Politeness training

Here's a hypothetical. It's 7:10 PM, the concert starts at 8:00 sharp, it takes 30 minutes to drive there, parking will be a problem, your partner is at the computer fielding emails. What do you say?
I'd say 'I'm leaving now, with or without you.'
I think I'd be a bit more positive, maybe explain it, hedge it with, 'Think we'd better be off, if we want to be on time.'
People can get absorbed in emails, I'd sort of apologize a bit, and say something like, 'Sorry to intrude but if we want to be on time I think we'd better make tracks.'
How about you?
Me? Im always a bit of a pink wimp in these cases. I usually say something vague like, 'How long does it take to find a parking downtown?'
Ha. Wimp all right. You won't survive long in New York.
OK. Brown and Levinson would give the prize to the self-confessed pink wimp for being the most polite and allowing for a dialogue to develop. The other approaches could be counterproductive and lead to a sullen drive into the city.
Could I ask, has Pyongyang's Dear Leader had time to read Brown and Levinson in between playing with his WMDs?