damn HDB ...

and their multi-storey carparks .. I'm talking about the older ones that have no lifts at all. Gosh, those are a horror to park in .. narrow and cramped lots .. and the stupid design is such that if you park in the row of lots at the middle of the the structure .. if you drive a SUV or MPV ... the metal grating will hit the rear of the vehicle. But if u don't back up ... your vehicle will stick out in the front ... so you have no choice but to look for a lot on the opposite side .. which is against the wall instead.

That's not even the worst of it ... the worst is that as you drive up ... you realize with absolute dread .. that the lots on the first 3 levels are all red lots .. ie meant only for the residents there. I tell you .. I wanted to DRIVE HOME. We were at a HDB multi-storey carpark last night cos Lauren's best friend in kindy was having a birthday party and of course she was invited being besties and all ... I SHOULD'VE gotten Stanley to drop us off but as it so happened, the timing was just no good so I drove there myself. And as I don't park in these places often, I didn't have enough parking coupons with me.

Blardy hell.

I estimated that since the party was on a weekday evening ... an hour's worth of parking ought to do it.

I was dead wrong. The food and cake was not served an hour into the party ... and so leaving Lauren behind to play with her friends .. I trudged down carrying a very heavy Calista .. (she is freaking 10.4 kg thereabouts) and dragged myself and her up freaking 4 storeys to extend my parking coupon by another half an hour (cos I only had that last one coupon left by that time) .. and did I mention that I had mistakenly parked at the multi-storey carpark slightly further away so I had to walk a bit too? ... I was cursing and panting and swearing and panting and generally trying NOT TO DIE as I made my way up the multi-storey carpark.

I dumped Calista in her carseat, strapped her in .. and decided to move the car to the multi-storey nearer the flat so that it wouldn't be as torturous later that evening when we left the party for home.

I tell you. For a minute or two, I was tempted to just drive home and leave Lauren at the party and pick her up later. LOL!! Hunger and exhaustion from the climbing I assume.

I got back to the party .. the cake had been delivered by then (stupid Bengawan Solo), and dinner was also being served SLOWLY ... it was 8pm. My coupon was expiring at 8.40pm. I knew there was no way we were going to make it. And HDB carpark wardens ... let me tell you ... there are PLENTY of them.

We left the party at 9pm. YES, 20 minutes after my coupon expired. I nearly died again climbing up 4 storeys ... Of course, Lauren being all of 5 years old and generally being bouncy and active was happily bounding up the stairs ... and chatting with me. I couldn't answer a single question of hers except . "No, not this floor ... go up" ... when she wanted to get out at the 2nd storey.

We encountered a family going down on our way up ... and the father smiled broadly seeing me leaning against the staircase panting and looking like I was going to collapse anytime. hahahahahahahh!

We got to the 4th floor .. and I put Calista down so that she could walk cos I was about to drop her anyway. lol ! .. She was wearing her squeaky sandals .. u know, the ones that go "squeak, squeak" when she walks .. and nearing the car, my heart sank big time .. I saw a ticket on the windscreen ... blardy hell !!! .. I exclaimed loudly ... "HAIYA!!!!!!!!!" snatching the ticket off the windscreen to see what time the parking warden had ticketed me.

I squinted at it (cos the lighting in these carparks isn't that solid) and as I realized it WASN'T a ticket but some Shop and Save receipt, I heard laughter from parking deck adjacent to me.. and Claudia came running down.

It was my blardy husband. He was on the way back after accompanying Claudia to ballet class .. and he KNEW that I might bust my parking so he "wanted to teach me a lesson" .. as he put it.

damn man. I couldn't even scold him .. I was still panting from the climb up ...

hahahhahahahahahahhahaha!!!! Claudia said it was really funny .. they were waiting by daddy's bike ... then all they heard were the squeaking sounds from Calista's sandals .. then my very loud, "HAIYA!" ... and then they both burst out laughing. I have evil family members. lol.

Anyway, as I was driving down the multi-storey carpark, there was a parking warden walking around on the 2nd level ..issuing tickets to cars ...

HENG ah!!!