Sometimes you learn things the hard way

One thing that I learned recently is that if you get three traffic tickets within an 18 month period in the state of Oregon, then you get a letter in the mail telling you that you can’t drive between the hours of 12:00 AM and 5:00 AM for a month, and that if you get another ticket in the next six months (for a total of four tickets in two years) then you get your license suspended for a month.

I received a letter like that just before going to Hong Kong. Right after I got the letter, I became a super vigilant driver, like almost to a bad extreme at first. If I saw any flash of red anywhere, my instinct was to slam on the brakes. The threat of having to rely on public transportation for a month is enough to scare me into doing pretty much anything.

My month of no late night/early morning driving was April 29-May29. It passed relatively uneventfully, with the exception of plenty of jokes from friends. One night I went to a movie with some friends and then to the food carts. I had to make it clear that I had to be back to my car by 11:30 so that I could have enough time to get home by midnight. Add to this, the fact that I didn’t have any cash, and so Christina had to pay for my food. (I was able to scrape together just enough change to get into the $3 showing of The Fantastic Mr. Fox) She made the comment that it felt strangely like we were on a high school date. I had to be home by midnight and she had to pay for our food.

I probably didn’t help this image when I brought my parents to a birthday party a couple of weeks ago when they were in town visiting. Look how hip they are though at the party, texting on the couch. Thanks for the picture, Diana.