Traffic Court

The last 72 hours have been confusing, draining, and life altering. The reality of where I'm at has just about hit me full-force. I say 'just about' because the next few weeks will probably be even more challenging. At some point I'm sure I will come face to face with the true mess and brokenness of my life. Not that i'm not aware of it but I know there's so much more bottoming out to do before I can begin the real healing process.

On another note let's talk about my day yesterday. About a month ago I had gotten 5 tickets within a 7-day span. 3 of the 5 happened in Scotch Plains and all at the same time. I got pulled over for careless driving (it was a two-lane merge and I passed a car on the left to get ahead of him and I got pulled over for it), my taillight was out, and I also had an expired insurance card on me (which was only expired 3 days - i had just forgotten to put the new one in). So 3 tickets. Careless driving in NJ is 2 points and I have a clean driving record. If I went to court they would take off the points and just give me a bigger fine. Yesterday was my court date - 12 noon. I get online to check in and it's a LONG line. I end up getting stuck behind this woman from New York who won't SHUT UP. She's telling me all about her life, cops in New York, how I need to fight my ticket, etc. On, and on, and on for almost a half-hour before we got into the courtroom. We get in the courtroom and I sit there for 2 1/2 hours watching some of the dumbest people go in front of the judge. It really is a simple process and it's amazing how many people can't figure it out. Finally they call my name. Now, in my old town and the towns around me if you fought a ticket it was taken care of the same day you went to court. Well, I found out that after 2 1/2 hours Scotch Plains doesn't work like that. I had to plead not guilty to the careless driving and I have to go back NEXT WEEK to talk to the prosecutor to have the points dropped which means another 2 hours in the courtroom. And let me tell you how many traffic violations there were. Scotch Plains police have nothing better to do because there crime rate is so low. There was actually a woman who had a ticket for a loud muffler. Honestly - that's just crazy!

Have I mentioned how much I miss St. John?! In case I haven't it's almost like a bad case of homesickness.

I think I might have a stomach bug. The stomach's not feeling so hot today. Oh well - I'll survive. At least the weather is GORGEOUS. It's supposed to be warm and sunny the next 3 days so i'm pretty excited!