The Highway Patrol Teaches Me to Break the Law

So, today I'm going to rant a little because, let's be honest, I'm powerless and frustrated and you are a semi-captive audience.




What? Yes. You are. Don't argu... Am I going to have to put you all under hypnosis again?!

Ahem...now that you've settled down. I'll tell you my very irritating & true police story that happened this week--a.k.a. "How to alienate people in under 2 minutes flat."

**Disclaimer** I have the utmost respect for the police, and this guy would've been a pain in the a** in any uniform.

On Tuesday, I was driving home from a city almost two hours away. I was in the farthest left lane on the freeway and the traffic was pretty bad when I noticed a sign that said my lane was turning into a carpool lane. I wasn't familiar with this city and didn't realize they had a carpool lane there, so I promptly tried to move over, and out of the lane.

The traffic was pretty tight and I slowed down a bit, but there was nowhere to get over before the lane ended. Ahead of me a bit was the only break in traffic big enough for me to move over into, so I sped up a bit, and moved over as soon as I could. I made it less than 10 feet after the lane had just turned into carpool with a solid white line.

Immediately, a highway patrolman showed up behind me with his lights flashing. When I pulled over, rolled down my window and he walked up, our conversation went like this:

Him - "Do you realize I can put you in jail for that stunt you just pulled?"

Me - stunned silence, followed by, "Stunt?"

Him - "Yes. You were in the carpool lane without having two or more people in the car, you crossed the solid white line, and you were speeding. That's a trifecta which equals reckless driving and I can legally take away your license and put you in jail."

Me - *blinks* "But, I was trying not to break the law. I'm not from this area. I didn't realize it was a carpool lane there and as soon as I saw the sign, I tried to get out, but the traffic was too heavy, so I sped up a bit to get into the only open slot and out of the lane.

Him - "You're going to kill someone. Or you're going to kill yourself. Which do you think would be worse?"

Me - *is speechless*

Him - *sighs* " Do you even have a license?"

Me - "Of course I have a license!"

Him - "Well, I'm giving you a ticket for speeding and a warning for being in the carpool lane because I'd rather give you a ticket than have to go to your house and tell your husband and kids that you're dead."

Me - *hands over license and resists the urge to add 'rolling window up on head of an officer' to my list of offenses*

Keep in mind: I was in no way unsafe. I have a completely clean driving record. I was actually trying to obey the law, and the only time I sped up was to get out of the lane (and even then I was only going 6 mph over the limit).

Here is what I learned from this experience:
1 - He couldn't see in the back of my van. I'd have been better off to stay in the lane until I could get out without speeding up because he had no idea if I was alone or not.

2 - I've gained a new appreciation for the old Judas Priest song, "Breaking the Law."

3 - I hate people who let the power of their positions/situations go to their heads.

/End Rant -- Anyone else need to get something sucky off their chests? Let's get it out of our systems so we can have a fantastic weekend!

The Infamous Car Crash Story

No, this is not my car, but it felt fitting.

So, keep in mind that this accident happened exactly two weeks after I turned 16 and got my license. I was driving up the on-ramp onto the freeway on my way to school one morning. It was rainy and foggy and I couldn't see very well. It looked like the car in front of me was slowing down, but the brake lights weren't on so I thought it was just because of the fog. I slowed down a bit anyway... but not enough. By the time I realized they were actually at a dead stop (it had been hit by a hit-and-run that bent the metal into it's tire), it was too late.

I plowed into the back of them and it bent my hood up like a tent so I couldn't see anything. I was wearing my seat belt so I was alright, but after a minute I heard these chilling screams coming from the car in front of me. My first thought was "Oh no. I killed someone."

I'd just unbuckled my seatbelt when we got hit from behind and I slammed my head into my steering wheel. My thought switched to, "Oh no. I'm going to die." Just after I'd clicked my seatbelt back in, we were hit again... and again... and again.

Finally, the carnage stopped for long enough that it felt safe to get out of the car. At this point, I'd hit my head more than once and I was in full-on shock. Keep this in mind, as it effected every decision I made from this point forward.

The girl in the car in front of me looked fine, but she just kept yelling. Totally incomprehensible. The people in the cars behind me were all coming off of the air force base and were part of some kind of Norwegian delegation. Not a single one of them was speaking English...none.

Thus I came to my next totally logical conclusion--I'd somehow damaged the part of my brain that understood English. I was absolutely and thoroughly convinced that I was going to have to go back to Kindergarten and learn my own freakin' language all over again.

And so the fun began... tune in Monday for the rest of this story. :-) And have a great weekend!

A Special Kind of Crazy

I was recently talking to my mom about my friend, Kasie, who was considering two offers of representation from fantastic agents. Our conversation went like this:

Mom: So, how will she pick?

Me: She'll talk to them and see what she thinks, then make her decision.

Mom: Well, what are they offering?

Me: *pause* To represent her?

Mom: But is one offering a better deal? Like more money or better perks?

Me: No, this is just to represent her. They don't pay her for that. In fact, she pays them...but not until they sell her books.

Mom: How do they sell her books?

Me: They send them out on submissions to editors and see if any of them want to publish it.

Mom: *silence*

Me: Hello?

Mom: So, let me get this straight. Writers spend years struggling through, trying to perfect the craft, to keep learning and writing until finally, if they're lucky and work hard enough--they nab an agent... and then basically, they start querying all over again?

Me: *long pause* Um... I've got to go.


I think we have to be a special kind of crazy to pursue this career. Not everyone can understand the things we put ourselves through for our dreams. May I say I feel lucky to be surrounded by special people like you? :)

To Kasie! *Fashionably Late, No?*

Today, I wanted to do a post about a wonderful friend and amazing writer, Kasie West. For those of you that haven't been to her blog. DO IT. She's hilarious and pretty darn cute. *See picture to the left--Yes, she's that cute--For reals*

Kasie is one of my crit partners and she's superb. She writes dialogue like nobody's business and her love interests make me swoon. (Seriously, Kasie...when do I get to read more about Trevor already???)

Anyway, she posted on her blog last week about signing with the fantabulous Michelle Wolfson. I'm so excited and happy for her. She's so happy with Michelle. I never thought it possible, but they both seem to be an equal amount of crazy. I've literally never seen a better fit.

Pop on over to her blog and say hi and congrats if you haven't already.

Congratulations, Kasie! Love you girl!