I just had someone be mean to me when I came home today. I don't know exactly when this started, but they've been changing the handicapped signs to be time and car specific. Like some are for vans only, some are for fifteen minutes only and so on. Well, I usually park in the same handicapped spot, and since I don't go out for like three weeks at a time, I haven't had a clue of anything being different. And didn't even think to look. Usually when I come home, I'm so sick from the shopping that all I'm looking for is the handicapped spot, I'm not really paying attention to if the sign says anything more. Obviously, I should be.
So, I came home today, and this old woman I've never met before, she's not even on the tenant council as far as I know. She just lives in the building. She stops me when I'm locking the car. And she wasn't nice to me at all. She said, that sign says it's VAN only parking. And you're car isn't a van, is it. And I was totally shocked. I looked at the sign and she was right. It's handicapped, but for vans only. I have no clue when they tacked on that van park, but you can tell it's an add on. And no one told me. My car's been sitting there for weeks. I'm lucky I didn't get a ticket or a tow, even though I have the handicapped plaque up. She said people have been complaining that I parked there. Well, that's news to me. No one has said a word. And if it was a real problem, the office here would have told me. They have strict rules on stuff, including on other tenants confronting other tenants like this woman was doing to me. She wasn't supposed to bug me, she was supposed to tell the office.
Anyway, I honestly hadn't noticed the van thing before, and the woman said that's no excuse it's right there. And rather than try to explain to her that my disability is very different and I'm rarely a part of her world anymore, I said I'd move it as soon as I brought the shopping cart back down. So she said to me, I don't give a damn what you do. And I was like, then why bother to tell me in the first place? UGH. But I was nice about it and I thanked her for letting me know. And I did move it.
What bugs me is, I really was that unaware. I didn't even think to read the whole sign because not only had I been parking there for months, but I honestly am so rarely a part of the real world anymore, I'm just not even aware of small details in my surroundings when I'm out. When I go out, I'm focused on just getting what I need to do done. And I'm usually too sick to ever look beyond that. When I come home, I can barely put my groceries away.
I'm just tired of trying to defend myself and my disability, though. I didn't feel like getting into an argument or trying to explain to her that I have a very different kind of disability that includes cognitive problems and adult autism symptoms as well as brain fog. I'm really not that alert sometimes.
Also, it's such a weird feeling to see things change in a world I am no longer a part of. When I was younger, they never had special designations for these signs. It was usually just a handicapped spot and that was. Now, you have to really pay attention to each one.
Yeah, it was an honest mistake, but she didn't have to be mean to me about it. I am so sick of dealing with mean, nosey people.
So, I came home today, and this old woman I've never met before, she's not even on the tenant council as far as I know. She just lives in the building. She stops me when I'm locking the car. And she wasn't nice to me at all. She said, that sign says it's VAN only parking. And you're car isn't a van, is it. And I was totally shocked. I looked at the sign and she was right. It's handicapped, but for vans only. I have no clue when they tacked on that van park, but you can tell it's an add on. And no one told me. My car's been sitting there for weeks. I'm lucky I didn't get a ticket or a tow, even though I have the handicapped plaque up. She said people have been complaining that I parked there. Well, that's news to me. No one has said a word. And if it was a real problem, the office here would have told me. They have strict rules on stuff, including on other tenants confronting other tenants like this woman was doing to me. She wasn't supposed to bug me, she was supposed to tell the office.
Anyway, I honestly hadn't noticed the van thing before, and the woman said that's no excuse it's right there. And rather than try to explain to her that my disability is very different and I'm rarely a part of her world anymore, I said I'd move it as soon as I brought the shopping cart back down. So she said to me, I don't give a damn what you do. And I was like, then why bother to tell me in the first place? UGH. But I was nice about it and I thanked her for letting me know. And I did move it.
What bugs me is, I really was that unaware. I didn't even think to read the whole sign because not only had I been parking there for months, but I honestly am so rarely a part of the real world anymore, I'm just not even aware of small details in my surroundings when I'm out. When I go out, I'm focused on just getting what I need to do done. And I'm usually too sick to ever look beyond that. When I come home, I can barely put my groceries away.
I'm just tired of trying to defend myself and my disability, though. I didn't feel like getting into an argument or trying to explain to her that I have a very different kind of disability that includes cognitive problems and adult autism symptoms as well as brain fog. I'm really not that alert sometimes.
Also, it's such a weird feeling to see things change in a world I am no longer a part of. When I was younger, they never had special designations for these signs. It was usually just a handicapped spot and that was. Now, you have to really pay attention to each one.
Yeah, it was an honest mistake, but she didn't have to be mean to me about it. I am so sick of dealing with mean, nosey people.