and here's my story as to why (warning: major rant to follow).
So tonight ended up taking a majorly bad turn. I went to the movies with a friend who lives in Southern PG County around 8. I was fairly tired after the movie got out, but I still had to drop off my friend after giving her a ride and check in on the cats I've been cat-sitting for (I do morning and evening visits b/c one of the cats has a thyroid condition and has to take a pill twice daily). I went to check on the cats and when I started my car back up, I discovered I had a flat. It may have been leaking since I hit the curb at the cash station earlier; I'm still not sure. But I'm a pretty stereotypical female when it comes to car trouble; I have yet to learn to change a tire myself. And did I mention I was tired? And that I just wanted to go home and go to bed? I decided to see whether it was drivable and then pull into a nearby shopping center and decide what to do from there, figuring that between finding someone to help me and my roadside assistance I would be ok.
Well, little old me naive me never suspected that I would be pegged a drunk driver. I had passed several police cars and a small group of people by the entrance of the shopping center. When a cop pulled up behind me, I (again with the naivety) thought maybe he saw that I needed help. Instead he asked me if I had been drinking.
I answered no, I hadn't had a drop of alcohol today. I mean I understand that it's the eve of St. Patrick's Day and all, so they're gonna be extra vigilant. But someone driving on a flat with her emergency flashers on, and then pulling into a parking lot? I tell him that I was out, realized I had a flat, and am just tired and frustrated and upset. He clearly doesn't believe me; asking me at least three times whether I had been drinking "even a little." Clearly I must have been, I mean why else would I be driving on a flat tire?
In don't deal with cops well. In my various dealings (including after a break-in at my parents' beach house), I never have. I just find them to be really...intimidating. I find situations where I have to deal with the police to be upsetting to begin with, and of course they aren't very empathetic to my being upset. I understand that they are used to dealing with, well, criminals, and so they're going to be a good deal cynical. They're expecting lying; they're expecting guilt. But there's something rather humiliating about being treated like a law-breaker without firm evidence to the contrary.
I had to go through the whole sobriety test shebang for the first time in my life. Walking along a line, standing on one foot...things that are difficult to do even when sober if you are upset and tired. Then they finally gave me the breathalizer and let me go. The worst part is they didn't even offer to help me with my tire before they left, though they did wait around while I called my mom for a ride. Did they wait to see that I made it out of the parking lot safely? Nope.
So I left my car in the parking lot and will deal with that tomorrow (actually later today). I just really need to sleep my anger and frustration and upset off.
Edited to add: Huh. It's actually almost 2 am on St. Patrick's Day now. I have no idea how to change the time in blogger. *shrugs*
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