Flashing lights and loud noises are things I've come to deal with and tune out since moving to Los Angeles, but there are times when they just can't be ignored. Just the other day, I was with my roommate Bethany, walking to my car in the Whole Foods parking lot just down the street from my house. About 5 spaces over was a very large, very expensive SUV being hooked up to a tow truck. No one was around it to claim their vehicle. Most likely they parked it and walked off the lot to go to a nearby apt. In LA, you can't park your car anywhere unless your going into the building that that parking lot belongs to- and there are people standing and watching to make sure you do just that. Anyhow... as we watched our comments went to the idea of how much it would stink to come back to where you had parked your car only to find it was no longer there! The worry of was it stolen? was it towed? how much is this going to cost? All of the above would be bad.
Fast forward only a mere 36 hours later. I live 2 blocks from the 24 hour fitness that I am a member of. I can't justify in my mind that if I am going to the gym to work out my body, then why would I be lazy enough to drive my car in one of the most polluted cities in the world to save myself from walking two blocks. But this night, I was heading to the gym almost 2hours later than I normally would when it is already dark outside, and I thought for a while that I should just take my car. Eventually I opted not too, trying to be smart about it. Well... an hour after going to the gym, I walk home. As I am walking I hear those loud noises and see orange flashing lights. Approaching these, I see, yes, my car being attached to a tow truck. Apparently 15ft is no longer the legal distance from a water hydrant, its 20 ft and I violated that. So $200 dollars and some rants of anger later, I might be reconsidering next time, that driving 2 blocks may be worth my while.
