Slightly OT, but I hate parking or looking for parking, and especially, paying for parking. True some of the things I like to do, such as seeing an orchestra concert or the opera (something I am willing to splurge on, relatively speaking) require looking for parking, but I hate it. I hate that so many social things that people organize are downtown. This past Friday I went to a close friend's birthday party at a nice restaurant. I went for her, but wish she had chosen a better place. I thought that there are far better restaurants that serve better food at better prices with largely the same atmosphere then this trendy spot. Thanking my friend's idea for an afterparty was to go back to another friend's place to have a bonfire and board games (rained) so it was mostly board games, instead of going out for drinks.