Monday, September 15, 2008

It's all about Personal Space


Space is very important, is it not? Breathing space, speaking space, room in the aisles at the grocery store. (Macey's fails this test).
What about the space around your yard? I know that the streets are legally public property, but in the 13 years of owning my home I have enjoyed having the curb around my driveway clear. My sweet husband pulls up, parks his truck under the tree, and all is well. Occasionally a client will enjoy the shade of our large tree as they park for their appointment. It is a beautiful space.
Lately someone has moved in on that precious peace of curbing. A silver car, parked early in the morning hours- it sits until 6:00 at night. Every time I walk past my window I wonder if I have a client I didn't know about. My morning of chaos spent running around in my underwear is no longer an option... is someone out there? Are people parking and looking in my window?
Of course, no one is stalking me. I happen to live across the street from a bus stop. The homes around the bus stop are a little trashy. My yard and tree look appealing. I feel very possessive every time I look out there..... that is MY PIECE OF STREET! But a nice young gentleman is parking here and walking to the bus stop, and disappearing for the day.
This has happened almost every day now for about 3 weeks. Tonight I took matters into my hands. I pulled out of my driveway and parked under my pretty tree. I am revealing my colors....a true mean girl who believes possession is nine tenths of the law. I don't know how long I will have to park there to claim my stake of land, but I am ready. I don't care about gas prices. I don't care about carbon footprints. I care about my space, my tree, my view from the window, my sitting at the table without a car next to me.
Yes. I am a selfish girl. And maybe a bit paranoid, too.

23 comments:

mcranford said...

I noticed that car this morning as a went to park in "your piece of street." I wondered who it was, and if you had visitors (as a recall I think that it had a different state plates)I think I am the same way. Have you ever notice the "96 hours kit" in front of my house. We have considered parking there on the 1 day a year that it gets moved. Just to make a point.
My blog is www.cranfordclan.blogspot.com

Kristina P. said...

This is a hot topic on the etiquette board I belong to. (OK seriously, stop laughing now.)

The debate is always if it's rude or not, and since it's legal it's not, but it's kind to park elsewhere, blah, blah, blah.

Next time, just ram your car into his.

Jillene said...

I have neighbors to the West of me and kiddie corner across the street form me that think they need to park on the street. Mind you we have big driveways--both of my cars (wait--SUV's) fit in my driveway. What is wrong with you people?

I am a spiteful kind of girl too. See with on car on the side and one directly in back it makes it difficult to get out of the driveway. Now--don't get me wrong, I like my neighbors just fine but I have been known to spit on door handles, write nasty no parking on the street notes and putting them on their winshields, and other unmentionables all in secret. They all still like me so they don't know that it is me.

Wow--I can't beleive I just admitted that. You are all going to think I am a "B". I promise I am nice sometimes--but only sometimes! (0:

XO Marie said...

I LOVE this , so funny ! You take that space and make it your's... you GO GIRLFRIEND !
BTW , there is NO WAY you could take a "ugly scarf" pic ..I haven't seen a bad picture of you ever!! SO I want to be seeing some "arms length" hot pics of you on your blog!!
L, Marie

Brittany Marie said...

When we get Rude Parkers, Que just turns the park strip sprinklers on. :p

The isles in the Macy's around here are packed... but with over-eager workers. I can't go 3 feet without someone saying "Can I help you? Are you finding everything ok? What are you looking for?" Instead of cereal and milk, it's like I'm looking at cars in a used car lot. Seriously, do they get commission or something?

*MARY* said...

I live under a bridge, so sorry, I can't relate.
You guys should shop at REAMS, no rude friendliness and tarantulas in the bananas.

Brittany Marie said...

But at Reams I stick to the floor and the products look like they've been on the shelf since the 1980s. Do you see my dilema?! I do however go to Reams for all of my western wear needs.

Jules AF said...

I'm sorry to bring this to your blog, but I didn't see your comment on Kristina's post on circumcision until now. And there have been men who were circumcised in adulthood who have said it's much more sensitive with it. But then again, some people saw it's because the penis gets desensitized from rubbing against clothes all those years, so I don't know why suddenly getting a little skin snipped off would change that. They say it was protected....
Don't ask me what I googled slash read through in order to get this opinion. My guy friend and I have some very interesting conversations....

Christy said...

We live across the street from the middle school and I have become very possesive of our little piece of property. When my dad comes to visit he purposely parks in front of the house in such a way that there is not enough room to park in front of or behind him. I am always greatful when he comes. I also have a problem that people think it's ok to block my driveway while they wait for their child. I have honked, given dirty looks, and even had a few choice conversations with parents. It's my house and my driveway. Stay away fom it or suffer the consequenses.

Unknown said...

Oh Julie- you make me laugh! Nothing like the anatomy comment to keep it real while we worry about PARKING SPACES!!! Funny!!!!(to everyone else- check out Kristina P's blog for this posting).

I am so revlieved I am not the only one possesive of street space around my yard. There is NO silver car today- but I don't see it anywhere (like he parked for the same bus stop)....so I am not sure if I succeeded, or if today is his day off......

Whitney R said...

Growing up, we lived in a house on the corner. So we had A TON of curb space. But we had 3 cars, sometimes 4 depending on who was home (there's 5 kids in my family) and when there is a random car parked I get all territorial. Also, kids always cut through our yard walking to school. Even wore a path through the grass. Made ME more mad than my parents.

Now I just live in the boonies. Only people parking out my front are tractors and those belong to us. So I usually don't mind. :)

Jillene said...

Whitney-
Holy crap! I lived on the corner too! And the kids cut through my yard and sometimes drove through it. I always got ubber pissed and yelled at the ones walking and called the cops on the ones driving. But luckily my parents hated it as much as I did so I had backups just in case!

Calvin said...

I live across from a school and I HATE it when people sit there and honk and honk until their kid sees them, hello!

*MARY* said...

well, la dee freakin da! Let's all curtsey to Princess Brittany who demands clean floors and non-expired cans of soup.

Unknown said...

Yea Britt!
Come one, just because the freakin Reams has bars on the window and looks a bit like a back alley strip joint, it doesn't mean you can't shop there once in awhile!

Kristina P. said...

Brittany will be shunned at the meet and greet, since she has such high cleanliness standards. I bet she even demands that employees wash their hands after using the bathroom, before touching the OG breadsticks. No one can live up, Britt.

Brittany Marie said...

I know. It's hard having such high standards. When Sean Penn demanded I curtsy to him in the airport, I demanded he curtsy back.

Shannon said...

Whoa Ramona, parking spaces, circumcision....apparently I have to switch up my posts if I want as many comment-ers as you get!

Calvin said...

I'm scared to get some of your commentors on my blog... I don't want to accidently peeve someone off and get my car handle spit on!

Unknown said...

Holy shizzz, you have gotten to be really popular...it was like overnight. I am lovin that for you. I actually wrote to comment on the comment you made on SSB. I loved it!!!!!

I thought someone broke into my house yesterday and they were waiting in the basement until I went to bed (it was because I swore I heard a door close in my basement). So I locked all the kids in my bedroom with me with Jeff's .22 (it's a gun that I don't know how to use)by me bed. I threw a laundry basket of clothes in the middle of the hallway to trip the intruder when he came to get me. And then I just laid at the bottom of my bed and watched my children sleep all night. I am pooped!!!! The good news is, I don't think there was an intruder in my house, just on overactive imagination....we were watching "Nancy Drew" though.

Janna

Ashley Bogard said...

I have totally seen that car too!! Weird, I thought the same thing a client, or I thought you had a friend going to the gym, but it is still there after I get home from work too! Annoying!

Unknown said...

CAR IS BACK TODAY.

I am not mad enough to spit on a handle.....but I am bothered.

Mike was parked under the tree last night, and so this guy pulled in after he left this morning. Dang.

Even if I turn the srpinklers on he won't notice....it will dry by the time he gets here!

ps-shannon,the circ discussion was NOT on my blog. Just for my own defense.....

Anonymous said...

I so agree with how frustrating that is. Our across-the-street neighbors went to Europe for a year, and their renters had about eight cars. They have a cul-de-sac on the other side of the house that held four or five cars, the other three found a home across from us. It made it so much harder to pull in and out of the driveway.
One of the vehicles was a huge deisel pickup that always needed a charger plugged in, and had to sit and run loudly for about an hour every moring. Their other car was a police car from a neighboring town.
The guy once pulled my husband over for some stupid thing, but it was when he happened to be driving the car my teenage daughters usually drive, which freaky neighbor cop must have known.
Lets just say I was very glad when their year was up!