My First Time in Court:
So today was the first time I ever went to traffic court...and man was I nervous!  Although Tal had prepped me for it and I knew exactly what I was going to say (thanks Tal)...it didn't happen that way. So let me just give you the shortened version of what happened that caused this ticket and a court date:
I was driving Charo home one night after we'd gone out in the city. I was stopped at a red light and watched as a firetruck going the opposite direction made a U turn. When it passed the intersection, my light turned green so I went. Then I caught up to the firetruck cuz it was going so damn slow (the cop didn't catch me for speeding). So I switched lanes and then it slowed down to make a left turn at the next intersection and I went straight. So the ONLY time I passed it up was when I was going straight and it was turning LEFT! And the jackass of a cop wrote me a ticket for "failure to yield to a firetruck." WHAT THE FUCK?! HOW AM I FAILING TO YIELD IF IT'S FUCKING IN FRONT OF ME?!
So anywho, I showed up in court and since the judge had said that all who pleaded 'not guilty' will be tried last, I was thinking to myself whether I should plead not guilty. What my plan was was to plead "No contest with an explanation if granted permission," but since the trial would happen right after, I was confused as to if it would have the same effect. So of course, when I went, I asked the judge if it's the same and he just scoffed at me and asked, "So you're admitting you were wrong?" And I got all confused b/c pleading no contest means that I don't plead guilty but the law finds me guilty, right?
Anyway, so he talks to the prosecutor and the cop and he looks at the charges against me and the judge then tells me that my license is supposed to be suspended according to the Sec. of State, but that they'll give me a HUGE BREAK and amend the law so that I only get fined $79 and driving under supervision for 4 months.
What really pissed me off, tho, was that I didn't even get a chance to defend myself AND when the prosecutor asked him how I was towards him, he answered, "She was all right" in a doubtful kinda tone. WHAT THE FUCK?! ASKING A COP WHY I GOT PULLED OVER AND BEING CONFUSED ABOUT IT IS IN NO WAY JUST ACTING ALL RIGHT TO THE COP! I WAS CIVIL AND CALM THE ENTIRE TIME!  In this case, it wasn't even about the punishment...I mean, thank goodness I didn't get my license suspended nor have to go to traffic school, but it's a matter of principle and a matter of pride. I didn't like being reprimanded by the judge about not talking on the phone and not playing the radio loudly when those things didn't even happen at that time!  And in a way, it insults my intelligence to abide by simple traffic laws. I mean, I've never even gotten a speeding ticket, so why would I not yield to a fire truck?! It was turning LEFT and I was going STRAIGHT two lanes away...am I supposed to pull all the way to the right in the middle of an intersection to 'yield' to the cop?
Another thing that bugged me was this other defendant's charge. This Asian kid was charged with "talking back to the cop" to the same fuckhead who gave me my ticket. And I can't help but wonder if he really is racist, because he was an ASS to me when I did nothing to provoke his unneccessarily negative tone of voice with me. I wanted to stay to hear his case, because he pleaded NOT GUILTY, but unfortunately I have class and finals next week.
<sigh of frustration> In any case, I believe in karma and I believe it will one day come back and bit him in the ass really hard. I just hope that karma is that he ends up in the ER during my rotation in the ER...hee hee hee...that would be the BEST twist of fate!  Officer Wieger with the balding head...I'll NEVER forget your face!
Alls I got to say is that unless you're a cop actually saving lives or a cop who's keeping other cops in check...I have no respect for you unless you prove me wrong. | 
and...i might take a trip to the PI's...so guys...if you can...please
teach me some important phrases that i might need 
i realized later on that they were probably
closed because they were preparing some of the sushi for dinner, b/c as
i passed by one of them again at 9, it was OPEN! 
oy! so i guess the lesson of this story is: if you ever crave sushi,
the middle of the day is probably not a good time to go get some.
