parking wars

It's snowing! B is disappointed because it's not sticking to roads or even driveways and probably will not. It looks very pretty on the trees though, and on the lawn. Abby is excited to run in it although it's not that exciting when your paws sink to the frozen grass. Wilbur came right back inside! Luckily we had a nice long walk this morning.

So the job front festers. I had a (very long) interview yesterday but don't expect to hear anything for a couple of weeks. I also sent out several resumes but, as always, don't expect to hear much from them either.  Even the sub jobs have dried up.  I would have liked to work tomorrow, but I like to have the jobs lined up ahead of time so I know where I'm going and it ain't looking good for that.

Speaking of school - what a quandary. As most know, B walks to school. He has to cross a neighbor's private driveway and yard, for which he asked and was granted permission in the beginning of his high school career. The school provides parking for seniors and some juniors, but it's limited for the juniors. So as they begin to get their licenses, they try to find creative parking alternatives so that they can avoid being bused or driven by parents. One such new driver is in B's classes and discussed this issue, I suspect opportunistically, with B. B, ever the nice guy, offered the kid to park in front of our house. I told him that this might annoy the neighbors, but it would be OK if one car parked in our driveway.

The kid showed up the next day and the day after BUT ... the following day so did another car! And the car parked (of course) in the street. Then that kid brought another kid with him! So now instead of just B, we have THREE additional kids walking across the neighbor's yard to get to the school.  Although I suppose technically we don't even have the right to offer the one, I guess I figured as long as he was in our driveway it wouldn't be a big deal. But now this other kid is coming every day, sometimes with his passenger. And the worst is that when B asked the first kid about it, he denied knowing who it was! And then when pressed (after I saw the three of them walking through the woods together) he said that the kid just "followed him."

I'm not too happy. B is worried that there will be repercussions if I say anything (for example, to the Principal at one of our monthly club meetings, which he always attends) so I'm trying to remain calm. I am sure that the school discourages this practice or we would have these parkers every year. Once we had one, and it lasted about a week before someone stuck a note on the car and he never came back. A friend of mine said she would take the cowardly way out and stick one on and not mention it to B.  But we will see.  I'd like to tell the kid - tell your friend to stop coming or you can park in the street too! It's legal to park there, but not to cross through the yards.

A lesson learned at PTA meetings: sit on your hands when they ask for volunteers. And don't open your mouth when someone says they have nowhere to park!

And in other news, the foster cats are now listed on the shelter's main page as adoptable. So maybe someone will call for them. Meanwhile, they can stay here for a bit longer. I really love the one, she has a great personality and it isn't like she is indiscriminate. It took her a month to warm up, so you know she means it.  And they both come around often, even the shy one. And they're completely fearless of the dogs. They really settled right in.