I think I'm actually going to have a breakdown over returning to work
I don't have a parking permit yet and from what I understand the new system (it changed when I was off, I used to have one) is 1 in, 1 out. But also the parking permit team aren't exactly speedy with it.
The hospital I work in is about 13 miles from my house, depending on the route you take. If you take the back roads, I can be there in 25 minutes if I go before rush hour and because I start at 8am, I normally can leave my house at 7:20 and be parked, on my ward and ready to go at 8am. Time to home from there takes about 30 - 35 minutes depending on whether the other route is backed up or not (more often than not it is) so pre-baby I would expect to be out the house from roughly 7:30am to 4:30pm. So that's what I've organised childcare around - OH does the drop off but I can also squeeze it in on the way out if necessary.
Except, like I said, I no longer have a parking permit. I applied for one in early March and haven't heard anything yet. Without a parking permit I have to get the park and ride which goes at 6:45am, 7:15am, 7:45am, 815am. In order to get in for 8am, I will need to be on the 7:15am bus as it takes 25 minutes to get to the hospital (it's only 4 miles from the hospital but it's not direct). It takes me 20 - 25 minutes to drive to the bus stop
and I have to drive past the fecking hospital to get there. I'll need to park and put my registration number into some stupid machine, which may have a queue, so I need to be at the bus stop for about 7:10. So leaving home at 6:45 at the latest really. Coming home I can't get the on the hour bus at 4pm, as I would have to leave my ward at 3:50 at the latest to get changed and to the bus stop which obviously is shorting the trust and they won't let me do 7:50 to 3:50 because of our 'core hours'. So I'll have to wait around for half an hour to get the half past 4 bus back. Then 25 minutes on the bus back to my car, (
again passing the exit for my village) and then I'll be on the wrong side of town for my village so I'll have to sit in at least 35 minutes worth of traffic because I'm now on the busy side of town which has three factories that kick out at 5pm and clog up the roads as well as other commuter traffic. So I won't be home until at least half 5, maybe quarter to 6 if I'm lucky.
If I have to go and pick LO up from nursery as he's not sick, I better hope they call me at quarter to or quarter past the hour and my manager is sat right there as otherwise I'll have to wait for another bus and I won't be back in the village until an hour or so later if not longer.
There's no on street parking for a mile around either hospital so I can't just abandon my car on some side road somewhere. There are council carparks within a mile of the hospitals but they charge £2 an hour or more and most are short stay. I could park in the visitor parking at the hospital but it's £22 for 8 hours. TWENTY TWO
bleeping POUNDS.
WTAF am I meant to do.