Making The Best Of It~IWSG

A huge 'THANK YOU' goes out to this month's Insecure Writers Support Group's co-hosts Mary Aalgaard, Bish Denham, Jennifer Hawes, Diane Burton, and Gwen Gardner!

I've decided to wrap a recent adventure I had into this month's optional question: How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal/ finish a story?

*TAKE A BREAK and/or DO SOMETHING OUT OF YOUR BOX*

Sounds logical, right?

Technically, I didn't achieve a writing goal recently. I did have a new book released for each of the past two years. And I really never took an official break or a reward or what-have-you. This really isn't a break either. Call it more of another diversion in life. Our family car dealership has been getting busier, so I decided to be more hands-on at the dealership - paperwork and all that fun office stuff.

BUT . . . a few weeks back, the dealership needed drivers to pick up some vehicles we purchased and deliver them back to us. (Quick FYI on dealerships: one way most used dealerships purchase vehicles for sale is through live or online-live auctions.) An out-of-state-adventure sounded like a DO SOMETHING OUT OF YOUR BOX  reward. I also considered it research. #wink-wink

Before the crack of dawn - think it was 5:00AM - I took off from central Maine with two other drivers, heading for New York. Where in New York you ask? I honestly knew this answer before the journey. After, I didn't even care. 

Here's the deets in bullet point form:

• Left central Maine at 5:00AM
• Arrived at New York dealership at 11:03AM (Yes, we were driving a tad fast.)
• Dude at the NY dealership greets us, and we tell him we're there to pick up a Honda Pilot. 
• He response, "Uh, that vehicle shipped to Utah yesterday."

We respond with *deer in the headlight eyes*

• He leaves to check again.

We all scowl at each other.

• Dude returns and says, "You'll think this is funny. The vehicle is here. It was just the keys that got shipped to Utah."

Yeah, we thought that was funny. #NOT

• Says, "No worries. I'll have a new key made up right now."

90 minutes later we still have no key.

• Dude comes back and says, "Your key is almost ready."

CREDIT

We're now considering hot-wiring the Pilot.

• Continues, "Oh, and the Pilot is technically not here at the dealership. It's at the airport down the road."

Now we want to ram this guy's face into the table. But we don't. Because we're nice Mainers.

• We sit for a few more minutes, but the other two drivers with me still have an hour and a half left to drive South to pick up another vehicle. This delay already puts them at getting back to Maine around 10PM. The NY dealership agrees to drive me to this airport to get the Pilot, so my other two drivers can head out.
• As they are leaving, the other dude shows up with the newly made key.

YAY! We toss confetti! #notreally

• The three of us drive to the airport. Look for the gray Pilot. Can't find it.

Perfect.

• We finally determine that the vehicle is supposed to be black, not gray, and we find it.

We toss snow into the air instead of confetti. That's all we had available. Don't knock it.

• I jump in the Pilot, while the other two drivers finally get to leave for their next destination AND . . . the Pilot's battery is DEAD!

Can you imagine if my other two drivers would have left me there alone with some strange salesman dude that I don't know in NY??? OMGosh... I'm telling you. I have angels. 

• It gets better. The dealership won't let us borrow jumper cables. #seriously
• We finally get the vehicle started, the two other drivers leave to drive another two hours south and then back to Maine for another ten hours of driving, and I head to a gas station.

Can't turn the Pilot off.

• I'm afraid if I do the battery will die and I'm all alone. So this means I have to drive eight to nine hours without stopping to PEE! 

NEXT: a two hour delay in traffic. I drive 3 miles in two hours. #ugh

PARTICIPANTS

• I will end your misery here. I did eventually get home. Around 9:30PM. 

And no, I never did stop to pee. I am a champion.

Ever have an Out Of Your Box Adventure like this?