I'm a slow learner

I have a confession to make. I don't seem to be able to understand basic parking regulations, or at least remember them when necessary. You see, every single time I take a day off (like a vacation day for no particular reason) I get a parking ticket. Every. Single. Time.
I'm a big dummy.
I blame it on the fact that I only go downtown on evening and weekends (and holidays), when meters are free. Therefore, it seems beyond me to put money in them on a regular old Monday afternoon.
This is an expensive lesson to learn so slowly.