Currently At Folsom Prison By Johnny Cash see related

BUSTED

So from now on when I fill out those internet quizzes and it asked me if I was ever arrested I will have a different answer! 

Last Friday I was on my way to visit my brother when I got pulled over.  My insurance had lapsed on my car and so they'd suspended my registration.  He won't let me drive the car home cause I don't have the proper insurance paperwork with me, so it turns out my car has to get towed.  This situation is stressful enough, but then the cop comes back to my car to ask me to see my license again and informs me there is a warrant out for my arrest!  I explained to the cop that I didn't know there was a warrant for my arrest, but that I had gotten a letter to go to mediation in the town that issued the warrant, but the mail had been forwarded to my house after the date I was supposed to be at court so I had written the court to reschedule and hadn't received anything back yet.  Apparently in the interum they had issued a warrant for me that I didn't know about.  He tells me he doesn't want to take me all the way to the town that wants me arrested, but if they want to come and get me they can, so I should get on the phone and try to come up with $500 bail or I might have to spend memorial day weekend in jail!  I'm totally freaked out at this point, calling my brother in hysterics when the cop comes back to me and tells me that he got me out of paying bail, they'll release me on my own recognizance but I still have to go down to the station and be processed. 

So while he waits for the tow truck to come impound my car he hands me off to one of the other 4 cops who came to help (cause clearly I'm very intimidating and need  multiple cops being the dangerous criminal who missed court)  I get patted down and get my purse searched, then they tell me they'll be nice and handcuff me in front not behind my back.  Wooyoo!  So I get handcuffed and put in the back of the new cops car to be taken to the station.  The whole way he's making small talk, if most of our conversation wasn't about my crime I would've thought he forgot I was in the back of his cop car being arrested!  So when we make it to the station it's very busy so he tells me he has to leave me in an interview room.  The room is much smaller than you see on TV and there is no mirror, just a desk with a chain and two chairs.  So he takes me in and takes off my handcuffs.  I'm thinking I'm free, but no I'm just getting handcuffed to the desk instead of to myself now.  So he chains me to the desk and wanders off to go get my paperwork, leaving me alone in the interrogation room with the door open so all the other cops and fellow criminals can stop by and stare at me while I try not to cry. 

By the time he gets back with the paperwork I'm doing a pretty bad job in my attempt not to tear up and as he starts filling out my stuff, he looks at me straightfaced and says "you seem stressed...."  REALLY!?  I explain to the nice office that I've never been handcuffed to a desk before and it's a little disconcerting.  He was actually very nice and said how lucky I am that I am getting out without having to pay anything or spend the night in jail.  I know from his perspective this is true, but I still have to work very hard to see the glass as half full at this point. 

Next time he leaves he gets me my cell phone so I can call my family and make sure they know where to go pick me up.  He actually had to get on the phone with my brother and give him directions since I didn't pay very close attention to where we were going from the back of the police car.  Then he said if I want I can hold onto my phone while I finishes my paperwork.  So I am sitting alone in the interrogation room one handed texting for awhile, then he comes back with a digital camera to take my picture.  I had been told I didn't have to get my fingerprints taken since I was being released w/o bail, but apparently you get a mugshot either way.  I wasn't really sure how to pose for it since I didn't want to have one of those frazzled angry looking shots like Nick Nolte, but I didn't want to smile wide like I was at the prom either.  I'm actually curious to see how it turned out, but I didn't know if it was appropriate to ask to see your mugshot and the cop didn't offer.  Anyway, after I was safely re-handcuffed to the desk and alone again I texted my brother and my best friend to tell them I'd had my first mug shot taken.  My brother wrote back that I should get a copy and make it my facebook profile picture.  I actually chuckled out loud at that and of course just as I did another cop walked by.  Not realizing that I was one of the special prisoners who is allowed to text from jail, he thought I was alone in my room laughing by myself and looked at me like I was insane. 

I was able to get out later that night and after a lot of crappy paperwork and a ton of money, I got my car free on Tuesday morning. The whole thing was crazy.  It turned out to be  more of a  hassle than anything, but I still think getting arrested the first night of Memorial Day weekend does  not bode well for my summer!  I have court on Monday for the original problem that I missed it for and then again the following Monday for my driving w/ suspended registration & improper insurance docs.  Fun for me!

Ok, so I'm trying to be more positive so we'll start with my favorite thing about this January. 

ONLY 10 more days of the Bush administration!!!!!!!!!!!!   I was bored at work last night and I watched the Barbara Walters interview w/ the Obamas from a few weeks ago.  Besides the fact that I think he is going to be an awesome president, I think they are the cutest couple ever.  I can't wait til they are in the white house! 

My other positive this year is I'm getting my act together with my workout schedule.  I started getting serious about not wasting my Y membership last month when I was eating so much crap for the holidays and now that I'm eating slightly better (not well by anyone's definition, but atleast there are less treats all day now!) I'm keeping up with it.  When I went out on NY's Eve I got into jeans I haven't worn since early 2007 so that made me happy!

I don't know how a month as gone by without my blogging.  You'd think I at least would've written a celebratory blog when Obama won.  I was a very happy camper on November 4th! 

When I wasn't working most of my month was spent moving.  I really do  have way too much crap and I seem to be moving backwards in life because I keep moving to smaller and smaller places.  Now I'm renting part of a house from an older widowed woman.  I have my bedroom, bathroom and sitting room, but have to share kitchen and laundry room.  It's great to not have to go to the laundromat now but sharing a kitchen is going to be a an adjustment.  Fortunately, I work pretty opposite schedule from her so most of the time when I'm in there she's not home.  I really liked living completely alone, but with the economy and my job luck being what it is I can't afford it right now.  Trade off is my rent is $250 cheaper and all utilities are included so I save over $400 a month, plus I have a yard, a deck and a driveway now all that was lacking in my apartment so I'm hoping all that makes it worth it to have given up living completely on my own.  With her on one side of the house and me on the other it really shouldn't be that bad, I've only had to make kitchen small talk a few times so far so hopefully that trend will continue. 

Speaking of awkward small talk I went on a fairly lame 1st date this week and for some reason was stupid enough to agree to go to his office holiday party with him tonight.  He befriended me on the internet and in email he seemed ok, but when we talked on the phone our conversation just didn't flow very well and then when we went to lunch the other day it was a little uncomfortable.  So sitting at a bigger table with a bunch of his co-workers I've never met shouldn't be weird at all.  Oh well worst case scenario I get stories out of it and at least I get to get dressed up and enjoy the open bar. 

I love Halloween

My week started out pretty shitty, but ended on a high note.   Monday one of my babysitting clients got laid off, so even though I'm working under the table and should not be too affected by our economy going down the gutter, it has affected me once again since if she's home with her kids she will not be paying to me to watch them. 

Then Tuesday it snowed in October, which has not happened in NJ that I remember.  So my 2nd client called and told me not to risk my life to come watch her kid.  At the time I was annoyed I was losing even more money, but it worked out cause  I ended up having to take my older brother to the ER that day.  He'd been throwing up all week and was dehydrated.  At the time I didn't give it much concern cause him being an alchoholic has led to throwing up and trips to the hospital before.  However, apparently he's finally done serious damage to himself cause they found his kidneys had completely failed and ended up admitting him to the ICU and starting him on dialysis that night. 

I was determined to have Halloween fun after my stressful week so last night after work me and my best friend met up with my little brother and his friends at a bar where they were  having a halloween contests.  My brother always goes all out for Halloween so I knew he'd be in the running for winning a prize.  He was dressed at Michael Phelps, so his costume consisted of a Phelps swim cap, googles, a usa warm up jacket, 8 gold medals and a speedo.  I can't tell you how odd it is being in a bar with your little brother while random drunk girls come up and grab his package through his speedo.   

Anyway, when I saw how much effort he'd put into his costume (he even went tanning and shaved his chest and legs) and saw what a hit he was I assumed he'd be winning something, but the surprise was my best friend's costume was also a huge hit as well.  I had talked to her the night before and she still hadn't had a costume idea so I suggested since she has the nerdy glasses she should just put on a suit and get a McCain sticker and be Sarah Palin.  She actually looks a little like Tina Fey so I didn't think it'd be such a huge stretch, but when I saw her I was impressed how well she pulled it off.  And everyone in the bar seemed to take her costume as support of the candidate cause we had democrats yelling at her til she told them s he was voting for Obama too and republicans telling her they were voting for her and they all took it as a personal affront when we said we weren't.  Apparently you have to be a supporter of someone to dress up like them now.  Anyway, as her costume got more and more attention I started to think she could win too so when they started the contest I made her go up on stage w/ my brother.  It turned out to be more of a sexy girl contest than anything so it was my brother in his speedo up on stage w/ a bunch of girls in slutty costumes and Palin.  They dj said he had something for my bro and he got off stage and then my friend made the top 3 girl finalists by applause.  She is not usually the dance on stage kind of girl but my brother threw her a medal and she ripped off her suit jacket and tossed it out in the audience and she ended up getting first place over all the hos.  So 4 prizes were given away and two of them went to my people.  My bro won an ipod and my friend won a trip to Vegas.  Which works out for me cause it's a room for 2, so I'm totally going to Vegas now! 

The bar where we had the contest is only about a mile away from the hospital where my other brother is a patient so when we left the bar at 2 am we decided to see if we could get in and visit him to show him our costumes and tell him about our winnings.  Despite the fact that you are technically allowed to visit icu patients at any hour the nurse seemed none to happy that he was getting visitors at that hour.  My bro didn't actually know he was allowed to get visits that late so he thought we snuck in and so he was extra entertrained by our visit.  Which made the extra hour later the visit got me home worth how tired I am at work today.  The Y has a 9 am bootcamp class here so listening to people run up and down the stairs over my head while club music blares is not the funnest thing to do when you are slightly hung over and working on 4 hours sleep.  But it's all worth it caues I'm going to Vegas baby!  :)