Friday, July 11, 2003

Not Doing Time...In Jail Anyway

Never fear, I actually was able to handle the situation of yesterday without getting myself arrested. My husband was very proud. heh Nope, I'm doing my time at the Pit today. It's tolerable because I know I'm outta here, and I can do whatever I want without fear of being fired. Though I am trying to control my temper and act professionally, you never know when you're going to need a reference.

Ok, so here's how it went down after I left work. I miraculously arrive home without being pulled over. Fran gets home minutes after I do and we make our way to the court. The cheery lady I spoke to earlier was not the same one I spoke to last month originally. This one was a little bitty thing...more girl than woman. I woulda felt bad smacking her around...it'd be too easy. So I say that I'm there to pay a fine. She says ok. I tell her that I called earlier that day.

"Meghan?" she asked, arching her eyebrows.

"Yes."

She goes to her computer, prints out something, and tells me it'll be $50. I cringed. The original parking ticket was $12. Apparently they added court fees because it had gone so long without being paid. But I wasn't about to get into the whole "I was told there was no ticket, why should I pay the jacked up price?" I knew there was nothing she could do about it. Wow...those meds are really workin. heh

So I pay it. I ask her who ordered the suspension, she tells me the same woman who is on vacation. But then she offers to take down my number because the woman sometimes calls in. Mighty white of her. So I leave my numbers and it's off to the DMV.

I have been to hell...and it is the DMV. We arrive at 1:30. I get number 789. They're on 695. Fran and I take a seat in the last 2 chairs left. To my right is a group of individuals speaking Spanish. In front of me is a large biker, staring into space. To his right is a skinny kid with tattoos up and down his arms, he's holding a file. Fran started to doze almost immediately.

Even though there are signs everywhere stating you can't eat or drink or use cell phones, all I hear are those annoying little songs all the cell phones play. All I can smell is McDonalds fries. This reminds me that I haven't eaten anything yet. A baby starts crying hysterically. I try to pass the time watching the little electronic sign that flashes advertisements, pop culture trivia, and news quips. It starts to make me dizzy. I check the clock...1:45. I look to see what number they're on...698.

Every time they up the number they push this button that sounds like a doorbell. I just sit there, counting the ding-dongs. It's freezing in there. I'm uncomfortable around large crowds, especially strangers. I remember that I haven't taken my meds, because I need to eat to take them. I wonder if I'm shivering from the cold or from withdrawal. Fran wakes up.

I convince him to run out and get me a crossword puzzle and himself a magazine. I sit there and wait for him trying not to stare at anyone. It takes all kinds at the DMV. I felt like I was sitting in the ghetto I used to hang out in when I was a teenager. Except for the occassional suit that walked by. We were on the second floor...the floor that was just for people with suspended licenses or who wanted their abstract. It was the bottom of the barrel up there. They were now on 748, but they were calling people in groups, made the numbers advance faster, but still took just as long. I ran downstairs for a smoke and bumped into Fran. At least I had a puzzlebook now.

So I sat doing puzzles, getting a crick in my neck, listening to the "slow" woman behind me babble very loudly about nonsense. My number came up at 4:00. I got to go through the door, into the back offices. No counter for me! heh. The whole process took 5 minutes. I paid, signed a form, and I was outta there. 2 1/2 hours of waiting for 5 minutes. But at least I had my license back...after shelling out $100 to DMV. As I walked out people who were still stuck there looked at me longingly. Some scowled in jealousy. But I got out. I was free. Fuck the DMV!

The rant would end there, but since I've been documenting my meds, I figure I should add the last incident of yesterday evening. Fran and I argued the whole way home about where to go to eat since neither one of us had eaten yet. He wanted subs, I wanted a real meal. He couldn't get what he wanted, so he pulled the usual baby routine and said, "Forget it, I'm driving home. I just won't eat." It's like being married to a 5-year-old. Anyhoo, about 5 minutes from home, I start getting the shakes. But I was so pissed at Fran that I didn't bother to mention it to him. I'd deal.

By the time I got home, I was convulsing like an epileptic, but I tried to keep it under control. I sat on the couch and stared straight ahead at the TV. So hungry that I actually wasn't hungry anymore and nothing sounded appetizing. My eyes started to twitch and my legs just tapped furiously. Fran didn't even look at me. I heard him start to snore. This was rediculous. Screw food, I'd deal with the stomach ache from taking the pill on an empty stomach. I had to stop the shakes.

The next thing I know, Fran is calling my name and shaking me. I'm on the kitchen floor. I have no idea what I'm doing there. So I asked him. He said that I had gone into the kitchen to get my pill. I asked him to help me. He got me a glass of water and cleaned up the pills that I, apparently, spilled on the floor. Then he went back into the living room and after he didn't hear me get up, he found me on the floor. Nice. I don't even remember going into the kitchen or taking the pill.

I did get food in me. My parents ordered Italian food and I was fine after I ate. Just another low point in my attempts to be sane. What are ya gonna do?

Well, if you're still reading this, I'm proud of ya! This was a long one. Sorry if it bored you. But it got me through some more time at the Pit. It's almost lunch time. :) Till next time....

Thursday, July 10, 2003

Chatham Municipal Court Can Kiss My Ass

Ok, it's been awhile since I've really ranted. So this should be a treat to all of you who are getting bored of the medicated "semi-stable" Meghan.

Let me set the stage...

It's June 7th, I receive a notice in the mail that if I do not pay a parking ticket within 12 days, my license will be suspended. So I scratch my head...parking ticket...hmmmm. Well, I had just paid 2 tickets online about a week prior and hadn't gotten any more since. (Clarification: The car my hubby drives is in my name, for finance reasons. He leaves it out on our road overnight and gets a parking ticket. He does this often. No amount of yelling seems to have cleared this up. Even the fact that I had only had my license back for about a month because of a previous ticket he got and was never paid hasn't corrected this. So...I am screwed because of him.)

So I call up the Chatham court and ask them what it's about. I give them my name, address, license number, info about the car...everything you can think of to see if any tickets were outstanding. The cheerful lady tells me all the tickets on my record have been paid. She assumed the notice had crossed in the mail with my payment. Okie doke then...don't have to worry about it.

Flash forward to last night. I get the mail and there is a notice from the Chatham court telling me that because I did not pay the ticket, my license is suspended. I do believe people in China heard my cursing last night. I chew out my husband again for leaving his fucking car on the road (funny enough, his car was on the road at that moment) and told him to move the God damn thing in now or I was going to torch it. He complied.

So this morning I drive to work ever so carefully. I call up the cheery lady at the court and explain what happened. Her response: "That doesn't make any sense. Why would someone have told you there was no open ticket when I'm looking at it right now?" This was not the smartest thing to say to me, but I kept my temper, and replied, "I don't know how it happened, but it did. If I was told at the time that there was an outstanding ticket, I would have paid it and this would not have happened." All she could say was, "I don't know what to tell you. Your license is suspended."

So now I can feel my ears getting red. But still...I hold it back. "Well, I don't think it's fair that the court made a mistake so now I have to spend the day at DMV and pay a $100 fine. This wasn't my fault."

Now she gets snippy. "You should have called when you got the last notice." So I get snippier, "I just told you that I did call and was told that there were no outstanding tickets." So she gets snide, "Well that doesn't make any sense."

Shit, the Hulk ain't got nuthin on me. "So you're saying it's my word against yours? I'm lieing?" She starts to panic a bit, "I'm not saying that. I just don't know how that could have happened. We have no record of that phone call."

Uh oh. All attempts of being calm fly away. Meghan is now in "manic" mode. I could hear people in the offices next to mine scrambling underneath their desks. "I'm telling you, your office screwed up and I will not pay for that!"

"Ma'am, there's nothing I can do."

"Don't call me ma'am! The court can push a magic button and suspend my license but they can't push one to reinstate it?"

"I don't have the authority. The court administrator is in charge of this."

"Let me speak to him then!"

"She's on vacation until the 21st. You can clear it up then."

"Of course she's on vacation! So I have to either wait around without a license for a week and a half or take a day off work, sit at the DMV all day, and cough up $100!"

"There's nothing I can do."

"Who can I talk to to complain about this?"

"The court administrator."

"Of course! I want her name and number, she will be hearing from me."

So she gives me the name and number, with a great deal of attitude. So before I hang up, I say to her, "This is friggin rediculous! Honey, someone is going to pay for my time and money." Click.

So now I'm seething. Not a good scenario. But wait...there's more! You know what I have to do to get my license back? First, I have to go to the court and pay the ticket. Guess who collects the money? Uh huh...yup. This should be interesting. Considering this is really all my husband's fault...I called him and told him the deal. He is taking half a day to drive me around for all this shit. Plus, there is no way he is letting me see this woman in person alone. The police department is in the same building...I will get arrested for assault. At least I'll have company at the DMV this time.

Now, if I can get home without getting pulled over...that would be something. But I know my luck. It's 11 now...I'm leaving in about 45 minutes. I plan to let you all know how the rest of the day goes...so if I don't post later today, it means I'm either in jail for punching out a clerk, or for driving without a license. Cross your fingers for me...not that it will do any good.