Entry 116: Big Sigh in Much Ado About Nothing

Well, I start this off with a huge sigh of just… massive BLAH.

It is a Tuesday so I am prepping my 100 Plus Trials when I get four things at once

(1) There is a guy in my program who clearly shouldn’t be. The program is to give people a chance to get their Driver’s Licenses reinstated. This guy thinks it is a program to keep him from being found guilty of a crime. YOU CAN’T DRIVE so work with the DOT. Instead this guy has picked up at least 1, usually more than 1, ticket each month since October! October: Driving Illegally; November: Driving Illegally and No Insurance; December: Driving Illegally, No Insurance, No Seat Belt; January: Driving Illegally, No Insurance, No Seat Belt, Attacking Cops; February: Driving Illegally, No Insurance, No Seat Belt, Running a Stop Sign; March: Driving Illegally, No Insurance, No Seat Belt, Running a Stop Sign, Use of Fraudulent Registration; April: Driving Illegally, No Insurance, No Seat Belt, Running a Stop Sign; Use of Fraudulent Registration, Attacking Cops, Injuring Cops, Property Damage. Out of 127 hearings I have this afternoon.... this guy is 26 of them! But of course, kicking him out of the program just means more work for me overall as I will then have a sudden influx of 26 trials I need to fit into the damned schedule. Just ever more consistency in the “Some people just honestly think that the rules don’t apply to them; and a big part of why I got into this job was to make sure we’re all playing by the same rules. I don’t care how important you think you are… you’re required to have a driver’s license, the same as the rest of us!”

(2) Zack Snyder cultists are pissing me off more than I can say. SO… I was always critical of Zack Snyder’s take on Superman because of three things
(a) He was surprised, shocked even, when he discovered that people still liked the Christopher Reeves’ Superman
(b) He specifically said that he didn’t understand why Superman didn’t kill. Said that Superman had to kill at least once to know it was wrong.
(c) He frequently mentioned how Clark Kent seemed like an after thought… how Superman is the character that people come to see, so that’s who the film should be focused on.
All of that told me that his films weren’t going to be great for those of us who KNOW or LIKE the character but I didn’t attack people for liking it. I’d point out that Item B makes me think.... so has Snyder raped someone? Because “how do you know it is wrong if you’ve never done it” sounds like something a repentant rapist would say. But it all goes back to the fundamental fact that Snyder didn’t understand the character… CLARK KENT is real, Superman is the disguise. It is the inverse of Batman. BATMAN is real, Bruce Wayne is the disguise. But whatever.
Now enter two items-
SUPERMAN DAY was April 18th and we have a new Superman movie coming out in 80 days. James Gunn has intentionally put focus on a brighter, more colorful Superman experience because… he’s SUPERMAN. He’s not SUPPOSED to be Super Powered Batman. Superman is the man who can do almost anything and consistently chooses to do good. He brings hope, inspires people.... fuck sake, my favorite Superman story actually STARTS with him helping a stranded motorist trying to take her son to daycare. If you can’t comprehend a Superman whose goal is to inspire people to be better… you don’t understand Superman. But of course, on EVERY Superman Day post, Snyderboys are shitting on the film, the director, the cast. It’s like when Kelly Marie Tran was in Star Wars, for God’s sake! So, of course, I weigh in a little. Mentioning how being absolutely horrible to people for a film that hasn’t even come out yet suggests these people don’t understand who or what Superman is.... I’m worried about the film but I’m hopeful.... HOPE being a key component of Superman. So, of course, I should have realized.... weighing in at all with toxic asshats like these rabid toxic bro-culture Snyder Cultists was a bad idea as the tsunami briefly stopped shitting on a movie that hasn’t come out, and started shitting on me. With such “inspired” comments as
“Defend diaper Superman as much as you want, pervert. Leave your shitting yourself kinks out of my movie!” and “You can tell something is going to fucking SUCK by the color scheme. Stop being retarded.” and “James Gunn is a faggot! Snyder made THE BEST Superman content and it should be THE ONLY Superman content!” and.... those were the ones that were complete sentences. It’s just… it’s ridiculous and needlessly horrible. No amount of tantrum throwing is going to put Zack Snyder in charge of the new DCEU. No amount of toxic commenting is going to make “Superman has to kill” a good idea. No amount of self-immolation is going to make MARTHA a genius-level plot device. This “I hate anything that isn’t Zack Snyder” is beyond immature to a point of astonishment.

(3) I rather hate Match and eHarmony these days but am frequently told by multiple algorithms that these are the sites to use for MidWest Males over 30. And yet… both of those sites are constantly e-mailing me or texting me. CONSTANTLY. And it is never “Here’s someone that likes you. Would you like to match/send a message?” And it is always “There are so many more people who like you than you currently have access to! Please upgrade your account for an additional $X to take advantage of the focus you’re getting!” Which… honestly pisses me off. The immature shitty “I know someone who likes you, but I’m not telling!” is triggering for me due to history and upsetting to me as someone who is a fucking adult. And that’s just the social “I know someone who likes you, but I’m not telling!” ridiculousness. Add that to an almost predatory capitalistic scheme? “I know someone who likes you, but I’m not telling unless you pay me!” is ever so much more shitty! It is just… incredibly bad faith and reads morally bankrupt.
That said, my last Hinge conversation was with someone who was brand new to the area… and by area, I mean IOWA… she’s still 100 miles away from me. The conversation kind of petered out after we discussed the difference in Weather/temperatures IOWA vs EAST COAST. What kills me in these apps, or at least Hinge, is how little there is on the profiles and how cagey people are in conversations. And I get the “protecting yourself” thing online, I really do. But… how can a conversation getting to know someone happen when there are (a) no questions from her and (b) conversations about such wildly surface things. I mean, we had a deep enough conversation that I know why she moved to Iowa, know a little of her family situation, and know her dog’s name. But.... I don’t know. I guess I don’t know how to initiate and keep alive a conversation when there are no mutual questions or an earnest back and forth? I’m guessing the conversation worked so well with Laura because she was awkward and autistic so it just… was built in. But then… going from texting to ghosting isn’t exactly a good “what model worked before” in the first place.

(4) This year I have said frequently how we are seeing an absolute flood of people who think “I’m ME, of course I don’t have to follow the rules or listen to people!” and I comment on the people I see at work who live their lives this way despite frequently breaking the law and making things worse for themselves? Apparently, our Jury Trial Sex Assault case already had an experience like this worth noting. This morning, they are just doing Jury Selection. That’s all. Just… selecting a jury. In the middle of doing so, one of the potential Jurors just decided that.... he was bored… didn’t want to be here anyway.... so he got up, and just… left the Courtroom. Ignored the judge, the deputy, everybody. Just.... didn’t want to be here so left. Went into the lobby. Started talking to himself about the Judges’ pictures on the wall. How this one judge (Juvenile Court judge) was a pedophile and that’s why he worked Juvenile… and how this other judge was a vindictive cunt because he used to work for the County Attorney’s Office and you shouldn’t be able to BE a judge if you’ve ever worked to convict people before! NOW.... if this person had indicators of a mental break or mental handicap.... that would have come up on the Jury Form. If he was mentally or medically unable to be a juror, there are ways of reporting that. So the most likely instances would be either (a) they didn’t want to be on the jury and figured this was a way of making sure they would be excused (not how this works); or (b) this is their first mental break.
They were escorted to the jail in handcuffs. Because either they ARE having a mental/medical episode and need to be evaluated or they were trying to get out of jury duty by being disruptive; which a judge can hold you in contempt and put you in jail for up to 6 months.

My plans for the rest of the day? IF I CAN SUCCEED (as I am going to try VERY HARD to do).........

Go to lunch at home, eat a Diet Meal, and let Nala enjoy the sunshine a bit.
Come back to work, do the 100 Plus Hearings that should take me until about 3 p.m. or so.
Despite feeling bloody drained, I’ll have to keep pushing forward because I need to respond to the 20 back e-mails. This one is more frustrating because… many of my “back e-mails” were sent after 5 pm on Friday. So, technically, only ONE business day has passed and people don’t know if I was in Trials or Meetings or what was happening on Monday. And yet, I still have three e-mails essentially saying “I haven’t heard back on this, what’s the deal?!” WELL… I’m the only person that does the SIX different dockets that I do. It’s a fair bet that my Monday’s are spoken for between 8 am and 3 pm; it’s a fair bet that my Tuesdays are spoken for between 8 am and 3 pm; it’s a fair bet that my Wednesdays are spoken for between 8 am and 4 pm; it’s a fair bet that my Thursdays are spoken for between 8 am and 4 pm; and it’s a fair bet that my Fridays are spoken for between 8 am and 2 pm. SO.... my time to “do work” is really only safely about 5 hours a week. So, your sudden emergency because you didn’t realize THIS Wednesday was the 23rd… doesn’t justify 3 e-mails within 24 hours demanding an answer. But then again… as I’ve said before… my career is built by and for people who believe “MY EXCEPTION IS EXCEPTIONAL AND YOU WILL DO AS I DEMAND” no matter what the facts, rules, law, or reality says otherwise.
After completing that, I’ll need to hightail it to a meeting of the local Democrat Communication Team; which I imagine will be long and somewhat boring but necessary because we have to do something regarding the bullshit.
Then finally getting home and.... regardless of pain, pup needs, or energy… I must must must must must eat the perishable salad stuff for dinner, di dishes, clean the kitchen, and buy gifts for three separate people for birthdays or secretary’s day. And when that is all over? Maybe… try to get some sleep before tackling a very busy Wednesday!