I popped into work early on Sunday morning for some quick volunteer work whilst le Wife was sleeping. Sometimes I like to use my powers for good. Today I was building a small feature for the Saturday Academy site.

Little did I know that Sunday morning was also the schedule date of the Race for the Cure walk/run here in Portland. I was prepared for the construction that's going on but I was caught in a serious maze trying to get to my parking garage. Several streets were blocked off for the event. After going around the block and assessing my options, I figured that I could "accidentally" go down a one-way street at this hour and get to my parking garage.

So, I get to the street and turn to go up it. About half way through, a construction dude puts a cone in the street in preparation for a big dump truck headed towards us, then looks up a me. He walks over and casually informs me that this is a one-way street. I play all wide-eyed and apologize while explaining that I'm just trying to get to the parking garage entrance that is now just 30 yards away. He stares at the garage entrance, then at my car, then back to the garage entrance. He graciously mentions that I might be able to make it if I continue on and turn right at the intersection, then go around the block and come back down properly.

I thank the nice man and continue on slowly in the early morning light. I get to the last intersection and see the garage door entrance, a mere 10 yards from my car. Instead of turning, I bolt for the entrance. I see the police car at the end of the street - this is going to be close. I make it to the entrance and zoom up the ramp. I can tell people are running after me in full chase. I get my garage ticket, quickly park and exit the building; everything seems safe. I don't see any faces popping around corners or footsteps racing towards me.

I round the block and see the next barricade that certainly would have nixed the whole deal had I heeded the instructions of the construction guy. I'm quite sure that my route was the only way to the parking garage at this specific hour and I was quite satisfied with the success of my plan. About 30 minutes later, I see the event in full swing. There's non-stop cheering for about 90 minutes with a stream of runners and walkers parading down the street. It was a nice day for it, I hope they did well.