What are those flashing lights behind me?

I've been absent from my blog for a while and I apologize to all one of my loyal readers. What can I say? I'm slightly ADD, so I'll be really into blogging, and then I just get bored with it for a while. However, today signals my return to the blogging world.

About a month ago I'm getting into my car to go to work and I see this index card on my window. On it was written a girl's name and phone number. I automatically assumed somebody must have run into me so I walk around my car but don't see any damage so I don't think anymore of it. Then a few days later I'm walking out to my car again and realize that my left taillight is totally bashed in. And I notice that there are pieces of my taillight allover my parking garage floor. I don't know how I didn't notice it before! Luckily I still have the index card so after work I give the girl a call. I explain the situation and she tells me she has no idea what I'm talking about. I ask her if she even lives in my complex and she says no. She also tells me it must have been some kind of joke and that one of her friends must have left her name on my car. What a load of crap. But I have non way to prove she's lying so I hang up the phone and I'm fuming. What is world coming to!! How can someone just completely bash in your taillight and then pretend like it never happened!! People are just so rude these days!! But anyway, luckily my light was still working despite the plastic being smashed so I put off getting it fixed until I had the time.

Now fast forward to this past Sunday night. I'm on my way to pick Anne up from the airport at 11:45 pm. I'm singing along to my favorite Christmas music and I'm just about to get on the freeway when I see these flashing lights behind me. Yesiree, I was getting pulled over, for the first time ever. Luckily I was able to handle the situation without bursting into tears, which I always thought would be my reaction if I got pulled over. The officer was very nice and asked for my license and registration and if I knew why I had been pulled over. I told him that I didn't know, and he then asked me if I knew I had a broken tail light. I told him I did know that the plastic part was broken but I thought that since the light was still working that it shouldn't be a problem. He told me that since the red was no longer covering the light that my taillight was basically blinding the people behind me.

So then the officer goes back to his car and to run my information and I'm left sitting in my car experiencing a tide of different emotions. On the one hand I'm completely embarrassed to be sitting on the University Parkway freeway onramp as people drive by the poor sucker who got pulled over. I'm also trying to keep myself from crying because I hadn't had a great couple of days and this was just the cherry on top that was about to push me over the edge. And finally, I was trying to keep from laughing because the situation was actually quite funny. I was just imagining what the officer thought of me. I hadn't showered since Saturday night and I'd spent all of Sunday afternoon laying on my couch -- thus my hair was a disgusting, greasy mess. I was wearing no makeup, and I was dressed in flannel pajama pants that are three sizes too big and a sweatshirt (Stacy London and Clinton Kelly would have had a hay-day with me). I was also blasting my favorite Celine Dion christmas CD and singing at the top of my lungs when he pulled me over. I'm probably not the typical person to get pulled over late at night. I really wish I could have taken a picture. It would have given everyone a good laugh.

Luckily, all the officer gave me was a "fix-it" ticket. Basically, what that means is I have to get my light fixed and then go to the courthouse to prove that I got it fixed and have this paper signed. So it didn't turn out too bad in the end. And I have an appointment to get the light fixed on Wednesday morning. So it was probaby a good thing I got pulled over or I would have never gotten it fixed.

What I'm wondering now, is if it's weird that I feel like my street cred has improved now that I've been pulled over? I feel oddly cooler now that I've had a run-in with the law.