Tumbleweeds Blow Through Blog Town

Sorry for the relative silence, dudes. I've had a tough week. Some crap going down and I was feeling bummed out. But I'm looking to the future. I have school all day tomorrow, have to complete a midterm paper that is due Friday, and then I'm on "break." Woo hoo!

Court was fine on Monday. We got a guardian ad litem appointed for the children, and the judge continued the case to early November so the guardian ad litem could investigate the situation. This will give the respondent (the alleged abusive husband/father) time to retain an attorney. So, the next time we show up in court, we can expect to have opposing counsel, rather than a pro se litigant who barely speaks English. Though it seems a little scary to be up against someone who actually knows what they are doing, I feel relieved. It felt strange to be in court on Monday--our client was represented by two student attorneys, our supervising attorney, and two advocates from the women's shelter. So she had this huge support structure, and the respondent was alone. It was unsettling to see those dynamics. I felt like he was getting ganged up on and should at least have some representation. (Would I want to represent the guy who beat up his wife and kids? No. But someone should.) So, he'll find a lawyer. The other good thing about having a lawyer on the other side is that we may be able to negotiate with him or her and reach some sort of agreement rather than go through a big evidentiary hearing on the matter. My favorite part of that case? The police report:

Q: Did you strike [your daughter] in the face?
A: Well, I held up my hand, and she walked into it.

This morning, I went to court for the whole speeding ticket debacle. Remember that? Well, I sat in court for two hours, and finally was able to speak to the city prosecutor. He agreed to suspend prosecution, which basically means that the speeding ticket won't go on my record as long as I do not commit the same or similar offense in the next year. I paid a $200 prosecution fee, but didn't have to pay the $142 ticket. I'll be saving money on insurance for sure.

I gave my car some attention this week. I left the lights on Monday, but Elissa called to tell me about it right away, so no battery problems. Tuesday after I parked and walked into school, I started to feel itchy like something wasn't right, so I decided to go back to the ramp and check on my lights. Sure enough, they were on. I shut them off in time so again no battery problems. Today, I shut the lights off while I was still two blocks away from the ramp, and checked them about ten times before and after I parked. I also put air in my tires (thanks, -s, G, and M for alerting me to this situation), changed my oil (for the first time in about a year, I swear), and even put the license tabs on the Subaru (that was for you, Greg). I asked the shop about my tire pressure problem and they suggested that I get new tires pronto. I guess it's been about four years since I got new tires, still it seems like they'd last longer. But the treads are totally worn away on the front tires. *sigh* When I get work done on my car, I feel kind of relieved, like I had just gone to the spa...but I'd still rather spend that money on new clothes or something.

I got my grade back from the great books seminar (a.k.a. Nerd Camp). I got an A on that piece of crap paper that I wrote. Who knows what that was all about? I thought they'd be offended by the paper, which was basically an indictment of the whole group as pathetic conformists who watch reality tv, drive too far to work, care too much about their stupid corporate jobs, and live in beige townhomes in Chanhassen...but whatever. I got a lower grade in class participation which I thought was weird, but I probably deserve it for having such a bad attitude and being supercilious. Sarah, my brilliant philosophy-major roommate, also got a lower grade in participation, so we've hatched a conspiracy theory that the profs marked down the students who challenged their views on suspicion that we are commies.

Welcome back from Ireland, mother-in-law!