WTF???

I GOT FREAKING ARRESTED THIS PAST SATURDAY!!!

So...I was driving down Franklin Road just passing The Factory on my way to the Bunganut Pig on a date with my beautiful girlfriend.  We were both starving.  I wasn't exactly paying attention to my speed, and APPARENTLY, the speed limit through there is only 30 mph.  Now, if you're not paying attention to your speed, there's NO WAY that you're going 30 or under.  So there was a Franklin Police officer sitting at the light at Liberty Pike and I didn't see him (because I wasn't paying attention).  He pulled me over, which sucked b/c I didn't need a speeding ticket.  Apparently I was going 45 though there.  He was nice though and told me how I could change my address on my driver's license online so I wouldn't have to go sit in the DMV for like 3 hours.  Then he returned to his car to write the ticket.

Upon his arrival back at my car window, he asked me to step out of the car.  Confused, I get out.  He says that my license is suspended (news to me).  He tells me to put my hands on the back of the car and asks if I have anything on me that he should know about. 

At this point it is clear...I AM FREAKING GETTING ARRESTED!

The "back-up" that was there, a fellow officer, told him that to go ahead and cuff me.  He put me in cuffs then pulled the pocket knife out of my pocket (that I told him about when he asked) and put me in his car.

Although, I realize that they're not designed with comfort in mind...handcuffs are REALLY uncomfortable.  They hurt.  Especially sitting in a cramped back seat with them behind your back.

So, Ashley gets to drive my car home (that was good, otherwise they would have towed it and I would have had to pay to get it back).  They take me to the "station" and book me in.  I get the whole nine yards.  I get put in a holding cell (there was no one else in there so for all of you wondering....NO...I didn't get rapped).  I get mug shots and finger printed too.  I get my phone call and so I call Ashley since she was there.  She comes and has to bail me out.  Bond for driving on a suspended license is $500.  That sucks, but I did learn how bondsmen work.  Ashley called Grumpy's Bail Bonds and they came and got me out.  You only pay 10% of your bond plus a $37 state tax of some sort.  So it cost me $87 to get out of jail.  I thought that a bondsman pretty much gave you a loan for your bond and you have to pay it all back.  Apparently though, they have some deal worked out with the state where the 10%+tax is all you have to pay.  In return for the discount, the state puts responsibility on the bond company if the accused doesn't show up for their court date.  If you show up for you court date, you don't owe the bondsman anything else at all.  If you dont' show up though, you DO have to pay all $500 back to the bondsman.

So basically, the state sucks, because they failed to inform me that there was something outstanding on a ticket from like a year and a half ago.  I got a ticket for expired tags and I also couldn't find my proof of insurance at the time (I had insurance...just couldn't find the proof in my glovebox when I got the ticket).  Then...dumb me forgets to go to court for that.  They suspend my license (but send me a letter about it).  So I go to Nashville, pay the fines and a reinstatement fee, get a letter of reinstatement.  Go to the DMV and get a new license.  Fast-forward a year and a half and all this junk happens.  WTF??  Apparently, I paid but never actually showed proof of insurance (I specifically asked the lady when I went to pay if there was ANYTHING else I needed to do....she said no) and they suspended it...again...but without telling me about it this time.

I had to get rides everywere for 3 days until Wednesday, Ashley took me to pay the reinstatement fee (again) and I went to the DMV to get a new license (again).

Now I'm driving and happy again but I'm out like $240 so far and haven't even been to court.  Supposedly, they will....

[edit - continuation]

So I got distracted at work and had to stop mid sentence.

Supposedly, they will dismiss the charge for driving on a suspended license when I show up to court with my shiney new license and prove that I've taken care of everything.  This is very good to know, but I'm still out the $240 plus whatever I have to pay for the speeding ticket part.

This makes me sad.  Very sad.  I thought I was going to be able to start saving for Christmas presents and for the iPod that I've wanted for so long.  Now, instead, I'm totally broke until next tuesday the 15th.  Oh well though, what can you do?

'Cause Roxie told me to.

Umm....well, I moved into my new apartment about 2 weeks ago.  Its awesome.  Its in Alara Cool Springs in well, Cool Springs.  The drive to work is AMAZING.  Fifteen minutes TOPS instead of my previous 45 minutes.  Oh..and gas....short drives are incredible regarding that.  I've driven for two weeks on ONE tank.  I used to use a tank about ever 4 days.

Having my own place is liberating too.  Not that I'm a partier by any means.  It was just driving me crazy being 21 years old and living with my parents.  We got along fine and all.  I just felt way to old to be there.  Like I was that nerdy guy who's 40 and still lives with his folks.

Another BIG thing in my life...Ashley, my wonderful, HOTTIE-FINE girlfriend, and I just celebrated our 3 year aniversary.  THREE YEARS!  For all you technical people out there...like me...we've had a few break ups but we always were drawn back together and we just don't count it now.  Its awesome....and weird at the same time.  My previous longest relationship was like 6 or 8 months.  Craziness...but awesomeness too.

All for now....

Holla back

Currently Listening X&Y By Coldplay see related

Before the Coldplay show....

Friday night I got to see isHesafe and The Verge play at the French Quarter Cafe.  Check out their myspaces.

isHesafe

The Verge

Both are great.  isHesafe is harder and more catchy and trendy.  The Verge is a group of 6 AMAZING musicians all together in one band.  All six could melt your face off by themselves.  Listen to the lead guitar on their songs.  Matt can outplay anyone I've ever met...including Rex...for those of you that go to TSC.  Rex might know more about music, but Matt can play faster...a lot faster. 

Here's another (crappy) pic.  This is The Verge playing.  How many bands these days have to keys players and only one guitar????

COLDPLAY ROCKED!!!

Camera phones need to all be better quality and have a zoom.    Here are some pics.  You can't see much, but hey...what can you do?

The released a bunch of really big yellow balloons with yellow confetti inside during the song "Yellow."

It was an awesome show.

Ok, random entry here we come....

Upcoming shows I want to and/or intend to see within the next month:

• 9/15   Wichita stallions        8:00pm   Exit/In   Their Myspace
• 9/17   Blue Merle                9:00pm   Exit/In  Their Myspace 
• 9/18   Coldplay                   7:00pm   Starwood Amphitheatre  Their Myspace 
• 9/21   Jump Little Children  8:00pm   Exit/In  Thier Site
• 9/22   Son Volt                   8:00pm   City Hall  Their Myspace
• 9/29   Matisyahu                 8:00pm   Exit/In  His Mysapce 

Call me if you wanna see any of these with me.  I like having other people to go with.

So I haven't been running or done any kind of physical activity in like a month or month and a half and I went running on Tuesday and ran 7 miles.  Can I just say that you shouldn't do that.  Build up to that kind of distance.  Actually, I didn't/don't hurt as bad as I expected.  After about the first 3 miles, your body gets used to it and I was just cruising for the last 4 miles.  It was good times.  I had my hydration pack on with some Cliff Bar® energy bars in there b/c I went running before I ate dinner so I figured I might need the fuel.  I had my tunes cranking and was just cruising along.

I NEED an iPod.  Seriously.  I ran 7 miles holding my cd player because it wouldn't stop skipping in my pack.  Not to mention it was the ONLY reason I stopped running the whole time.  I had to stop to change cd's.  I easily have over 250 cd's and lugging them around gets old (not that I did this while running....I took 3).  As much as I like music, you think I'd buck up and get me one of those little white jukeboxes.  The main problem is that my personal computer at home is running Windows '98 and iTunes will not operate on 98.  I need a new computer first.  I could run it from work b/c I have 9 gigs worth of music on my iTunes there but I don't want to put ALL of my music on there.  I can't actually.  There's so much useless crap saved on my work computer that the 40 gig hard drive is almost full.  I'm scared to delete it though.  In January, I will have been here a year, so I'm going to go through and erase everything that I've never used.  If I haven't used it in a year...it doesn't need to be save on here.  We also recently got a server.  Maybe I'll start dumping stuff on it.

Too bad our server is protected so well.  I thought about trying to host a webpage from it.  I don't think its possible though.  Its all screwy.  Its a Microsoft Exchange server.  They're weird.  It only alows for 16 gigs worth of email storage.  That sounds like a lot, but all these paranoid business people keep everything.  We didn't have email for two days because the exchange (email) file was WAY over the 16 gigs.  Too bad people are dumb and don't realize that if you simply archive your old stuff, it takes it off the exchange memory and moves it to the regular hard drive on the server...yet you can still access it from Outlook and view it in the reading pane and everything.  Ahh well.  I'll just keep my computer running smoothly and my iTunes jamming while all these computer illiterate business people with DEGREES keep having problems.

For crying out loud, everyone learn some basic computer maintainence.  Run disk cleanup (start>programs>accessories>system tools>disk cleanup) and disk defragmenter (start>programs>accessories>system tools>disk defragmenter) AT LEAST once a month.  Get a decent anti-spyware program.  I recomend Microsoft's Antispyware Beta.  Get it from microsoft.com. Finally, turn off all that junk that automatically runs when you start up your computer.  If you don't use AIM 100% of the time....don't let it run on start up.  Go to Start>Run>type 'MSCONFIG'>click the startup tab>uncheck everything that you can figure out what it is and that doesn't need to be running all the time.  Leave your antispyware and antivirus programs running, along with anything else that you KNOW you want to run all the time.  Next, click the Services tab, then check the box towards the bottom that says "Hide all Microsoft Services" and look at what remains.  Again, excluding any antispyware or antivirus programs, uncheck anything that you know what it means and you know you don't need.  Like Microsoft Office, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, iTunes, Quicktime player or anything else that you don't need to run until you get ready to use it.  All of those will still work when you click the icon on your desktop or open it from the start menu.

A few steps and your computer will run much faster and better.

On to more randomness...

I saw this driving down the interestate.  It was hard to get a picture...as you can tel...driving 85 holding the camera out the window.

That's a 1970 Mustang Boss 302 restored to prestine condition.  It was sweet.

Hmm...I think I'm done now.