parking-spot-memory

Use when parking anywhere you'll return to unfamiliar — airports, stadium garages, hospital lots, rental cities, massive mall structures — logs level/row/section/photo/paid-until at park time, answers "where did I park?" with elapsed time and level-first search guidance, watches meter/session expiry, and keeps a per-location history so the same garage never stumps you twice.

Every driver knows the walk of shame: circling level 4 of an airport garage at 1 AM, key fob raised, trying to remember whether it was "blue row D" or "D row blue." The failure is structural — parking spots are low-distinctiveness information encoded at a moment you're distracted (navigation ending, luggage, kids), retrieved hours or days later in a different mental state. The fix is a 10-second capture ritual at park time. This skill is that ritual plus instant retrieval with level-first search guidance and meter-expiry watch.

When to Use

• Airport / train-station / cruise-terminal parking (the multi-day, huge-structure, jet-lagged worst case)
• Stadium, concert, festival, hospital, and mall garages — anywhere the structure repeats floor-to-floor
• Street parking in an unfamiliar city ("which side street was it?")
• Rental cars (worse: unfamiliar plate AND car)
• Any paid parking — the expiry watch prevents tickets

Don't use for: your own driveway (you know), valet (the ticket is the memory — keep the ticket), or EV charging sessions (the car's app knows).

The 10-Second Park Ritual

Capture before leaving the car — once you walk away, the detail half-life begins:

1. Look at the nearest marker — pillar/beam sign (level+row) or meter number. Say it out loud once (audio encoding helps).
2. Photograph it — one photo: the marker + your car in frame, or the space from where you stand. The photo is the backup brain.
3. Log it:

   bash

   python3 scripts/parking_memory.py park \
       --location "Airport T2 garage" --level P3 --row D \
       --section blue --photo IMG_4812.jpg \
       --paid-until "2026-10-19 17:16" \
       --notes "near elevator 2, next to pillar"
   

4. If paid: log the expiry time immediately (--paid-until), not "later" — later is when tickets happen.

Retrieval (the 1 AM scenario)

bash

python3 scripts/parking_memory.py find

Returns the full record with elapsed time, then level-first guidance: levels are the biggest filter (a P3-vs-P4 mistake costs 10 minutes; a row mistake costs 1), so the output orders your search — level → elevator bank → row → landmark photo check. If you logged a photo reference, it reminds you to compare aisle markers against it rather than trusting recall.

For a specific past trip: find --location hospital filters by substring. list -n 20 shows recent history (and reveals your patterns — same garage, same good zone).

Meter / Session Expiry Watch

bash

python3 scripts/parking_memory.py expiry

Scans recent entries for active paid_until sessions: minutes left with a LOW flag under 30, or EXPIRED with how long ago — the difference between "top up now" and "check for a ticket / max stay violation" before you return to the car.

Common Pitfalls

1. Logging after walking away. The single biggest failure mode; detail recall collapses within minutes. The log entry takes 10 seconds in place.
2. Recording only the level. "P3" alone in a 400-space structure is a 20-minute search. Level+row minimum; add section/color when the garage color-codes.
3. Trusting memory of "I'll remember the number." Parking markers are deliberately low-distinctive (D-34, D-43, D-3B...). That's why they're forgotten.
4. Skipping the photo. The photo survives everything — wrong level guess, bad notes, week-long trips. One frame, zero cost.
5. Ignoring the exit side. Note which exit/elevator you used (--notes "near elevator 2"); returning to the wrong elevator bank in a symmetrical garage recreates the lost-car experience even with the right row.
6. Not logging paid-until at payment time. Reconstructed expiry times are wrong exactly when fines are highest.

Verification Checklist

• Logged at park time, not at destination
• Level + row minimum captured (photo strongly recommended)
• paid_until set at the moment of payment
• On return: find read BEFORE entering the structure
• Landmark/exit note included for large or symmetrical garages

One-Shot Recipe: rental-car return week

bash

# day 1, at the space:
python3 scripts/parking_memory.py park --location "MIA Economy Purple" \
    --row "R14" --photo rental_keyfob_0421.jpg --plate "8XYZ421" \
    --notes "shuttle stop 4, dented rear bumper left"
# every return day:
python3 scripts/parking_memory.py find

Rental plate in the log turns "which of these 40 white Corollas" into a lookup.