new soundtrack: allotropy

Hop on over to muse_to_match to download my latest soundtrack :)

so has anyone on my flist been subpoenaed before?

I just got a citation for a hearing about my yard. My yard guy - who is a COP - for some reason missed our house one week, so instead of two weeks, three weeks went by before he came and cut it. We actually had to call and ask him if he was still cutting the lawn. Anyway, the night before he cut it, apparently a health officer came by - at 10:30 PM the citation reads - and we were written up for "improper yard care", listing long grass, dog waste and excessive barking. The long grass, okay, that was unfortunate, but not usual for us. The dog waste - could she really see into our yard that late at night? And also, we pick it up every other day, but we have 2 huge dogs and a little dog, so you know what? There will never not be dog poop in the yard, that's just how it works. It's never the SAME dog poop, but it's going to be there. And the barking is just because our neighbors hate us, and it's impossible to prove or disprove. I am sick to my stomach, seriously. J is like, I'll just talk for you, but I don't know if they'll even let him talk, given that the house is under my name? But we're married, so technically even if he's not on the homeowners papers, he still owns half the house, right? And I'm worried about court costs and fines and I don't know what to do. I really hate our neighbors so much. They have been so mean to me for years.

And our yard is NEVER going to be pretty, and that should not be a factor. It's impossible to keep good grass with 3 dogs running around. Oh, oh, and the ironic thing is that this letter came today, after we got back from the nursery, where we bought 3 rose bushes in an attempt to make the yard look at least a little nice, because we figure MAYBE the thorns will keep Moose out of the garden.

PLUS, this is basically the first time since JANUARY that J has been able to get around because of his reconstructive ankle surgery, so we really couldn't have done any big overall yard stuff that was needed in the spring after the winter. Do you think that will help our case? I almost wish they'd just fine us and we pay it and go our merry way, even though we DON'T have the money for a fine, because then at least I won't have to get up in front of a freaking judge. I just have to zen out. I mean, this is just something that happens sometimes, and I'm not going to jail and they're not going to take my house away or anything, so it's not the end of the world, right? I can live through this. I have to relax. The court date isn't until the end of July, so if I don't relax I'm going to give myself an ulcer or something in the meantime. Fuck.