Too Many Blue Matrixes

Usually, I park in the same general area of the parking lot at school, which is on the third floor. I do this because (a) by the time I get there, all the lower spots are already taken and (b) if I park in different places each day, I forget where I am and then, I have to wander aimlessly around in the hopes that I'll spot my car somewhere.

When I left work this afternoon, I walked up to the third floor of the parking deck, as usual, and spotted my car in one of its customary spots. As I got closer, I noticed that I had left the doors unlocked, so I grumbled at myself about how forgetful I'm getting, and then got in. Immediately, I noticed that there was something slightly different about the smell in the car, but my car frequently changes the way it smells with no real explanation. So I put the keys in and turned the ignition...nothing. Again, a phenomenon that I'm somewhat familiar with because sometimes, the car just doesn't feel like starting. So I tried it again. Nothing. And again. Still nothing.

And then, just as I was about to take my frustration out on the steering wheel, I noticed that the odd smell in the car wasn't just any old odd smell, but the very distinctly odd smell of cigar smoke. Since no one has ever actually smoked a cigar in my car, I began to get suspicious. And that's when I noticed that there was no stuffed moose hanging down from my rear view mirror. My sweater was not sitting in the passenger seat, where I had left it. And this car was much, much neater than mine will EVER be. After sitting there, feeling like I was in an alternate universe for a full minute, it finally hit me that hey! I had parked on the SECOND floor this morning because I wanted to avoid the extra flight of stairs.

On the plus side, at least this means that I did, in fact, remember to lock my car this morning.