So I was lucky enough to get some free tickets to go see the Calgary Flames play against the Vancouver Canucks last night. I drove down to a friend’s place that lives close to the Saddledome, parked my car, and walked over with him.

What a fantastic game it was. A total of 6 regulation time goals, back and forth between both teams, overtime, and even a shootout.

I had free tickets, so I thought, “hey, get yourself two hot-dogs, have a couple of beer, and just enjoy it!”. After all, it has been a stressful couple of weeks at work.

Sadly though, the Flames lost in the shootout. No worries I thought, I had a great time and probably witnessed one of the best saves by Mika Kiprusoff – EVER!

So we walk back to my friend’s place, drop him off, then make my way to my car.

Have you ever gone to where you think you left your car, looked around, walked back and forth, made sure that no one was watching you walk back and forth, then thought to yourself, WTF?

And that’s when things started to settle in… my car must have been stolen.

A few moments later, I notice the “Bus Stop” sign, and that’s when the next logical thought comes to me – my car was towed!

So what do you do when you realize your car has been towed? Do you call tow truck companies? Do you call the police?

Lucky for me, a police car was driving by – so I waved my arms and they pulled over. I explained what “I thought” happened, and they suggested that I call the “Municipal Impound Lot”… so I say, “OK, so do you have their number?”

That’s when the cop looked at me and thought to himself, “Do I have 411 written on my forehead or something?”.

Reluctantly, they give me the phone number. I called the impound lot, which is conveniently open 24 hours a day, every day of the week, and asked them if they have my car. I gave the details, and yep, sure enough, it’s there.

So now I have to figure out how to get there at 11:00pm – with no car of course. I’m thinking to myself now, “this is going to cost me at least $200, and now I have to pay for a cab to get down there as well!??” – talk about insult to injury.

So I pull out my handy iPhone and search the map… and that’s when my night gets a little better: who knew that the city would build a train station 2 blocks away from the impound lot!? And lucky for me, I was two blocks away from a train station that could get me there!

So now I’m at the impound lot, and they say to get my car out, I have to show them:

1. Driver’s License
2. Valid Insurance
3. Valid Registration

Of course, #2 and #3 are in the car. So they tell me to have a seat and wait for the security guard to escort me to my car to get them. So I wait, and wait and wait. Finally, security comes, and takes me to my car.

Now I have to go back to the office, and pay my fine. I was pleasantly surprised that the towing was only $75. But then the lady says, “you also have a $40 ticket to pay on top of that, and a $10 administration fee”.

At this point, I don’t give a crap. I pay the fines. Now I have to wait for security to escort me to my car… again.

Finally, I get in the car and drive home… I didn’t make it home ’till 1:00am.

Let’s tally up my costs:

• Hot Dogs: $15
• Beer: $25 (bought one for my friend)
• Car Towage etc: $130

Grand total: $170

So my “Free” hockey game ended up costing me $170… go figure.

Moral of the story: Don’t park in a bus zone.

~Rabee