The Night of Never-ending Should'ves

The following was written at 5:45 AM, when I finally got home from my little adventure:

So, Brad and I went to San Jose tonight for a young professionals retreat. If you have your own car, San Jose is about an hour south of San Francisco. If you don’t, it can take quite a bit longer… So, upon arriving at the hotel where the retreat is being held at, we promptly ask the front desk if they have information on Caltrain’s departure schedule, because we wanted to make sure to leave in enough time to catch the last train out. Well, the clerk looked it up and told us that there was a train that left every 30 minutes all night long. (Should've #1- We should've questioned that, because a train every 30 mins all night long would be quite something.) So, at 1:00 AM someone dropped us off at the station, where Brad and I proceeded to wait for ANYONE to show up for 30 mins. There was a train there, and it was running like it was going to go, but there was nobody around. Anyhow, finally a maintenance guy showed up and told us the last train left a 10:30 PM. (Should’ve #2- the 5 P’s- Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance). So, we decide to go back to the hotel to figure out what to do. We get in the taxi, and he tells us that it’s going to cost $30 to get to the hotel and about $80-$90 to get to San Francisco. We thought, well, it’s a lot better deal to just go back to San Francisco, because otherwise we were going to have to pay for hotel rooms. (Should’ve #3- Why trust a cab driver that says that? San Francisco is far away. OF COURSE it’s going to cost a buttload to get there! Plus once we get out of San Jose, this dude isn’t going to be familiar with the streets.) So, once we surpassed the $100 mark, we were getting antsy to get out of the cab. We thought that we had arrived in the outskirts of San Fran. We were at San Bruno Blvd, and from the map it looked like a bus was going to pass right by. We say goodbye to the driver. (Should’ve #4- Know where the stink you are! We were not yet in San Francisco. We were in San Bruno. And no public transportation runs that late there.) So, this nice guy that’s a tow truck driver offered to give Brad and me a ride to the taxi stop. (No worries! There are no should’ves in this part of the story. Praise God!) So, this guy takes us to some taxis and that saved us some extra money. We get in the taxi and Brad asks about how much it’s going to cost. The guy says $20-25. We start going, and then I notice the meter isn’t running. I ask why not, and the driver gets all mad and says that we agreed on a price. Well, for fear of being kicked out on the side of the interstate, Brad and I gave in to $20. (Should’ve #5- Look at the meter right when the cab starts to see if it’s running OR bargain some more if you’re already in the situation. I bet I could’ve gotten him down to $15. Oh well.) So we get the that bus stop we wanted on the outskirts of San Fran, and then a group 5 teenagers rolls up in a taxi and get out. 2 of them begin to get into it. They were shoving each other and things seemed to be escalating. Brad and I crossed the street to the gas station and called the police. The police come, the kids had suddenly calmed a lot down, and the police leave. Great. Brad and I are left behind, too afraid to go to the bus stop, because these punks HAVE to know that it was us that called the cops. (Should’ve #6- I don’t even know, because although the fight didn’t escalate even more, it could’ve.) Thankfully, these kids finally gave up on the bus and crossed the street and got a taxi. Right at that very moment, the bus Brad and I had been waiting for came. Praise God! Because we weren’t going to get on the bus with that group, and we weren’t really sure another bus would come tonight. We had already been waiting at 45 mins. So by now it is also drizzling. And by the time we get to my stop, which is about 4 blocks from my house, it was raining quite steadily. (Should’ve #7- Brad needed his own umbrella. As it was, mine didn’t keep me dry with the wind and every thing, and Brad should've brought a coat with him. I would have liked my scarf too.) Now I’m home safe and sound, and this will be an expensive night that I will never forget. The retreat was just awesome and I wish that I could be there tomorrow (or today, now), but I can’t because I have to work the night shift tomorrow night. So maybe Brad and I should’ve just gone back to the hotel where the retreat was. Maybe I should’ve planned better in the first place.