Left work on time today, to go home to finish up the red trim in the living room… I need to paint while there’s still enough daylight coming through the windows to see well. I really want to finish that part before the week is over, and tomorrow I have to work 8-8, and Thursday 8-7 with a doctor appointment in the middle. So this is the day.
Instead…
Just as I was about to turn onto the road that led to home, I saw a State Trooper behind me with the lights on. Could he mean me? Apparently so. I got a ticket for expired registration and expired inspection sticker. I had no idea the registration had expired on 4/1. I guess the renewal didn’t make it to our new address. Someone at work did remind me a couple months ago that my inspection sticker had expired, and I intended to take care of that, but didn’t have time then, and eventually just forgot about it. I begged the officer not to give me a ticket, even telling him that I would take care of it all right away. He said he had no choice, because they were so far out of date. So I put the stupid ticket in my purse, and just sat there a cried a bit. Then I bucked up and decided to just go get things taken care of right then and there.
I went all the way across the city to the DMV to renew the registration, but I didn’t have last year’s receipts for property taxes… and they don’t have a computer system to check it! So I headed back home, but decided to stop and get the inspection taken care of. They couldn’t do the inspection, however, because the registration wasn’t current. Advised me to go to the courthouse a couple blocks away, where they could update the registration and pull up the property tax receipt. After driving around and around in circles trying to find a place to park, I went inside the courthouse. They could not renew the registration, because I didn’t have the renewal FORM that comes in the mail, and said I would have to go to the DMV. They at least were able to give me the property tax receipts, so I didn’t have to go home and get them. However… the last half of 2005 had not been paid yet, so I had to fork out $150 for that. How did that not get paid? I’m very organized and always pay bills on time… but today it’s like I haven’t done anything right. So with tax receipts in hand, I headed back across town, hoping to get to the DMV before they closed, but certainly not driving over the speed limit to get there.
I say this little prayer in my head, “Please God let me get there before they close, because I won’t have any time to do all this for the next two days… and if you really care about me, then you’ll make it happen… never mind, I’m sorry, I know that’s not fair… I need to trust and believe that you care… it’s okay if they’re closed… I won’t blame you, God.”
The DMV is still open! I fill out the paperwork and get the new registration… and am very grateful that this much is done. The place to get the inspection done is open till 7:00, so I still have plenty of time for that. My car passed inspection, but the man who takes care of the paperwork noticed that my insurance card says my car is a 2002 and the registration says 2003. The DMV apparently made a typo, so I have to get that fixed! I’ll give them a call tomorrow.
Nearly three hours later, I’m on the way home. I’m too frustrated to paint now, so that’s out for this week. But when I get back to the spot where the policeman stopped me, the fuel light comes on in my car… I’m nearly out of gas, and won’t have time during the next few days to get gas… so drive a little farther and spend the last of my money for a tank of gas. I feel so defeated.
After getting home, finally, I just sit down to watch mindless entertainment on TV. And voila’… the cable has been shut off! There was a mistake on our bill – cable company’s mistake - about a month ago, and Ric got it all straightened out. But now here we are again, with no cable.
So maybe if I just sit here and don’t move, nothing else will go wrong today.
Oh, I know… it’s just a bad day. None of these things are life-threatening or heart-breaking. Years from now I won’t even remember it.
Now I know why Daniel Powter’s song, “Bad Day” is so popular… and it’s not because it was the exit song for American Idol… it’s because we all have days like this one!
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