Volunteering - Working Parking.

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by Pavan Dave

So I'm doing this Volunteering thing at the Dallas Zoo for the Alzheimer's association called the Memory walk. Its another one of those run of the mill walks where they collect money and people walk (<-march would sound so much better (March for a Cure!) anyways...) and me and my group of college students get assigned to manage parking for the morning shift.

People can not park. People are horrible at parking. I may be working to become an engineer but by golly I thought people had the slightest of common sense. Also I love Tetris, so Engineer + Tetris + No patience me working Parking = H E Double Hockey Sticks**.

PS. Anyone ever work parking?

I spend my summers at The Owls Head Transportation Museum.* I work there full time pushing paper, and volunteer on the weekends and weeknights restoring antique and replica aircraft. Every summer there are 10ish event weekends, and museum volunteers do just about everything... except the parking. It's simply too frustrating, so it is contracted out.

I had the pleasure of spending a good hour with an unfortunate fellow who had been blocked in despite the efforts of the parking folks. Needless to say, it ruined his afternoon.

*Should any of you find yourselves on the coast of Maine, drop by! I guarantee you'll like it.

[sanddrag]

If there's a line of cars going into an area of open spaces, I do the skipping one or a few thing, so I'm not parked right next to someone opening their doors at the same time I am. It simply makes sense.

Also, at events with parking traffic directors, more often than not I find these people themselves to be the cause of the problems, because they'll often stand exactly where I'm trying to drive in order for me to get into the space they're frantically motioning to.

Finally, a lot of people don't realize that the proper way to enter a parking space, is to position your vehicle on the opposite side of the lane, before turning into the space. This means if you're cruising down a parking isle and you want to take a space on the right, you need to get ALL the way to the left before turning into the space. Then you can get it perfect in one shot.

In any circumstance, some vehicles like larger pickups and Suburbans are a pain to park in any space.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Pavan,
Try working parking for a marching band festival, on the football practice field, in the dark! I have about eight years of that when my kids were in high school music. If that wasn't enough, school buses are not allowed to back up in school parking lots or with students on board. That requires some advance thinking and planning. You just have to look at the fact that in the end, everyone got parked and had a good time. Nice job!