Well, I dunno about Improved, since the last thread was pretty awesome. We managed to keep it going for the entire year, leaving me one rant short for the new thread. Ah, there we go: Damn you people, now I can't rant about you bastards not keeping the thread alive!
But I definitely have a nice, multi-part rant with which to kick off this Brave New Year.
I drag my ass to the park & ride spot to catch my vanpool. I normally can't sleep on the ride in, but I'm pretty sure I can make an exception today, because I can barely keep my eyes open. When what to my wondering eyes should NOT appear? Anybody. The motherfuckers in my vanpool didn't bother to tell me that nobody was driving today. I'm the only person minding the overseas compliance store today, so I couldn't take the day off. So I had to go back home and switch cars (since my Odyssey needs some brake work I can't afford and don't have time to get it in for), and drive in. My wife's gonna be pissed about that if she was planning to drive into Hooston to take the kid to the mooseum, but them's the breaks. And the brakes.
Now, since nobody bothered to tell me about the vanpool, I didn't have the chance to pre-approve access to the company garage. Which means I had the choice between using the unattended parking lot that costs $8.00 at a little kiosk thing, or parking in the ream-yer-ass garage at the local Hyatt, getting company garage access, then moving the car so I only have to pay for 40 minutes at hideously overinflated prices instead of a whole day. I figured the first choice was the easiest. How wrong I was.
Fucking kiosk wouldn't take my ATM card. All I had was a $10 bill, so I figured I'd use that. The thing took that one okay, and helpfully informed me I had a $10 credit and told me to enter the space number. I enter the space number, and it tells me "TRANSACTION CANCELLED" - and
pretends to give me my fucking $10 back. So now I'm out $10 and I still don't have a parking space.
I ended up doing the Hyatt shuffle. Cost me another three bucks and a whole lot of walking back & forth. All of this on a day when I truly, madly, deeply was NOT in a mood to drive in to work.
So fuck you vanpool drivers, fuck you harder, faster, deeper and with less lube shitty parking lot operator with your thieving kiosk, and fuck you too, employer, for your new system of making it impossible to use the fucking parking garage without arranging for it in advance, which I can't fucking do when my vanpool drivers decide to keep their vacation schedules a goddamned secret. GODFUCKINGDAMMIT.