It’s fairly safe to safe I had a pretty average start to 2012. It seems luck just wasn’t coming my way. There was a little house flooding, I was pulled over by the police not once, but twice (just for the record I was only doing the wrong thing once) and I have managed to make it through the whole of the first week of the year on cheese slices, Christmas chocolate and muesli bars.

But then yesterday my faith was restored. Not only in my luck, but in people generally. I headed out to Fitzroy to buy bread from my favourite organic bakery, only to discover it was closed. Yep, more bad luck. And then whilst trying to put money in the meter so I could enjoy breakfast with friends at Birdman Eating next door, the machine ate all my silver change and didn’t spit out a ticket.

My frustration was immense. I texted the number on the meter advising what had happened and that I was only staying an hour. And then I went to breakfast – if I was fined I was going to fight it!

Breakfast was great and I returned to my car an hour and ten minutes later – only to round the corner and see that tell tale white slip of paper sitting on my dash. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But then as I got closer, I discovered it wasn’t in fact, a ticket. Whether it was a parking inspector or a good samaritian, someone had paid the one hour parking fee and placed a ticket in my car. It had been done only 5 minutes after I left my car and as much as I have no idea either way as to whether it was an inspector or a stranger, my faith (and luck) was restored.

Amusingly, I had trouble with the parking meter at my next destination as well, but my trip to Fitzroy yesterday will bouy me for weeks. I have kept the ticket as a good luck charm and when I feel like everything is against me, I am going to look at that ticket and remember that sometimes, you find luck where you least expect it.