The “perfect” commute gone wrong
Or how being selfish about carrot cake could have saved me an hour
But first: I’m offering 20 minute meet-and-greets for PKM peeps and note-making nerds!
If you have been working on your notes system and maybe you are feeling a bit lost, or you just want to talk to someone about it, I’m offering a 20 minute, 1-on-1, meet-and-greet session for people you! During this meeting you’ll have an opportunity to talk about your notes system with me, and at the end of the session I will share with you some piece of insight, direction or takeaway—for free :) I have no idea how long I’ll be offering this for, so consider yourself warned that this may be a very limited time kinda thing!
PS: Only one booking per person, pls!
PSS: It’s mostly for fun, and a way for me to give back to the community ❤️
…And now, over to the regular programming…
“Hey babe, want some of this carrot cake?”
Around 2pm on Sunday, we were about to leave Michael’s parent’s place to see some friends next. Our bags were packed and already in the car. His mom had made a phenomenal carrot cake that I couldn’t get enough of. While I did ask if Michael had wanted a bite of my cake, I knew I could easily—EASILY—eat it all by myself.
We were supposed to be at our next destination around 3pm.
“It’ll take you less than a minute to eat a piece of cake” I added, “I think we can make time for that!”
“Ok. Let me google how long it’s gonna take to get there” he said.
“Um, why? You think a minute will make a difference? Just come and eat!” I said as I scarfed down another delicious, moist bite of carrot cake.
“I already had carrot cake. If I do eat, I’ll grab something else for a snack.”
Michael continued to fiddle with his phone. I stopped pacing myself and very soon the carrot cake was gone.
“Google says 45 minutes and that we’ll be making good time today, so I guess we’ve got time for a snack before we leave.”
Michael made his way into the house towards the snacks. His father, observing the exchange, added offhandedly “If you leave 30 seconds later, the guy in front of you could get into an accident and you’ll be stuck behind them all day…”
(His father, I should add, has the vibe of Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender… iykyk)
LOL, I thought. What a comment to make. I mean, what would be the chances….?
5 minutes later we got on the road and traffic was a dream. We were making such good time, with Google predicting we’d arrive 15 minutes early!
Then, within 10 minutes of our destination and right in front of the exit we had to take, we saw a plume.
It was a dark sooty sight, visible from so far away that I first thought it must be a building on fire. Traffic had slowed considerably. As we were crawling forward, we heard sirens behind us. A fire truck was trying to get through. Cars crammed to one side to let it through. Then another fire truck came through and cars crammed even further to let it through.
By this point we saw what looked like a commercial truck in the distance, fully engulfed in smoke and flames.
The first fire truck had blocked all traffic from flowing past the site because by now, every time a fire truck came through the cars packed in tighter and tighter until we could barely budge anymore.
In fact, we were so stuck, we just turned off the engine. The smoke only seemed to get worse, and occasionally really tall flames made themselves visible.
(At this point, Michael and I started discussing the efficiency of the highway emergency response, which I will spare you the details of.)
In an effort to unlock another stuck fire truck behind us, the cops (who had also arrived at the scene) moved cars from the outer lane past the site. Our car had to move forward as well, so soon enough we had front row seats:
By the time we got here, the fire fighters seemed to finally gain some control over the fire. Mostly white steam was rising from the site.
After being stuck in front of this accident for quite a while, I couldn’t help but think about what Michael’s Dad had said when we were leaving. Had we left 30 seconds earlier, we maaaybe could have avoided getting stuck. Had we left 5 minutes earlier sans carrot cake and snacks, we definitely would have missed this. I thought it was incredibly funny that his off-hand comment turned out to be so on point. I mean, seriously: what were the chances??
Eventually they started letting vehicles through past the site of the accident. Here we funneled through the single left lane towards freedom:
And then, after 45 minutes of being stuck, we pass the scene of the fire:
Holy cow. The whole scene blew my mind. It was such a bizarre sight. What were all these… balls lying around?
I’ll leave the guessing of what was in the truck up to your imagination. I don’t know the answer, and would love to hear your guesses.
Have you been stuck behind a freak accident ever? Do tell!
And last reminder: I’ve opened up my calendar for 20 minute meet-n-greets to whoever wants to talk about their notes system with me!
Give this letter a ❤️ if you enjoyed it (and do share it with friends who may appreciate it too!)
Until next time, drive safe and stay curious.
—Fei🪢
Great read! I googled and read it was a truck load of avocados!
What a scary sight! I must know what the heap-of-balls were and what made them go up in smoke. Hoping the driver is fine.
Every time I head to northern CA now, I'm on the highway in an 'atmospheric river storm' and/or 'cyclone.' Oh, the sites I've seen. Trucks blown to the side of the road. Trees flying. All while I safely pass. Someone's watching out for me!