Park n Pay

PARK N PAY… Squid spent the last week checking out Halloween costumes for Squid’s dog Roscoe P. Coltrane on Instagram, when Squid’s feed suggested a new account to follow called @needsrepair.csumb. The account was started by an anonymous otter who first posted on Oct. 1, and has shared a few out-of-date repairs needing to be made by CSU Monterey Bay, often with the hashtag #dobettercsumb.

Squid then remembered finding a parking ticket on the old jalopy when it was parked at CSUMB a few weeks ago, which infuriated Squid because the parking pass machine was broken when Squid tried – honestly! – to use it. But @needsrepair.csumb calls out that the parking machine has been out of order for over a year. CSUMB does have ParkMobile signs, but four hours using that app to pay for parking costs more than purchasing a single 24-hour day pass at a parking machine.

The @needsrepair.csumb account also shows other problems on campus, like exposed wires and hidden warning signs about asbestos. Fortunately, one repair was made in less than a week after a problem was posted on the account. CSUMB officials say students should not resort to social media for complaints, but given the response rate thus far, Squid is considering appealing Squid’s parking ticket via social media. Maybe Squid will get some traction there.

ESCAPE PLAN… If the world goes to hell in a handbasket, Squid plans on hunkering down in the lair until the dust settles. Squid isn’t a prepper, but let’s just say there’s a stash of shelf-stable shrimp-flavored popcorn awaiting. Yet Squid was recently reminded that the super-rich have a different way to deal with troubles like climate disasters, war and other emergencies – by vamoosing to another part of the world.

Squid learned this from an article that listed Carmel as the #11 location in the world where the “centi-millionaires,” people with over $100 million in assets, like to vacation. (Miami was #1.) The information comes from a company called Henley & Partners, which estimates there are 28,400 centi-millionaires in the world, double the amount that existed in 1997, when the company was founded. Henley & Partners’ website states that it exists to advise people on how to invest in foreign countries that in turn will award citizenship to investors, giving them access to alternate passports. The company’s stated purpose: “Enhancing human potential through global citizenship.” It further states it helps people “live in dignity and security in their countries of birth or countries of choice.”

Which sounds to Squid like a fancy way to say that if things go south and you have enough money, you can escape to a less hellish part of the world – your country and less fortunate neighbors be damned.