priority parking

About 6 months ago I wrote a somewhat unpopular (with the men) post, likening them to buses. (READ IT HERE)

I have also talked long and often about my 'focus words'' for the year - last year they were deliberate and purpose. This year they are sustainable and priority.

So how do these two things relate? Well, today I drove into work, in the rain, behind a queue of traffic, and running late for a presentation I was doing. This rushing about is not sustainable it is true, and being school holidays, I have to confess that this morning getting to work was not a priority. But, arrive I did, and I managed to grab a park - any park will do when you're running late right! - right outside the place I was going into.

It made me think - maybe men - make that people - are like buses in the way they journey through life, and maybe some of us are like cars too. And stretching the imagination a little further, I then started considering what kind of car I was too. Mostly sensible, accommodating of a crowd but sometimes goes a little fast, gets overheated when left idle, can take a bit to warm up if left in the garage for too long, looks best with some polish on the outside, more fun when there's loud music on the inside:).

Further (and yes, I know I should have been thinking about the upcoming presentation not ruminating on relationships), it struck me as I shrieked into the barely suitable carpark, that this was another great analogy for a relationship.

Because you see, I would like to be a priority park. A reserved space even. Which doesn't necessarily mean permanent parking, but certainly means that when the other ''car'' is going somewhere it's my space that they stop at - and want to stop at most. I'm tired of being the carpark that is chosen under pressure, or because it's the closest to hand - or because there's really not much else around handy. I'd be glad to have someones name on a little plaque up there for the world to see, and RESERVED stamped across it. It would be reciprocal of course - I'm not saying that my car is going to end up in that carpark every day, or even every weekend, but I'd be pretty glad to not be driving around the block anymore. I get that theres not such thing as free parking, and I neither offer nor seek it.

I don't really care what the car is like that's parked there either (although I'd prefer it if it's not on a lease that could be revoked at any moment). And for all that an Alfa Male Romeo with a sleek exterior would be nice, I'm also realistic enough to know that a slighter older model with more miles on the clock and maybe a few scratches on the outside, and bumps to the inside is probably more likely to come my way. Country of origin is unimportant (sure isn't this country flooded with imports!), but reliability, and getting good miles to the litre would be nice. Of course fancy extras are all very good but what counts for me is what is going on under the hood - which might include a V12 engine...but might not. And since I have a wishlist going, I'm not too worried about age - although I'd prefer to stay away from vintage.

So what's a girl to do? I've hung out in parking lots, I've scanned the classifieds, I've even had the misfortune of coming across the odd swap-meet. But so far, neither car, nor park, has materialised.
Perhaps I need to put up a ''for lease'' sign?














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