Parking

I lied a little when I said that the bureaucracy was finished. Only this morning did I get a parking decal for my car. Previously, I could only enter at one gate of the base, come at least 15 minutes early, and get in the non-decal line of the security checkpoint. When it was finally my turn, they would take my license, and write down a lot of information. They would ask me to open up everything in my car. This includes center console, glovebox, all doors, trunk, and apparently the fold-down arm rest in the back. Then, they go around the car with this funny mirror that is basically a much larger version of a dentist's mirror. It allows them to see the entire under-carriage of the car. They reach under the seats, and feel around. Then they tell me that I can close everything up, present me with a dashboard pass, and I can then find parking. Now I have a decal. I can enter any of three gates, I drive right up, they ask to see my NIH ID, and that's it. Theoretically speaking. I'll let you know if that works tomorrow.