Thursday, October 22, 2009

a 15 minute adventure

so today . . . i needed a treat. and you know what that meant . . . a mad dash to 7-11 during my break.

i could have gone during my lunch break, but i only have half an hour for lunch, and i hated to spend it getting food. so i decided to go during my morning break. i do this about once a week, and usually it takes me exactly 15 minutes--occasionally a little more or a little less. but from the minute i walk out of the door of the school, i worry about getting back on time.

it was a beautiful day and as i walked to my car, i debated--leave the top up or put it down? it only takes a minute to put it down, but i didn't want to leave it down all day, which meant i would have to put it up when i got back which only takes a few minutes, but what if i didn't have time . . . so i left it up and headed out to 7-11.

once i'm at 7-11, the only decision i have to make is should i get two brownies or three? today i opted for two, but on my way to the cash register i had to work my way around a guy in a uniform who was buying juice. i thought he was a police officer, so when i went to the parking lot, i checked to see where he was parked, because part of my worst nightmare is crashing into a police car . . . but i didn't see one. so i watched where he went, and he headed for an ambulance. and this got me thinking . . .

where do ambulance people hang out in between saving lives? the hospital cafeteria? the fire station? the police station? the mall? in a metropolitan area like ours, there have to be thousands of ambulances, each with their own crews, but they aren't rushing around responding to 911 calls all the time. so what do they do when everyone is seemingly safe? inquiring minds want to know!

after today, i am guessing that they hang out in the home depot parking lot and buy juice at 7-11 . . .

i started back to school, and the lights were with me! i was cruising along, thinking about ambulance crews and their free time and could i make that into a blog, and i happened to glance at the clock--i had only been gone 8 minutes! yessss! i was going to get back to school in time to use the bathroom before my break was over--whether i needed to or not! green light, green light, green light . . . oh wait! shoot!! i green lighted right past the street i needed to turn on to get back to school!

you are all thinking, "just make a u-turn!" yes, that would be so simple . . . if i wasn't inside the city limits of cerritos where they have recently banned u-turns with signage.

i didn't have a lot of choices, so i kept driving until i approached the first opportunity for a u-turn--illegal or not (ok yes, illegal) but there was too much traffic to risk it, so i drove on. the next cross street happened to be a freeway and guess what? there was no sign banning u-turns!! so i put my left turn signal on, pulled into the turn lane . . . and saw a police car approaching from the opposite direction.

what to do, what to do. technically, there was no sign prohibiting u-turns, but maybe it was illegal to make a u-turn at a freeway entrance. normally this wouldn't be a problem--i'd just assume it was ok and go. but should i risk it RIGHT IN FRONT OF A POLICE OFFICER IN A REALLY FAST CAR?!? probably not. i contemplated doing it after he went on down the road a bit, but there were no cars behind him! not one. (where was all that traffic now?!?) if he happened to be looking in his rearview mirror, i would be toast. so back out into traffic i went, to the NEXT cross street where u-turns were actually encouraged--there was even a sign to prove it. but of course the light was red. and then i noticed the pedestrian, who i KNEW would cross the street when i had the light, and i would have to sit there in the intersection blocking traffic while she sauntered across. because i KNEW that she was a "saunterer." i could just tell.

but to my amazement, she was not a saunterer! she was a "walk across against the light" person. which was fine with me, so i just prayed for her safety and watched for a green light.

i revved my engine--just so i would be ready. but i forgot that i had just purchased this humongous lemon coksi which didn't quite fit in my cup holder. so i had to dial the speed back a bit, because i had to hold my cup with one hand and try to make a u-turn with only one hand on the steering wheel, which left no hands for shifting. (breathe, mom, it was perfectly safe! well, maybe not perfectly . . . )

i finally reached the school parking lot, careened into my designated space, grabbed my snacks, and ran to the building. only to be thwarted by the security door. (why is it that when i am late it takes FOREVER for someone to buzz me in!!!)

as i waited and waited and waited for that door to open, i could think of only one thing . . .

thank goodness i left the top up . . .

4 comments:

Wendy said...

Oh Julie... sigh.... what are we going to do with you?

Jes said...

hahhahaha wow ms Julie! i was holding my breath the whole time! im glad you go thru all this just to get a snack! hahaha i know its not the same but keep some snacks at school, but it can only be dry stuff, nothing yummy like brownies.

now my mouth is watering and i want a brownie from del taco!

Jewelielyn said...

no, no, no jes! the brownie is from 7-11. the yummy chocolate CAKE is from del taco . . . you have to keep your snacks straight!

Mom said...

For heavens sake, BAKE SOME BROWNIES!!!!!!