u/aquatrez

I need to vent and also see if anyone else has advice/suggestions.

This morning I found a parking ticket on my car. It was parked in front of my apartment building in a location I've parked for years with no issue, citing an offense of parking in a "no parking 2am-7am zone". There are no new signs or law changes I'm aware of, even after checking the parking page on Saint Paul's website. As far as I can tell, the officer was wrong to ticket me and other cars parked on the same street.

I've discovered the ONLY way for me to contest this is to call the court payment center and either wait on hold for over and hour or schedule a call back. No option to submit a contest online. Not even an option to schedule the hearing online. It's 2026, how is our system this antiquated!?

Has anyone else dealt with a situation like this? Is this really my only option for contesting the ticket? I'm also concerned about how I'm supposed to prove I was in fact not parked in a nearby location that does have signs indicating no parking at certain times (the ticket even cites that intersection even though I was only 5 car lengths away from a much closer intersection which does not have that restriction/signage).

Overall, this is a 0/10 experience that is causing a decent amount of stress and extra effort all because of the city's mistake!

This year I've been coping with the sorry state of the world and late stage capitalism by reliving my childhood and collecting some toy brand from my childhood (including Tamagotchi, Transformers, Monster High dolls, and most recently Calico Critters).

So far I've mostly been buying online through major retailers like Amazon and Walmart, but I'd much rather support local stores.

So I'm wondering if anyone has favorite go-to stores for either new or secondhand/vintage toys in the Twin Cities I can try out!

I just got Shriekwrecked Gill in the mail today after finding him for a decent price on eBay, and it made me realize how frustrated I am that G3 has essentially given up on mansters. I believe we've only gotten 5 releases so far (3 Deuce plus Clawd and Heath) and it's been well over a year since we've had a new one. The only one I was able to find at a reasonable price was Heath. It's making my collection feel like Monster High is an all-girls school, which directly contradicts the inclusive message behind the franchise!

Do we think there's any shot of Mattel adding more male dolls to G3, or will they forever be relegated to creeproductions or skullectors? What could Mattel do to make mansters more desirable for kids?

My initial thought is to prioritize two packs with male dolls paired with a really popular/desirable female doll. Like they could try a G3 Gill release in a two pack with Lagoona and still include his core doll accessories.