I had to appear in court. A month or so ago, I got my first ever speeding ticket. All I can say is that I just wasn't paying attention at the time, but I suddenly had a fear of points and a raise in my insurance costs.
So, I went to court. That turned out to be a debacle in itself. According to the map site, I should have been able to make it there in forty five minutes. Considering the rain and the morning rush hour traffic, I left the house two hours before my scheduled time. Ask me how long it took to get there, a distance that would have taken three quarters of an hour in normal conditions. Don't worry, I'll tell you. Two and a half hours. An hour and a half of that was sitting in the traffic heading towards the Wilson Bridge. It didn't help that there was no sign for the courthouse, or directing people where to park, from the main road that shared it's name with the courthouse address.
Seriously, if you're going to 123 Main Street, wouldn't you expect some sign when you arrived that you were actually there? If you were going to 123 Main Street, wouldn't you expect there to be some direction that tells you where you can access the building if it wasn't actually accessible from Main Street. Virginia is a cruel and twisted place.
As it turned out, the judge didn't arrive until about 1000, so even though I was supposed to be there at 0900 and was late, it didn't matter. It further didn't matter because my name didn't get called until about noon. And it further further didn't matter because this court doesn't deal with points at all. If I had known that, I would have paid the fine and not bothered. The ordeal was not worth the $20 it saved me in fines.
Don't get me wrong, I am not afraid to accept responsibility when I did actually do something I should not have been doing. I can't contest the charge, but it was a one-time lapse. Which is why I was hoping they would be nice to me for it. I've been very careful to make sure it hasn't happened again- and it hasn't.
There are better ways to spend a day.
My mother and I both had off of work today. I was originally hoping to have an appointment, but that didn't work out. We decided to get some things done instead.
My vehicle registration was up for renewal, and this was a good time to get my mother's name off the title of my car. This was another fiasco. Apparently, the documents from the loan company that were covered in big bold "PAID" stamps and sentences reading "there is no lien on your car" were not enough to prove to the DMV that there was no lien on my car. We had to call the loan company (the loan, in my mother's name but paid by me, having been paid off for a year) and have them fax a letter to the DMV stating that there was no lien on my car. That took an hour, so we hopped over to the mall to cancel a charge card and do a little bit of shopping, then dropped off some winter coats for dry cleaning, and back to the long last-Friday-of-the-month lines at the DMV. Thankfully, the fax did come through and everything is back to neat.
Incidentally, my ticket from yesterday was a cheaper fee than the registration renewal and transferring of title. But I have spiffy new plates that require a nominal annual fee that will go to the Chesapeake Bay Trust. How cool is that?
The people at work were jealous of my two days off. I told them they could have them both, I'd rather not have to do any of it. Depending on what the rain does, tomorrow might actually be restful. For a time.
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