Blue light special

It's no secret my poor car has suffered neglect. The roof leaks, oil leaks, the brakes are squealing, the shocks are shot.
It runs, but not well.

We'll be retiring my trusted Saturn in the near future.

At any rate, my current inspection sticker expired at the end of the month. I took the car in Saturday, and much to my dismay (but not surprise), it failed. The "Check Engine" ( or in my case, "Service Engine Soon") light has been on for some time. The place I used to take it never noted it.

Apparently, it has something to do with the O2 sensor being slow to respond. So, the mechanic slapped a rejection sticker on it and suggested I make an appointment with them to look at it. I have 60 days to resolve the issue.

I made an appointment for Friday, requiring a day off from work.

Well, this morning, I pull out on to RT 18 and passed a cruiser. I silently counted 3 mississippis in my head, and sure enough there were the blue strobes in my rear view mirror.

I pulled over, got out my license and registration, and waited for Ms Cop to finish running my plate and come talk to me.

I wasn't surprised to get pulled over. Yes, I have 60 days, but the fuzz doesn't know that until they stop me. What did surprise me was the following exchange after the copper looked at my registration. (Note: the car is registered in KG's name.)

Cop: Is this your daughter's car?
Me: ?!?!?!

Yes, officer. The car is registered to my 2 year old daughter. Christ on a cracker, I know I have some gray hair, and this morning I was looking a little grizzled. But for fuck's sake, she had my license in her hand that clearly shows my birth year as 1973!

I must have given her a look, because she quickly said "Your wife's car?"

Damn, man. Color me pissed.

So, as soon as I got to work, I called the autoshop. Friday is as soon as I can take a day off. Here's hoping I can make it through the next two days without getting pulled over again.