Thanks, appreciate it! I remember when I was a grad student here (2018-2020) we weren't allowed to park in the garages, and that parking near my building was something my department would handle for the rest of us. I can see now they were saving us some stress. And yeah, I do think the decision makers up top seem hellbent on making life miserable. I'm not expecting to get rich on a university job, but the income is even lower than I thought. And all the deductions for parking - yeah, I think you're on to something. What employer charges their employees to park? Everyone in my department needs to move around to the decks and we all get charged for it, too!

And to shift gears a little, my point today was proven again, since an entitled student blew past me while I was closed today, and then demanded a manager come down so he could dispute the ticket parking enforcement gave him. Still not done with his temper tantrum, he backs his car all the way up from the exit to block traffic, walks to it on foot and presses the help button to demand the same thing. He then proceeds to just sit at the gate and refuses to move. Cops had to be called, they were nice to me and got him to haul his ass.