The subtle dynamics of parkinglotdom have once again been impressed upon my mind. I perfected a new move today, actually, which is what brings this to mind. I rolled into the lot with about 15 minutes until class started, only to be greeted by a handful of fellow parking lot sharks circling the lot waiting to pounce on the first available spot. Rather than patrolling the lot aimlessly like my fellow sharks, I backed into a faculty reserved spot to eat my beef and potato burritos from Taco Bell (they can’t ticket you while you’re in the car) and I waited… Needless to say, my patience was rewarded and I got a spot. But this got me thinking about how the girl whose spot I took felt about the whole situation.

I imagine that every person walking into that lot to get into their car would have one of a couple of reactions. First, there’s the paranoid reaction. You’re walking to your car and suddenly you realize that you’re being followed. You dodge between some parked vehicles to lose them, but no matter what you do, there’s another one right there behind you. You make your way to your car almost in a panic, and you fumble with your keys, trying to get inside as quickly as possible to make the nightmare end. There’s no question in your cramped, neurotic mind. They’re out to get you (or at least your spot). You look out your rearview mirror and see them sitting there, silent, waiting… You pull out of the parking lot, swearing to yourself that from now on you’re walking to school. Creepy.

The other possibility is that you walk into the lot and stop with a smug, satisfied smile on your face. You look at the cars circling and realize that you have the ability to grant a parking space to some poor, desperate soul. And you also have the ability to deny it. The heady pleasure of the awesome power you hold over the lives of your fellow students almost makes you dizzy. Then you realize that you’re hungry and you’ve been on campus all day. You get in your car and pull out, and yet you still feel a sense of superiority over the driver that pulls into the spot you just vacated. You smirk knowing that if it wasn’t for your magnanimity, they would still be circling the lot aimlessly. “I am a good person” you think to yourself as you drive away. You can’t wait until you get to leave the lot after school tomorrow.