On my way into work, as I must every day, I had to wait for traffic to finish going by before I could cross the street. I was able to park at the Employee Lot but that’s still across the street from the Jail and the Courthouse, and there is a railroad track right there so sometimes, when the train comes, you have the entire Courthouse staff just standing there, waiting for it to finish passing, so we can actually get to our cars. But this morning, waiting for traffic, something hit me. There were more cars that just passed me right now than I normally would have seen in an entire day in my last job and more than I would have seen in an entire week in my first Prosecutor Job. And even though the people in this town drive like assholes and I’ve now had three Traffic Tickets with Fatalities… knowing that I am someplace where people are also is nice. And I contemplated that a bit too hard. People suck. Especially the people I deal with! But being somewhere where there are no people sucks, too. So… being in a place with people is good… it would just be nice to not be surrounded by assholes and psychopaths. Which… my job doesn’t help with that approach and.... this is considered an area with “unjustified violence.” We’re only the fifth biggest county in the state with the 8th largest city (by population) but our violence puts us in the limelight. So, per capita, we really are a violent city with lots of issues. So… again… I like living somewhere with people but I’m still in one of those areas where… the statistics kind of skew… and as a percentage, the population around me specifically is violent and crazy.
But I started asking myself- how was I in a mood to even appreciate the traffic this morning? That seems… off brand for me lately. So, I wanted to analyze the things that were different in the last 12 hours. Now, because of how life is- there is no way to say what, if anything, is responsible. It could be ONE thing, it could be MULTIPLE things, it could be nothing I noticed. But it is always best to record what variables one can in an effort to track what may have helped.
(1) I woke up before any of my alarms went off this morning, but only just. I woke up about 4 minutes before my first alarm. So I was not violently ripped from sleep and was able to casually, naturally wake up.
(2) I didn’t go back to sleep and play the Snooze Game. I never played the Snooze Game before Nancy but she played a lot so it became part of my world. But this morning, I stayed awake. I didn’t go back to sleep and play the “I’ve just fallen back to sleep and now the snooze alarm is blaring, ripping me from sleep!”
(3) Nala stayed in bed with me all night and when I woke up, she shifted (as she does) but in a very “You can pet me if you want” way. SO, I got to wake up and just pet my dog as she relaxed leaning into me.
(4) Instead of playing the snooze game, while just laying around petting Nala, I cruised TikTok and my algorithm this morning was a mix between comedy and nostalgia. Funny skits or tributes to actors and comedians who passed too early. I even watched a nice retro-review of The Mask of Zorro (which is a film near and dear to me). SOoOoOoOo- I got to wake up peacefully, chill with my dog, and relax watching nice things to start my morning.
(5) I even, specifically, got too many tacos last night so that I had a nice, quick, easy little breakfast to snag on my way out the door.
(6) The temperature outside is in the low 60s so it isn’t so hot as to be stifling and the humidity isn’t so oppressive as to be problematic… which is not how the weather has been lately.
And that’s a nice sturdy little list for this morning. But, lets look at last night a little, too. See if there is any behavior from before sleep that maybe influenced the morning?
(1) First and foremost, I should point out that I went up to bed before Midnight; which has not been consistently happening.
(2) There were no massive barometric shifts throughout the evening to fuck up my body pain
(3) I spent two hours at the dog park, which included some time of my being social with other humans; and spent a cumulative hour playing with the dog at home.
(4) At home, while not exhilarating per se, I did have a few chats with women on dating apps. Nothing spectacular. Like “Oh, I’m not in Chicago.” but turning into a small convo. Or “I’m not that into sports, but I’d love to talk to you about your interest in football anyway!” or “That’s so awesome that you’re keeping up with your passion in Dance! What inspired you to dance in the first place?” So.... some good, interesting little nibbles even if nothing really “took the bait”- (with apologies for fishing language in dating!) Even had some “playful banter” with a scam account before it was taken down, lol.
So then, I say to myself with some slight concern, what if “the secret” was that I need a Perfect Storm like that to have a good morning? I need perfect weather so that I’m not in increased pain and that I’m not sweating my body weight every 10 minutes.... I need to get to bed prior to midnight… I need to wake up gently and stay awake after waking… I need my dog to stay with me and be in a cuddly morning mood… I need positive social interaction of both a friendly and possibly romantic nature… I need positive or evocative content in the morning… I need proper sustenance (consistent food).
I mean, I suppose it is possible that all of that is needed… but I figure the ones that are most important are (1) Good sleep; (2) Good wake up; (3) Positive Social Interactions; (4) Weather that doesn’t increase pain or discomfort.
Continuing the positives of the morning, for Initial Appearances we had one of the judges I like and the clerk that, if I knew her better, I could see having a crush on. Which I suppose is an awkward way of saying, “I find her visually attractive and she seems to be a sweet and kind person with at least some intelligence.”
However, of course, being in a more positive mood meant that I was more attentive at work. Which can be counter to a good mood. As I glanced at Monday’s calendar and.... what the fuck? I reviewed Monday’s calendar yesterday and there were only 5 trials set for 1:30. How did a SIXTH trial get set?!?! SO I looked into it. Violation of No Contact Order called in on 7/29, investigated on 7/30, charges filed on 7/31, trial set for 8/4. Now that is lawful as a VNCO must be heard between 5 to 15 days from the charge, making the 4th the legally soonest possible trial period. But that also means I needed to subpoena witnesses IMMEDIATELY! And what is most frustrating about a case like that? I can promise you with my whole chest that the Defendant won’t have Counsel by then. VNCOs also require that Counsel be appointed due to the 7 Day Jail Minimum. And the offices that cycle those requests typically take between 5 and 10 days to assign counsel. Which sticks me with an unfortunate, if familiar, potential conundrum. Because… if this person cannot get counsel due to the bureaucratic mess? I’m not legally permitted to convict the Defendant of a Jailable Offense. And this is one of those things Protected Parties want to murder me over even though, trust me, I’m fuming about it as well- but if there’s nothing I can do, there’s literally nothing I can do! If a judge says that the case must be heard now, but Defense does not have counsel appointed? I’m required to amend the State’s charge from a 664A (Violation of No Contact Order- minimum 7 days jail) to a 665 (Contempt Of Court- minimum $100 civil penalty). Which of course pisses off Protected Parties because… acknowledging that they violated a Court order feels different than being found guilty of Violating a No Contact Order. But as ever.... don’t assault me over this bullshit! I’m passionately against it as well but … well, let me quote an article I read recently:
Without accepting Federal Funding that states like Iowa claim to loath and without funding from states like California, whom Iowans frequently remark as “the proof that socialism and leftist policies don’t work”, Red States like Iowa would be more akin to 3rd World Countries. Relying on agriculture without federal subsidies and relying on States to fund programs and government offices, Red States would frequently have significant gaps in their economies, entirely absent government offices and required services, and a healthcare crisis that was reminiscent of Kenya or Botswana.
SO… yeah. these massive gaps desperately hurting the state have already been happening now for several years. Teacher Shortages, Lawyer Shortages, Doctor Shortages. Funny how the jobs that 100% require a College Degree and typically require Post Graduate work are jobs that a MAGA-worshipping state would have problems with. Also, I have always taken note that the primary professions that are typically sent to 3rd World Countries to aid “the children and the needy” are Doctors and Teachers. Only reason why we don’t send lawyers (who are needed as places that lack teachers and doctors lack access to legal assistance) but only reason we don’t send lawyers is because the system isn’t designed for it. Most lawyers, we can say, need to stay where they are to keep their practices running and alive… but there are certainly Attorneys who would volunteer their time! I know many. And occasionally, they do get to do some kind of outreach with a group serving 3rd world nations… but you have to make sure you understand the law of where you are going. And not just understand but master in such a way that you are giving knowledgeable, appropriate, authentic, ethical, correct legal advice. But yeah… let’s hear a sarcastic yay for Red States genuinely aspiring to 3rd World Status, all the while screaming Culture Wars and buying into the bullshit that “Our economies are bad because of immigrants and queers!” instead of “Our economies are bad because you all keep falling for a con whereby you install leaders that spend their time effecting the largest upward wealth transfer in history! You’re damned right that your groceries still cost too much! But you do realize that you used that excuse to justify voting for Anti-Immigrant, Anti-LGBTQIA policies.... not pro-middle class economics policies… right? Like… we didn’t spend literally months explaining in detail how the proposed policies and detailed plans of Project 2025 would desperately reward the wealthy by hurting everyone else.... we didn’t spend months explaining that only for people who wanted and needed that to not happen voted for it anyway… right? In comic book terms, what I see the GOP having done to the modern Iowa Voter? It’s like when you stop the barrel of a gun in an effort to cause blowback when fired..... the GOP put a stopper in the barrel of a gun, handed it to the voters, and said “Now shoot that bi-sexual transgender female Mexican attempting to adopt a Muslim baby! Shoot it now!!” knowing that when the voter pulled that trigger, the gun would backfire hurting the voter. And it happens time after time after time after time. Perhaps one of the biggest moments that radicalized me away from even Independent to Democrat? I walked around Tiny Town/Mini County. They were dying. A long, painful, slow, excruciating death that started after 1970. Bad economy. Food desserts. No access to health care or legal assistance. Laughable access to education. And a Board of Supervisors as demonstrably crooked as one could possibly imagine! But come every election? “Well, we always vote the GOP candidates. We’ve been voting the GOP candidates in my family for generations. We’re good Christians so we vote for the GOP candidates 100 percent of the time in 100 percent of the elections!” No idea, no understanding, no concrete concept that if you keep giving the same people power, you’re going to keep having the same problems. Do I understand how positively horrified the extreme racist community there would be if suddenly that area got a massive influx of LGBTQIA and Immigrant Citizens? Yes, and I can tell you their horror and hate would not be assuaged if all of those new citizens brought new industries, jobs, and economic opportunity with them. But from a basic needs perspective?
I would rather have a neighborhood of non-English speakers and LGBTQIA folks that included business opportunities, good education, and access to health care..... than have a neighborhood of strictly white, conservative Christians that didn’t see a problem with dramatically shrinking populations, a dying economy, and needing to drive an hour to go to a grocery store or a doctor’s appointment!!
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