If you've ever had the pleasure of being transported anywhere in the ShaMobile, you'll know that I like to, shall we say, reduce the time it takes to get from point A to point B by increasing my velocity. Okay, I like to drive fast. I'd been lucky up to this point, (my first and only ticket was in 1998 in Albuquerque) but Tuesday night, my luck ran out.

I was driving on the 880 around 9 o' clock, doing my usual Speedy Sha thing, when from out of nowhere (honestly!) the flashing lights appeared. After that, I had to partake in Yar's least favorite part of being pulled over: interacting with the police officer, when really you just want them to give you the ticket and let you be on your way.

Officer Lady: Do you know why I pulled you over?
Me: Speeding.
OL: Do you know the speed limit here?
Me: 65.
OL: Do you know how fast you were going?
Me: I'm not sure.
OL: I had you at about 90.

Now, an interjection: while I do believe that at some point I probably hit 90 MPH, I don't believe my average speed was 90; probably closer to 80 or 85. While still speeding, it's psychologically (and literally) not as fast.

So anyway, I signed the citation and she told me I should receive something in the mail in 4-6 weeks.

However, last night, I checked the ticket more closely, and realized that the address she had written was my old one, not my current one. While I have updated my address with the DMV, I never got a new drivers license issued. I assumed that when she looked up my information in the computer, my new address would show up, but no such luck. Since the address is from 2 moves ago, I'm not sure my mail is still being forwarded, so I decided to call the number on the ticket to get the address changed. After being put on hold for about 20 minutes (and being forced to listen to some awful smooth jazz,) someone finally answered. I told her the situation, and her answer was, "There's no way we can change the address on the ticket." After some prodding, she told me that the ticket won't be in "The System" for 4 to 6 weeks, after which time I can call and have the address changed.

Dammit.

Whether you think it's a holiday manufactured by Hallmark and FTD, or if you believe it's a day to let the people you love know how much they mean to you, I hope y'all have a happy Valentine's Day!

Had a really good weekend. Saturday night I hung out at Your Place and Albatross with Amanda and some of her friends. I was rocking Taboo towards the end, but that's probably because almost everyone else was drunk.

Sunday afternoon Peter hosted a Super Bowl party in lieu of normal Sunday sports. Amanda made guacamole, which I discovered will not turn brown if you leave the pits in. Amazing. While watching the game, I learned that one of the Seahawks players played for UNM, so I rooted for the Seahawks, sadly. The commercials were ranged from stupid (Escalade) to mildly funny (FedEx), to just plain disturbing (H3). After that Hummer commercial, we tried to figure out what else was the result of an unholy union between a monster and a robot. After that, I watched my very first episode of Grey's Anatomy, which was quite melodramatic, and starred a very tiny Christina Ricci. She was so tiny, we all thought she was her own younger sister. What an interesting skill.

Work this week has been pretty busy. Fortunately, after my coworker Brian helped me last Friday, it morphed from totally overwhelming to just solid work. It even looks like I won't have to work on the weekend, which is always good news.

Finally, Yar booked our tickets to Australia! Woo!

Last week, Domi's cousin Tony Dao was killed after being hit by an SUV during a training bike ride. His cycling club has set up the PCC Tony Dao Memorial Fund to benefit his family. Please consider giving what you can.

Some of you may have heard the news, so just wanted to let y'all know that I still have my job.

Yesterday was a pretty heartbreaking day, though. At first it wasn't anyone I knew too well, but in the afternoon, three of my buds from QA came in and told me they had all been laid off. I understand that it was probably necessary from a business perspective, but as our General Manager said at a meeting this afternoon, it sure felt personal.