Runners in the California International Marathon.
There should be a universal calendar. Not one that has the major national holidays (whatever the heck Flag Day means and is, I’ll never know or care about) but one that is tailored to you.
I mean, isn’t that what technology is for after all? Especially considering net neutrality is a thing of the past, shouldn’t there be some perks that come with our every move, location and activity being recorded?
If I were to have had that calendar, I wouldn’t have chosen the worst day possible to have Korean barbecue with some of my friends.
But a calendar like that doesn’t exist. (Or I’m just really out of the loop; both are equally plausible.)
So the day for us to meet and eat was Sunday, Dec. 3, the same day as the California International Marathon.
Little did I know that that race attracts people from all over the nation; for one day out of the year, people care about Sacramento!
But with that newfound attention comes traffic; that is also one of the only days that Sacramento roads are transformed into those of Los Angeles, and there are more detours than in a Minnesotan summer.
I live about 10 minutes from Blue House Korean BBQ (1030 Howe Ave); lunch was set for 12:30 p.m. Logically, I decided upon heading out at 12:15; why not be a little early?
And then I got to the light on the corner of Carlson and H Street. The J Street intersection ahead of me had no cars save for two or three police cars.
And there was something set up with balloons and flowers. Did someone just get killed? Was that an impromptu funerary arrangement?
I took a right instead of going straight. How was I supposed to get to Howe Avenue without crossing over the H Street Bridge?
A few blocks down a lady in an orange vest near a cop car directed me to head straight as a flash of neon orange and yellow T-shirts ran by.
Oh, this must be blockage from the marathon.
I followed the lady’s route until I got to an incredibly blocked-up intersection.
And while I was stopped in my tracks, I got a Snap from fellow junior Mohini Rye.
Apparently, her aunt had been expecting the congested streets and had left early, so Mohini was almost at the restaurant. Junior Allison Zhang was caught in the traffic like me, and she was regretting braving the backed-up roads.
As I slowly approached the light, I had to make a decision: go on the more direct path to Blue House Korean BBQ on Watt Avenue or see if I could think my way through and take backroads.
Two roads diverged in the road, and I took the one less traveled – the one that would take me right past Country Day.
Well, at least it would after I made an illegal turn at the light, risking a massive ticket.
After weaving through the urban landscape of Sacramento and experiencing road rage for the first time, I finally made it to the restaurant.
But Allison was still stuck, and Mohini and her aunt had gotten there so early that they went across the street to buy some time.
And it was almost 1 p.m. Excellent planning.
Once we had finally convened and been seated, Mohini’s aunt shared her secret: SigAlert, an app whose name I would quickly forget and not remember until writing this story.
Two hours and over 12 courses later, I found myself on open, clear roads.
It took me about nine minutes to get back home from the restaurant, as I had planned earlier.
Where did all the police go? How was the bridge now open? Was it all a dream?
And, more importantly, what was the name of that app Mohini’s aunt told me about?
—By Chardonnay Needler
