emotionally drained

hey all...i'm just so emotionally drained from today. when will life be "normal"?

i had a busy day scheduled. a political meeting at 9:00, cpr training with my grandmother at 10:00 and going to karate, either the day class or early in the evening - depending on what happened.

i guess there's just some things that aren't meant to happen, you know? well, i had successfully met and signed the papers and had gotten the mail from the post office by 9:30, just in time to run home to pick t up and go to my grandmother's house for the class.

on the way back, i noticed a police car. now, i usually take note of them and didn't really think anything about it, but just watched my speed extra careful. i see they are turning left and i was going right. well, i look behind me and see they had made a right hand turn instead of going left. that's weird, i thought. well, they get right up behind me and follow me a ways. i'm trying to figure out what's happening, but there are no sirens or lights.

before too long, the sirens come on. i slow down to 30 mph, to let him know i don't plan on getting away and immediately call my mom, as my grandfather was a state trooper for years who told mom to go to a public place before pulling over, and as a female i do fear for my safety. i let her know he's pulling me over, i don't know why, but i told her where i was planning on going, to wendy's. in the meantime, the officer walks up to the car and commands me to get off the phone. i was talking to mom, and she heard his tone. i was like, "mom, i've got to go...i'm at wendy's." he then informs me that i could be arrested for "obstruction of justice" because i didn't pull over. he said he could charge me with "fleeing" from him! ha, yeah, in a mustang i'm going to flee from him at 30 mph in a 45 mph zone in the slow lane behind a dump truck! looking back at it now, if i was wanting to flee, i could've even gotten on the interstate and easily left him in the dust...but did they see that? nope!

he says my tag is expired and he needs my license and registration and all that stuff - well, he demands it. i tell him it's my mother's car, and i don't handle that type of stuff. but i go through the glove box and find enough to satisfy his demands. before another demand comes out, "give me your car keys!" by this point, i was shaking and in tears. i looked in my rear-view mirror and saw two other cop cars, sirens blasting pull up behind his car. what am i now, a common criminal? i do my best to follow the laws, the speed limits, everything only to have some punk pull me over and humiliate me.

he comes back up, and once again says i was fleeing from an officer, but he was only going to give me a citation for the expired tag...what am i supposed to do - get down on my knees and thank this guy? i asked, "there's no warning, nothing?" "no warning. just this citation." ok, this is my first time to be pulled over. i, personally, have done nothing wrong, in my mother's car, and i get the ticket on my record?

he stuck it in my face and said, "i need you to sign here." second lesson, through politics i was taught to never sign something you didn't read and aren't fully aware of what you're signing. i tell him i'm not thinking straight and asked, "can i have a parent come look at this before i sign it?"

"no. you're 20 years old!" he practically shouts.

"ok, so what if i don't sign?"

"well, in that case, i could arrest you!"

i'm ready to have this ranting man out of my face, so i just sign the thing after skimming over it. i then have to pull over complete out of traffic to regain my composure. thankfully, mom and dad had come there and were so encouraging and gave me hugs as i cried. then, my dad and i went down to the police department. what's sad, is his supervisor was in the car with him and was listening by microphone. said he was a little "excited" because i was fleeing and he didn't know what he was dealing with - drugs, stolen car, etc. ok, so then why didn't he soften when he realized i didn't have a record...period?

this lady supervisor was good at "spinning" things to cover. i guess i'm just another number, another "could be" criminal - and i must be treated as such.

turns out, the tag office forgot to send us a notice. thing is, through politics i think i know just about every judge in the county...except this one! thankfully, we did get a letter from the tax commissioner saying his office was to blame and the failed to send the notice.

ok, guys, i think i'm done ranting now...it's just been a hard two months and this on top of it just seems makes the lava come out of an already-boiling volcano. hopefully, it's out of my system now and i can go grab a book and relax before i get another stress headache....