TICK TICK TICKED

I park my car at the Grosvenor Metro station's short-term parking area before going downtown to a discussion at the Corcoran. It's 6:20 p.m. on a pleasant summer evening. I'm standing by the meter. How many hours should I put on the meter?

I look for a sign. There isn't any. The only signs I can find are those that describe shorter-term meterparking -- 15 and 30 minutes. The 15- and 30-minute signs all have restrictions until 7 p.m.

I want hourly restrictions for my hourly meter. I look around again for a sign. No luck. So I use the only restrictions I can find and put one quarter for one hour in my meter. I am covered until after 7 p.m. I return from the Corcoran at 9:30 p.m. There on my windshield is a parking ticket. The time noted on the ticket is 8:05 p.m.

I look around again. There isn't any sign that says I have to pay for parking after 7 p.m. I drive all around the parking area this time. No signs except for the ones I already know about.

I'm going to fight this ticket. I need some ammunition.

On the weekend, my boyfriend, Gil, and I go back to the Grosvenor Metro short-term parking area. "See," I say, "there are no signs." He agrees.

He gets out of the car and goes up to the meter. He's looking at the meter and reading something. I'm in the car watching him.

He comes back over to the car and says, "Well, you need to put money in the meter up until 2 a.m."

My reaction is disbelief. How can I have missed the sign?

So I get out of the car and go over to the meter.

I look at the meter. No words! No 2 a.m.! No anything!

I'm really getting steamed. I begin to yell at Gil for playing games with me.