My rebellion

I got pulled over this weekend. I had just dropped my roommate off at the train station in New Haven and I was driving her car back to my parents house where it would stay until it was time to pick her up a few days later. I was coming up to a light that was yellow but I decided to just gun it and try my luck. Just as I passed underneath the now red light, I see a cop car to my left and say, "Fuck!" and immediately start to slow down. The car rolls around the corner and the red and blue lights start flashing. The police officer approaches my car and I see that it's a lady cop and she asks why my headlights are off. Whoops. I always forget to turn the headlights on in my roomie's car. In my old car, which my father donated to charity behind my back, the lights would turn off when you turned off the car and turn back on when you started it back up again. I'm still used to that I guess even though I haven't had that car for about 2 years now. The streets were well lit and I could see perfectly well so I had no idea that they were off. Then she told me that the light I passed through was definitely red and took my license and all the other stuff. There was a guy cop with her too and he was waving his flashlight all over the place and then he just stood by the side of the car. At this point I was worried that they thought that I stole this car. They keep asking me where I was coming from and I've got a CT license driving a car with a PA license plate that is not under my name.

So after like 20 minutes of the police officer just standing there and people staring at me as they walk by, lady cop comes back over and says, "Ok I am going to tell you what I'm supposed to do and then I will tell you what I'm going to do." Score. So then she goes through the whole speech of how much each fine would cost and then finally reveals to me that I am just getting a warning. The first time I got pulled over I wasn't so lucky.

Three of my friends and I drove to Miami for spring break out Sophomore year of college and we all took turns driving. We only stopped briefly at a hotel to shower and nap and mostly just drove through the night. On the way down I did quite a nice job of pushing the Saturn Ion we were driving to 120 to race some boys in Delaware and made it through the entire state in around 20 minutes and didn't manage to get pulled over. However, on our way back home I was driving the night shift and was cruising through Georgia. It was probably 2 in the morning and the roads were clear...just me and a cop. I was doing 93 in a 70 and got a citation and summons to court but I just ended up paying a hefty fine to avoid court. I don' really stress out over getting pulled over. I like to drive fast and I just kind of assume that I'm not always going to get away with it. But most of the time I do. In high school I used to push my car to 100 on the highway to see if I could get to the mall a few towns over in 15 minutes or less.

I was driving my parents car this weekend and my mom was with me and we were driving on this windy back road. I had never driven on these roads before so I was taking it kind of slow but then this guy rolls up behind me and he's not back there for more than a minute before he speeds up to pass me, crossing into the oncoming traffic lane and cutting me off. So then I'm pissed. There is nothing I hate more than someone cutting me off or implying that I am going too slow. So I started to ride his ass and my mom goes, "Mal stop following him so close, he could have a gun!" I laughed and said, "And he's gonna shoot me for tailgating him? That would be ridiculous." He ended up speeding up and basically drove in the oncoming traffic lane the whole time to cut off the whole line of cars that weren't going fast enough for him. 

I've always liked driving and I seem to be one of the few people who do. I was desperate for the independence when I turned 16 and being able to just get up and go was fantastic. This independence turned into me skipping almost 40 days of school my senior year and it was all due to having a car...and hating school...and getting into college in December so I didn't see the need to try anymore. I would pick up my best friend and we would actually drive to school but in the parking lot we would usually decide that today wasn't a good day and would instead spend our time at Starbucks or Barnes and Noble. Later on when I got caught and my parents found out my mom asked, "Why didn't you just go to her house and sleep?" We hadn't even thought about it. We liked to drive around. Go on adventures. See where the day would take us while everyone else was sitting in class. Now that I live in Boston and use public transportation I don't need a car but I miss driving. Speeding down the streets with the music blasting. I love that. I just walk fast now, but its not the same, even if I'm listening to my iPod. 

If I have somewhere to go, I want to get there quickly. I don't want to waste time along the way. That is what has been the hardest part about this whole getting better process. I just want to be better, to feel it instantly now that I have made all these changes in my life. But then I would be missing all that life has to offer along the way. So I'm forcing myself to slow down a bit. (I want to keep interjecting car metaphors like put on the brakes, sit back and enjoy the view, something about detours, scenic views, etc etc etc...but you get the point). Everyday is progress, everything that I am doing now is for me and will benefit future me. 

Oh and while I am talking about the future and cars...this past weekend I went to NYC for Halloween and some guy pulled up in a DeLorean dressed as Doc Brown from Back to the Future. He even had smoke billowing out of it. That's commitment.