what's new, and what's old
as some of you (alanna) may have noticed, i haven't been around much lately. shortly after christmas, my computer shorted out, pretty much for good this time. the power supply is basically toast. i might be able to scrounge a new(er) one off peppy at some point, but who knows how long that'll last. it's not the only thing wrong with my computer.
but right now, i'm broke and can't afford a new one. so i'm stuck using the family computer. that means that i can't get half my mail, don't have most of my bookmarks, and up until yesterday couldn't even check da in a reasonable manner. it also means that other people use it, which means i get kicked off from time to time. so if you want to get a hold of me, a more reliable means would be my cell phone.
the continuing saga of the traffic violation nightmare
back in august i got in an accident. i backed into someone in a parking lot. this kind of thing happens from time to time. well, i got a ticked for it. i think mostly because the cops didn't like that we had to call them three times to get them to come out for something so stupid. but hey, we didn't like waiting three hours for them to show, either.
well, i paid my ticket within the 30 days i had. and i elected to go to traffic school. a little more expensive, but no points on the insurance. so within the 90 days after that, i did the video-rental take-home deal. all well and good, even if it did do it towards the end of the period i had.
well, a few weeks ago they sent me a notice saying my licence was going to be revoked. so i go down to the courthouse, wait two hours in line, and find out that they didn't get my certificate of completion for traffic school. which is funny, because the notice said that i hadn't paid, and the traffic school said they'd send it automatically. so i call up the traffic school. they got the certificate sent back, marked "invalid ticket number." i read them the number on my ticket, and it matches what they have. so i get them to send me a copy in the mail, and resend the thing electronically too.
i try calling the courthouse to find out if they got the electronic version. but there's no way to actually get a person -- only a menu system that again tells me that i have the wrong ticket number. then it dawns on me: apparently i left out a digit, at the end. the "check digit." i don't think they even had a space for that in the traffic school web-form. so i wait until i get the certificate in the mail, and go down to the courthouse again today. and wait in line two hours. i show the lady what happened, and she types some stuff in, and gives me a reciept saying the warning was issued in error. my licence won't be suspended, and i don't have to pay anything. so i go home.
now, the warning they sent me says that when i fulfill the requirements of the court (ie: pay them, including the late fee), i have to take the reciept of fulfillment to the dmv and get them to do something or other. do i still have to do that, if it was the court's error? i wasn't late, and i didn't do anything to fulfill anything with the court other than show them my certificate and convince a real human being that i really did it. i guess i should go down to the dmv anyways -- making an appointment for three months from now.
why do they make this so complicated?
but right now, i'm broke and can't afford a new one. so i'm stuck using the family computer. that means that i can't get half my mail, don't have most of my bookmarks, and up until yesterday couldn't even check da in a reasonable manner. it also means that other people use it, which means i get kicked off from time to time. so if you want to get a hold of me, a more reliable means would be my cell phone.
the continuing saga of the traffic violation nightmare
back in august i got in an accident. i backed into someone in a parking lot. this kind of thing happens from time to time. well, i got a ticked for it. i think mostly because the cops didn't like that we had to call them three times to get them to come out for something so stupid. but hey, we didn't like waiting three hours for them to show, either.
well, i paid my ticket within the 30 days i had. and i elected to go to traffic school. a little more expensive, but no points on the insurance. so within the 90 days after that, i did the video-rental take-home deal. all well and good, even if it did do it towards the end of the period i had.
well, a few weeks ago they sent me a notice saying my licence was going to be revoked. so i go down to the courthouse, wait two hours in line, and find out that they didn't get my certificate of completion for traffic school. which is funny, because the notice said that i hadn't paid, and the traffic school said they'd send it automatically. so i call up the traffic school. they got the certificate sent back, marked "invalid ticket number." i read them the number on my ticket, and it matches what they have. so i get them to send me a copy in the mail, and resend the thing electronically too.
i try calling the courthouse to find out if they got the electronic version. but there's no way to actually get a person -- only a menu system that again tells me that i have the wrong ticket number. then it dawns on me: apparently i left out a digit, at the end. the "check digit." i don't think they even had a space for that in the traffic school web-form. so i wait until i get the certificate in the mail, and go down to the courthouse again today. and wait in line two hours. i show the lady what happened, and she types some stuff in, and gives me a reciept saying the warning was issued in error. my licence won't be suspended, and i don't have to pay anything. so i go home.
now, the warning they sent me says that when i fulfill the requirements of the court (ie: pay them, including the late fee), i have to take the reciept of fulfillment to the dmv and get them to do something or other. do i still have to do that, if it was the court's error? i wasn't late, and i didn't do anything to fulfill anything with the court other than show them my certificate and convince a real human being that i really did it. i guess i should go down to the dmv anyways -- making an appointment for three months from now.
why do they make this so complicated?