Friday, February 28, 2014
"Rough" day in Crime
Everyday is different for me. Some days I'm choosing a jury and presenting a case to the "people" I'm supposed to be speaking for. Other days are more mundane: filing papers, returning phone calls, meetings with law enforcement. Today, was one of the most stressful, depressing, rewarding days that I can remember. I worked from 8am to 5:30 pm without a lunch break. A lot of that was just waiting. A lot of that was small talk with the family of the 12 year old I mentioned before.
I lost today. Not a trial, but the motion I filed with the court on behalf of my child victim. I lost, but it didn't feel like a loss.
Sometimes, the most important thing I can do is let the "victim" know that I'm still here. That he's not in this alone. Let the perpetrator know that I'm still here. He can't continue to do what he wants without consequences. That I will speak when others can't. That - win or lose- he'll have to answer for his actions.
Today I got to sit across the table from one of the smartest, most optimistic, well-rounded children (not just victims of crime, but all children) I have ever known. Today I demonstrated to him that I care for him and what happens in his life. Today he learned that the courts will listen and treat him like a human being even when there is nothing they can actually do. I have never been prouder to lose.
* Many people prefer the term "survivor." All victims are targeted by other individuals, and all choose their own destinies after that happens. I continue to use victim in quotation marks to highlight the distinction.
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Art of the Autograph
Monday, October 4, 2010
I've created a new subculture. It shall be called... PUNK NERD.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Blast from the past
At my current job, I have a client who was wrongfully garnished by a hospital. I have been working for - literally - months to get this money returned to my client. I have opened an internal case file with the hospital, escalated that case file, and waited the required amount of time. I have talked to their collections, finance, accounts payable, customer service, and legal departments. I have spoken with various other people and everyone transfers me to someone else. It's been a nightmare.
I thought to myself "I think I've talked to every person who works for this hospital by now." Then I had that epiphany moment. I went home and dug up the business card for the guy that interviewed me (in the REGIONAL COUNSEL office *facepalm*) and I gave him a call. I don't want to be too hopeful, but I think he's going to help me resolve this pretty soon.
The shocker is that, even though it's been over a year, he actually remembered me. Since he didn't offer me the job, it makes me wonder if that's good or bad...
Monday, August 30, 2010
I Guess You're Just What I Needed
I’m talking about my brand new…used…2008 Honda Civic.
(Besides Vicidius) She’s the nicest thing I’ve ever owned. The last car I had—a 1999 Chevy Cavalier—was nice at first, but time took its toll. In the past year, she’s been rear-ended, had her clutch replaced, then the entire clutch system, a wheel fell off, and the bad front-end alignment has forced me to replace at least 4 tires (and a stud/lug nut). The air conditioning went out two years ago, and in Texas during the summer that’s just brutal. I can’t remember the last time the gas gauge worked. For the longest time, I’ve just refilled my gas tank whenever I had driven 300 miles. More recently, the latch on the trunk stopped working. So if I need in the trunk (say to change my tire on the way to a Billy Idol concert), I’ve had to crawl into it through the backseat, which opens up. Also, the fuse that powers the lighter/plug-in burned out. That’s minor, but on top of everything else it just shows you how broke down my car has gotten.
So my new baby is a very welcome change. The only question now is what to name her. I never named my Cavalier, which makes me sad. We had good times and she deserved a name. I was always sure that one day something would come to me, but it never happened. I don’t want to make that mistake with my new car.
I’m partial to naming her after a song title. A good ballad just seems to fit a car. And I came really, realllly close to naming her “Angie,” after the Rolling Stones song. Angie is a car’s name. I put this out on Twitter, and @LanceMazmanian recommended a book to me that tells a story about the song. I have looked for this book at one book store and the public library without any luck. The Internet tells me it’s a pretty typical breakup love song, but I’m nervous about there being unknown undertones to my car’s name.
This became a moot point, however, when I decided I wanted to name her after a song by a Texas band. I’ve got state pride, what can I say. A lot of great musicians come from Texas, and I’m still looking for that perfect fit. I perused song titles by Janis Joplin, the Toadies, ZZ Top, Steve Miller Band (a Texas/Wisconsin hybrid). Nothing has struck a chord just yet. I’m taking suggestions. I would have named my car Janis in a heartbeat, except that’s my mother’s name (different spelling). Feels weird to name my car after my mom.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Billy Idol!
Actually getting to the concert was a huge ordeal. I didn't even know about it until the day before, so there wasn’t much time to plan. I went back and forth with myself on whether I even wanted to go. It was $50 for the tickets, $10 for the parking, plus whatever I needed for gas and drinks. It was on a Tuesday night about three hours away from where I lived. I knew I couldn’t find a friend to go with me on such short notice, especially with the money, timing, driving factors so I was facing it alone. I talked myself out of going Monday night, but somehow when I got to work on Tuesday morning I just knew in my heart of hearts that I was going to go. I had made the final decision after I had stopped even thinking about it. Unfortunately, tickets weren’t available online anymore. I called the box office and the nice man in the recording told me that tickets were still available at the door. I was banking on that still being true several hours later when I actually arrived at the Palladium Ballroom.
I left work running at promptly 5:00 p.m. and went home to change my clothes. I already knew it was going to be a stretch to make it on time. I made it out of my house by 5:30 and had exactly three hours to get to Dallas. Google Maps says this is a 2 hour 30 minute drive without traffic. I still needed to stop to get cash and gas, find parking at the venue, and buy my ticket.
After I had been driving about 40 minutes, I got a flat tire. Actually, it wasn’t flat. The tread had split open, but it was holding air. Even so, there was no way I was going to make it to Dallas on that. I changed the tire myself (with a little help from a good Samaritan). I was so glad that I had the foresight to bring a t-shirt with me. I brought it so that I could be comfy and not skeevy-feeling on the drive back from the concert, but I wore it over my clothes while I changed the tire so that I wouldn’t get dirty.
I drove to my parents’ house in Waco and switched cars with my mother. I’m not sure she wanted to lend me her car, but she knew that she didn’t have much of a choice. I was going to see Billy Idol, and if I had to drive on the baby tire that I had just put on my car - I would. So she didn’t object to me taking hers, and I floored it to Dallas. I stopped at an ATM and was still on pace to arrive at the venue exactly on time.
When I got to Dallas, the exit I was supposed to take didn’t exist. The directions told me to take exit 427C, but the actual exits skipped straight from 425 to 428. I guess my directions were old and some construction was done since Google updated. Bad Google! You will never achieve world domination this way.
I ended up finding the right street, but I was turned around. I stopped for directions at this other events venue when I knew I was close. Then I finally made it to the venue and parked!!
I hoped that Billy, being a rock star, would start late or at least have an opening act. A big no on both counts. Even while I was pulling into the parking lot, I could hear Billy inside singing. It was frustrating and the people in front of me were moving so slow. The guy in the car in front of me had turned into the parking lot accidentally and had to stop and ask an attendant for directions to get out. When I finally parked my car, I literally ran back to the front door. I bought my ticket off a scalper and made him walk me to the door so that I would know the ticket was valid. It worked, then I got carded at the next stop so I could drink alcohol. I swear, that lady was moving slow too. Billy Fucking Idol was singing! Didn’t they know? Didn’t they care?
I made a beeline for the standing room in front of the stage and I never looked back. Never hit the bar, so I didn’t need my stupid age 21+ wrist band anyway. It sucked being sober at the concert, but I wasn’t going to miss another single moment of Billy Idol performing. It worked out, because I had to drive an hour and a half back to my parents’ house. I didn’t really need to be intoxicated and tired for that.
I could have dressed a little more appropriately for the concert. Apparently, Billy was more of a punk goth than anything else. Okay, so I knew that, but I still didn’t really think I need to dress like a motorcycle chick to go to his concert. I wore a shiny, low-cut red tank top with gold beading around the waistline. Everyone else was in their rock’n’roll T-shirts or some kind of grunge garb. They saw me coming. They all had a little tinge of the 80’s that my outfit lacked. I did wear the biggest pair of earrings I own though.
For being a Billy Idol concert, the crowd was really tame. People staked out their position in the floor, and then didn’t really move. I arrived to the concert late and had hoped that with people milling between the floor and the bar, dancing, and just moving around in general, I could make my way forward. That did not happen. I got fairly close, but then there was just a wall of people. Not a shoulder to shoulder wall of people though. Everyone needed their personal space and protected it. I saw a guy almost fight another guy for trying to squeeze past him and get closer to the stage.
Almost fight another guy. No one actually fought. Or danced, head-banged, moshed, etc. It was disappointing. I wanted people to be crazy. I wanted to be crazy. It was Billy Fucking Idol. No dice. Everyone stood in their spaces and maybe swayed a little.
Billy is known for his fist-pumping, so at least there was a lot of that in the crowd. We were invited to fist-pump along with Billy during Mony Mony and Rebel Yell. We did, and it was so much fun. I can’t remember what song it was, but Billy yelled out “put your fist in the air!” and my fist went into the air like it had a mind of its own. I wonder what other of Billy Idol’s commands my body would instinctively obey.
It got to the point of being annoying.
I hate to sound like I’m dogging his talent. The man was incredibly talented. He shredded the guitar. Killed it. He was Led Zeppelin good. Carlos Santana good. [Your favorite guitarist’s name here] good. I have nothing bad at all to say about Steve Stevens’ guitar-playing ability. I have to give credit where credit is due.
That said, my admission ticket said “Billy Idol,” not Steve Stevens. You’ll notice that in this article (where I learned about the concert), there’s even a blurb devoted to who Steve is and how awesome he is. I think there's something else at work here. Steve is trying to make a comeback or he’s going to strikeout solo or something, and he’s using Billy’s record label as a jumping off platform. Probably on the same record label and they’re paying Billy lots of money to showcase Steve on his tour to build publicity. The Steve Stevens attention was that much over the top.
STEVE STEVENS!
The concert was the most entertaining, exhilarating, fun thing I have ever done. I went to Comic Con for the first time a month ago, and that was overwhelmingly fun. I’m not sure that the two events are really comparable, but if I had to choose between the two for an encore experience Billy Idol would give Comic Con a run for its money.