Servicing my Community Part II

  So part of my DWI dos punishments require community service at the jail.

I am a very polite person, direct but, always pleasant.  So here I go, my best friend Red took me allll the way there and promised to pick me up.  She dropped me off and told me to wave in the window if I was in the right place.

I walk in the building...the first and second window were closed but I turned the corner and could see a person standing in the third window, even with the lights out and the shades down.  Nothing gets past this girl.

I yell a couple times into the microphone ("Hello!?  I'm here for community service."), completely ignoring the guys in the waiting room that said I need to go to the fourth window (that's across the way).  Sure enough, the guy behind the third window tells me to go to the fourth window.

So here I go..  "Umm, Hi, I'm here to do community service." <Smiling as big as I can the whole time to let them know I'm not a threatening criminal>

The girl behind #4 smiles but the guy grumbles, "Yeah well you're going to have to wait a minute."

No problem, I text Red to tell her that I'm in the right place but I'm just about to have a panic attack.  She scared the pee out of me the other day so, looking back, I don't feel bad.

Finally the peeps behind the fourth window ask for my papers and ID, I give them both and ask them if I'm in the right place.  They tell me I am and direct me into the first door.  A nice lady follows behind me.  I get nervous by the door slamming behind us and ask her what's going to happen next.  "Oh the first door has to lock then they'll open the next one."  We seem to be in a 4x4 cage so I start yanking on the door to open it.  Finally the latches release and we're free, she tells me to take a left.

"OK!  Thanks!" :D  -Naive Mego says

I take the left but there isn't a group of people to join so I look back with question marks in my eyes...

"DAY SERVICE TO THE RIGHT."- Random man yells.  I go to follow him, he gives me a crazy look like 'WTF do you think you're doing?!'

"Do I come with you?," I ask timidly.
"NO."-RG

So I turned back around in the concrete maze and walked towards the desk.

The girl working is about my age and I tell her I'm here to do community service.

"Take off your jacket." -Deputy Blah  (OMG I'm getting strip searched)
"Sorry, this is my first time here, I'm kind of freaking out, I don't know what I'm supposed to do just yet."- Mego turned complete pushover  (I'm not getting naked, I will MOVE TO MEXICO so this can blow over)

"I need your purse, your bracelets, and your phone...do you have any weapons?" DB
"Well no, do you want my hair tie too?"-Me in a puddle version
"Does it have metal in it?"-DB
"Well no ma'am?"-M  (I even stretched it out so she could see that it didn't)
I asked her if I could text Red so she knew I was in the right place and she wouldn't wait one me.
"What do you mean?!"-DB
"Well I told her I would let her know if I was in the right spot, she wanted me to wave at her in the window but...you know what, nevermind, hopefully she won't sit out there for eight hours."-Fully freaking out Mego

She still acted skeptical.  Then she felt me up like they did after 9/11 to check for bombs in my bra.  (How have sexual harassment trials not come up from that?)

"Put this on."-DB (It's an ugly dirt orange scrub top that has definitely seen better days)

"Alright well I think I broke my toe so you're going to have to bear with me today."-DB
("What in the world does this have to do with me?  We won't have to run as much?  I didn't know I was going to be running.")
"Oh yikes, that hurts, not much you can do besides buddy tape it though"-Confused but Relieved to dodge a strip search Mego.

She took me to a stock room for inmates, the scrubs they wear and the items they're allowed to have while they're in lockup.  "Organize this" <she waves her hand at the scrubs> "They look terrible"-DB

"Well alright"-Me, thoroughly relieved this isn't a surprise strip search tactic.

I get set at organizing the scrubs, they have orange and black/grey, I started with the black/grey scrubs, refolding everything so it looks nice and is in the place the faded labels deem appropriate.

Soon after a blonde girl joins me, "So what are we doing?"-BG
 "I'm not sure, I'm just reorganizing the scrubs."-Me
She's talking so loud that it makes me nervous that we're going to get in trouble for talking.  She asked me how many times I had done this..."None" (obviously, hello!)

She started sorting out the orange scrubs, not quite as attentive as I was but I'm not the supervisor and it's not my problem today.

We get that done and ask what we should do next.

"Just sit tight and wait."-Older DB says

So we sit, and she tells me she's been in trouble for all sorts of things, including: theft, shoplifting and battery.  She knows all the people that work in the office because she's been there so often.  It's surprising how much you can curse and not get in any trouble.

She also tells me that she wants to go to school to be in Criminal Justice or to be a Doctor.

Not to be judgmental but...I don't think she could ever be a doctor.  I mean, I've searched everything it takes and all of those crimes do not a doctor make.  Call me crazy.

So we were sitting far too long and we fell asleep.  She told me we could sleep all day but I didn't believe her.  I sat in my chair for an hour and finally succumbed to my two hours asleep the night before.

I was only asleep for a few minutes.

I snore a lot so I woke myself up with that.  (Thanks, Pops)

Seriously though, the officer came to see how we were doing and he told the lady officer (ODB) that "it's pretty bad when your inmates go to sleep." -I was awake for all of this. I nudged my bud so she would wake up to talk to the officer that was curious about why she was there that particular day.

It took a few nudges but she never cared.  She woke up and told the officer why she was there.

We sat there for a few minutes and they pulled in all of these new inmates...my fellow community service companion knew some of them.

She asked one guy why he was there, he said, "Don't matter, I'll be out by Monday."

All of a sudden, the officers start screaming at him to quit talking...then they direct their fury into our room:
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP. YOU TWO DON'T SPEAK.  I'VE WARNED YOU TWO!"

-I am terrified that this time I've spent in Hell is in vain.  I didn't talk to the villains!  I don't understand why I'm being lumped in with my terrifying community service buddy.

No fair!

That's typical though, they have terrible peeps come through and I'm a relief.  ...But, I asked to go to the bathroom and Officer Blah said "uh, Suck Ass, you can wait."

Pretty sure every person in the world would be happy with polite manners but she wasn't having it.

So...when I was cleaning the inmate's bathroom, I should wash the sink, then the toilet with one towel.  My bud in service should wash the shower.  For some reason that seems nastier.

We then moved to the officer's bathroom...I may have used that tiny piss towel from the inmate's bathroom to wipe down every area your "god hands" could imagine touching.

I was so polite but yet you all decided to treat me like I was scum...I hope you chew your nails.

Perhaps that's the lesson for today is...treat everyone with respect

Servicing my Community

So I guess a bit of back story would be necessary so that this next entry would make sense. 

I had a bit of a problem with drinking when I got fired from my job.  Maybe "bit" is a bit of an understatement...I drank a lot. 

I am currently suffering the consequences. 

I would show up late for my beloved job and I didn't understand why they didn't like it.  I still stand by the fact that I was really good at my job; I was knowledgeable, understanding and able to do more than my job title required.  Honestly, I didn't mind because, I really liked it.  I felt like it was preparing me for something bigger.

Then they got fed up with me being unreliable and I got the boot.  I was bitter for a long time but now I understand their point.  

I don't think I would have gotten to this point had I not had my downfall. 

So after the boot, I got DWI numero dos.  Yikes.  I cried all day on my 24th birthday because, of course, that was just on the heels of all my other troubles.  Seriously though, I don't want you to feel sorry for me.

It took a great deal of humbling and a few kicks in the pants BUT, I think I'm on the right track. 

I'm in a supervisor position now and I know what trouble it makes when I can't rely on people to show up on time or at all.  I can honestly say that I never understood the repercussions of my actions.  It makes me feel like a fool but sometimes it takes people a bit longer to learn the simple lessons. 

It's been just over a year now since I got fired and I can honestly say that I'm in a much better place now.  I've grown up and taken responsibility for myself.  I'm not completely independent but I'm working on it. 

Sometimes it takes time to sort the shit out but, it will happen eventually.

-

The Three R's Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

That never made sense to me.

One of my friends got fired last week, I guess it's not a good year for second chances.  He was talking about how much he's been able to do now that he's not working and it made me so jealous because I remember how great the first few weeks of my unemployment were.

I'm not saying that we should all quit our jobs but I do think vacations should be more frequent.  My previous job never let me take PTO and I think that's why the freedom was so nice.  My current schedule is really nice, I work three days and two evenings and they don't get pissy when I ask for time off, they just accommodate my requests :)

I want to be more productive with my time so I will begin to make an effort to do so.  Perhaps I'll make some furniture so that I can have seats and solid surfaces in my future apartment.  I've been studying "Scrap wood furniture" and I think I can do it.

Mastering the Sonic Boom

I like to call my bike the Sonic Boom because it sounds intimidating and it definitely was until I was forced to learn to ride it.

I live with my mom right now, less than 2 miles from my job, so sometimes I have to ride my bike to work.  I can almost always find a ride but it's kind of nice to be able to go places according to your own schedule.  Autonomy is a luxury that I have taken for granted for a looong time.

It only takes me about 20 minutes to get to work including all of my dismounts due to busy intersections.  I love my bike though!  My goal is to lose 100lbs before 2012. Rawr.



Today I was approached by the HR guy at work.  "Why don't you want the CSM position?"  CSM is Customer Service Manager, basically a Head Cashier.  So I told him that nobody had asked me about it, and does he really think I would pass on a promotion?

Now I've been unofficially offered two promotions and I guess I'm just going to wait to see which one comes through first.  Also, I got my 90 day review and I "exceed expectations" but really, who's surprised?  Well, perhaps my former employer is...maybe I'll send it to them and they'll consider having me back ;)

I got a job but I don't want it.

That's not true.  It's a good job, they pay me fair wages and my bosses just love me.  (Typical)  I got the job at "Retail Shed" and I've been there about two months now.  They're trying to promote me to the Deli but we have to wait on the suits at Corporate to approve it.  It's nice when your boss says, "we need somebody that we can rely on over there." 

This brings me to my next point, I applied to go back to Baptist.  I spoke to the nice ladies in HR about it and they said I should apply.  Evidently everybody is leaving so maybe a combination of desperation plus me proving I'm responsible will make them decide to have me back.  I miss making a difference at work.  (Got some wine with that cheese?)  Seriously though, I love it.

By the way, I got the job the same week my Unemployment was supposed to be approved/denied.  I guess I'll have to live off the government in my Senior years.  :/

I really miss my little blog.  I'm going to start trying to write at least once a week, it would help if I had a charger for my MacBook but soon, I will.

I'm going to DC in October for Halloween, me and C are going to be Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter.  I can't wait.

Also, have you seen the preview for One Day?  I love Anne Hathaway but I can already tell her British accent is worse than my Redneck/French accent and she gets paid for that.  Yikes.

I wrote a movie review once.

I can’t stop thinking about the movie Into The Wild and it’s sort of driving me crazy. I tell everyone about it...look, you really need to see this movie. He had dreams and ideas that didn’t conform to those of the people around him. He wanted a life that some people live, but not usually by choice. Furthermore, most of us could never be selfless enough to live that life. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m one of those types, I can’t imagine saving, oh say, $24,500.63, just to give it all away to charity. I don’t foresee being in that situation though.

Anyways, I’m going off track. As far as I’m concerned, the movie was very well made, and, as an added bonus, features a complete soundtrack by Eddie Vedder. That’s enough in itself to qualify as a good movie. As we all know (from many long hours locked in a depressing classroom), the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra! The little extra for this movie is the lessons learned and the mystery of this man, Christopher McCandless, whose story has made so many people stop and think. I think that his fatal flaw was his drastic underestimation of nature. Maybe he was looking too much at the beauty of nature and not thinking about how violent it really is. People in Alaska think it’s ridiculous that somebody could die of starvation in the middle of summer 20 miles away from the highway. (I read that somewhere, and I’m almost certain i’ve paraphrased it all wrong, but you get the idea) Nobody really knows what happened to him or what he was thinking, but we are a society that loves to speculate.

The bottom line: he went for it. He lived his life the way that he wanted and that’s very respectable. I think it’s very important for people to live without worry of how people would judge. Dream big and go for it; even if it kills you, you will, at the very least, have died living your dream.

Bigger is Better.

So I lost my job and now I've lost my apartment.  Luckily, my sister is taking me in...again.  Thanks sis!

When I made the big switch from Elementary school to Middle school I had to make a choice between Physical Education (PE), Choir, or Band.  I pictured PE as an hour long sprint that would no doubt leave me sweaty for the rest of the day so it was quickly dismissed.  Choir seemed pointless because I had already logged hundreds of hours in front of my mirror singing with my headphones on...no teacher could teach me to be a better singer I was sure.  Band seemed like a great choice, my parents didn't force me into piano lessons as a child so this was an opportunity to be able to say, "Yeah, I play _____, no big deal."

 So before 6th grade started we had to go to the big metal building that was used as the band room and select our instrument.  I had already decided I wanted to play drums because my Dad bought me a set for Christmas one year and I had yet to teach myself how to play them.  (Even with the Metallica book I had begged him to buy me.)  Unfortunately, all the boys with brothers in band had snapped up the four spots before I got there.  Then I was ushered into the flute room.  This just pissed me off, why would they think I was ok with playing the flute instead of the drums??  No, surely there would be something that would suffice my need to play the coolest instrument in the band.  American by birth, I firmly believe BIGGER is BETTER!  So, I chose the largest instrument available...the baritone.  The baritone is the little brother of the Tuba, I was promised that I would move up to the tuba in 7th grade band.  So I was happy, I wasn't playing the drums but I had a huge horn and I was excited for the year to start so I could learn how to play it.

I got to take my baritone home that night and I was ready on the First Day to get it back into the band room so my parent's tax dollars could pay for my lessons.  The bus pulled up and I grabbed my horn, ready to board.  WHAM!  It wouldn't fit through the door so I had to turn it on it's side.  I climb up the stairs and quickly search for a seat.  I would need a completely vacant one because my horn and I wouldn't leave much room for another body.  Mine was the last stop on the route to school so there were no empty seats and the seat with the most room was located at the center of the bus.  Whack, Whack, Whack, Whack, Whack, Whack!  My horn smacked against every seat on the way.  Getting off the bus was just as bad except the person in front of me was the only one who got hit.  By the time first period was over I was sick of lugging it around.  It would be another month before we were allowed to keep one at home then use another at school.  Luckily, my sister got a car about a week into the school year so the students on the bus only had to deal with the baritone assault for a few days.

The year went by smoothly and I excelled in band.  I believe I only sat in the Second Chair once, I was the only girl in my class but I got along with the boys alright. 

Band camp was mandatory to make the move to 7th grade band and I was ready.  It would be my first time on a college campus and I couldn't wait to see where the "College Kids" lived. 

I was horrified.  The rooms were filthy...communal showers?!?  Also, the school was built with tons of different buildings to accommodate classrooms instead of one big building.  I was way out of my element.  I hadn't planned to carry that awful baritone around a college campus.  It was in the middle of the summer so it was about 100 degrees and 100% humidity.  I spent the whole week of band camp drenched in sweat and angry about carrying that instrument.  I didn't return to band in 7th grade and I learned that Bigger is certainly NOT Better.