I’ve spent the past 3 1/2 years attending nursing school in downtown Portland, competing for parking with the hospital and numerous medical complexes, shopping district, restaurants and coffee shops, local residents, and of course my fellow students. I’ve gotten pretty good at parallel parking as a result, but this morning I accomplished a parking feat I still think is impossible, in spite of having taken photos to convince myself I wasn’t dreaming it.

Front and rear clearance (total space was less than 3 inches) – it looks like my bumper was touching the car in front, but there was actually a tiny amount of daylight between them:

And (for my boys) I even got close enough to the curb:

The bad part was that after going to classes all day, I came out and discovered that the other two cars were still there. So I not only managed to get INTO that space, I also managed to get back out again.

My whole understanding of geometry has been turned on its head. Obviously, this proves that my ’91 Mazda Protege’s diagonal length is no greater than its lengthwise length… it doesn’t seem possible, but how else could I have managed to get in there (and out again) without getting stuck???