Friday, December 19, 2008

Bad shopping karma

On the one day I have time to finally shop for holiday gifts (since Thanksgiving weekend, now that school has ended), of course a snow blizzard hits NYC. Still, I trudged out in rainboots, down full-length coat, jumbo hello kitty umbrella and made it to insane Times Square to the Sanrio Luxe store and flagship Toys R Us store to make sure I got some gifts for my cousins' kids.

I didn't fit in time to really shop for grownups. By the time I get to Chicago, it's going to be like 8 degrees, so I won't be stepping outside of the house. They'll have to get mixed cds or something... probably post-X'mas.

After dealing with all of the Times Square madness in freezing rain/snow, two of my classmates and I headed down to the subway in a crowded line of dripping people, balancing on slippery steps. As we approached the turnstile, I had trouble finding my monthly MTA pass among all my pockets. Then one of my friends saw that the MTA exit door was open, so she just yelled at me to just run through the exit. So I did.

As soon as I ran through, I found my monthly pass in a side pocket of my purse and laughed about it. Then we started walking toward the trains... when a cop flashed his badge at me and asked me why I used the exit gate to get in.

I told him that I had my monthly pass but couldn't find it, and I didn't want to stall the line, so I just went through the exit gate that was already open. One of my friends said, "Noooo! I made her do it!" but the officer just ignored her. He was being totally unreasonable, so I was more annoyed at him than with my friend. I told him that I had my monthly pass, but just couldn't find it, and I told him I was willing to go back behind the gate to use it and show him I did have a monthly pass that still worked.

He just kept yammering on his walkie talkie and handed me the ticket like a brainless robot. He told me I could call the number on the back of the ticket to argue my story, so they might waive or reduce the fine. Wow, thanks, man.

I don't see why it's okay to punish someone who actually always pay for MTA instead of people who are really trying to take advantage of the system.

I think he just felt okay fining me because I had shopping bags, meaning I had money to spend. But I'm now a NY resident who pays taxes, that already contribute to his wages!

I appreciate a city that enforces the law so well that I feel safe getting home late at night by myself, but this is bullshit. Anyway, I'm not going to let it ruin my mood during my holiday break. I will call the authorities Monday and let them know how ridiculous this all is, especially during the holiday season!

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Boo! I hate that!! I wonder what percentage of tickets are given to people who really deserve it. And of the people who get tickets, how many concluded anything constructive from the experience. My experiences have only prolonged my dislike for SF. :P

12:21 PM  
Blogger the.nicole.harvey said...

wtf? stuff like this makes me hate automaton transit cops.
the ones here always get to me when I'm in a hurry (obviously running to catch some other train) and I always feel a bit bad about giving them attitude.
actually, I don't feel that bad.
fight the power!

12:37 PM  

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