Genius Takes Time To Wake Up

I either need to park closer to the building, or do a better job of remembering my ID badge on cold days

Or just keep doing what you're doing.  We're all amused by your suffering.  Literally...I mean...it's the only time we really get to read about things like this.

So, early in the morning, such as when I'm first going to work, my brain isn't quite functioning yet.  It's serviceable enough to get me to work safely, and occasionally remember one of the things I was supposed to bring with me, but that's about it.  This becomes a problem, for example, on rainy days, when in addition to my regular cache of stuff I have to bring to work, I have to bring an umbrella.  Something usually falls by the wayside.  

That thing is usually my work ID badge.   

You see, I work in one of those places that requires you to wear an ID badge and scan it to get into the building.  We deal in some expensive proprietary stuff, and we don't want people stealing it, so we keep the doors locked.  It makes sense if you think about it.  Everyone gets a badge, and most people are pretty good about remembering them when they come to work.  Every now and again (read: pretty much every day), you'll see somebody walking around with a temporary stick-on "badge of shame" because they forgot their regular badge and had to go to the security office to get validated.  They still can't open the doors, but at least you're allowed to let them in. 

Anyway, the usual order of things in the parking lot:  Turn off the car, collect laptop bag, collect badge, leave car, lock car, walk to building, enter building.

You'll notice "Start Working" is nowhere on that list...

But once you start nutsing with that system, the whole dang opera falls apart.  If that list turns into "turn off the car, collect laptop bag, collect umbrella, leave car, raise umbrella, lock car, walk to building, enter building," you'll think nothing of it...but you'll notice later that "collect badge" was not on that list.  The same thing happens on really fricking cold days, when the list also expands to include such nonsense as "zip up coat, put on ear warmers, put on gloves."  So, here I am, getting all this junk ready to get out of the car, and my ID badge stays safely locked away as I make the trek toward the building.  Since my list of things to do on the way out of the car was long enough, I don't even notice anything until I get to the door and can't open it.  Then, it's back to the car (looking like an idiot), to collect the badge.  

Looking like an idiot isn't so much of a problem...

Yeah, we noticed.  

...but on cold days, it involves spending WAY more time outside of the warm car and the warm building than is really necessary.  So, in order to minimize my time in the frigid air, I clearly need to park closer to the building.