers. With all of the time that I had spent sitting there arguing and being accused of stealing a car and attempting to use another card that I don't have, my parking fee had totaled to exactly 10 dollars. Which I payed, and left. Angry. Very very Angry.

So there you have it. Moral of the story: Don't use your debit card. Just take the dang ticket and pay with cash. Or you'll sit there for an hour crying to a man who speaks no English. What an enlightening experience.