airport problem
my brother lives in canberra but he came back a few days for the australian legume conference and when i went to drop him back at the airport he insisted we take the backroads and not the highway because he wanted to stop at his favourite lunch bar and i didnt want to because i was anxious hed miss his flight, ive learnt the hard way and it always feels bad, but we went to the lunch bar anyway and he bought a pie and i bought a ham and salad roll and when i went to sit down at a table outside he said what are you doing, and i said what does it look like im doing, im eating a ham and salad roll and he said well eat it in the car, we dont have time and i said no way, i dont mind eating fast food in the car but i draw the line at getting bits of carrot and lettuce down the cracks of my seats, but i didnt want him to miss the flight so i wrapped it back up and put it in the boot of the car, and on the way john ate his pie and gave me directions and i said no, i know how to get there, but he said his way was quicker and he kept directing me down strange roads into the heart of the industrial area where we encountered road closure after road closure and after driving in a tangled mess i said john, enough of your folkways, im getting back onto great eastern and we drove that road for several minutes when he said turn here, and i said no way and he said its quicker, so we turned into a second industrial are past carparks filled with disassembled airplanes, and i said you know what, if i wasnt on an empty stomach id enjoy your psychogeography, id enjoy your derive and detournement of eating at a lunch bar despite making a government salary, but im sick of your leylines and auratic wayfinding, i just want to get to the airport and eat my ham and salad roll, amd he said ok, turn back the way we came and continue on the highway, and when we got to the airport i gave him a hug goodbye and helped him with his luggage which had rolled around in the boot and crushed my ham and salad roll, but it was still in an edible state, and as he walked into the airport i thought, you know what, im sure no one will be upset if i stay at the airport drop off a little longer to sit on the bonnet of my car and eat my ham and salad toll, its not very busy, theres room enough for everyone, and i unwrapped it and began chewing but realised i was chewing too fast so i slowed down, because recently i read a book about budhism because i am trying to fix my life, and so i decided to treat the ham and salad roll as meditation and i closed my eyes and focused on my senses, and although the bread was stale and the lettuce rather wilted, it was one of the better things ive eaten and when it was finished i decided to close my eyes and focus my attention inwards on the digestive system at work and i did this for several more minutes and focused on my breathing until i got startled by someone honking their horn at me, the drop off had become very busy and the car bays all full, so i got back in my car and went to drive home when i was blocked by a boom gate, and i thought, well its okay, ive been here less than an hour, itll just open for me, but the little screen said i owed them 24 dollars and i yelled what, no way, they must have got the wrong car but then i saw on the sign that it was only free up to six minutes, then 6-10 mins was $7 and 10-15 mins was $14 and 15-20 mins was $18 and 21-30 mins was $24 and i thought, what the heck, no way am i paying that so i called the phone number on the sign and explained my predicament, that i was simply trying to live more mindfully and was unaware of the timed parking rates, and the guy said, sorry, youre going to have to pay, and when i found my card, it now said $30 as i'd gone over the 30 minutes and i couldnt believe it, i thought id bought an eight dollar ham and salad roll and had i known it would be $38, i wouldve eaten it a bit more slowly.