Journal lingqi's Journal: May 13th, 2004 7

May 13th, 2004 (4:35pm)

If I do not write this now, another hiatus will surely ensue because there is just so much I need to do, for at least a few monthes.

Tuesday, in regard to my speed violation, I went down to the police station handling all photo-capture speeding machines in Omiya. They are responsible for the entire Saitama Prefecture, so it seems. The building is situated on #17 bypass, just a few km west of the Omiya train station. It's not a new building, and in fact is older and more out-of-shape than almost every structure surrounding it. It is not dirty, but you can see that it was built several decades ago and was used for the entire duration between then and now.

The south west corner of the first floor of the building had all its windows open, I could see police officers in white uniforms hussling about in an office setting. I don't think that room gets air conditioning and I briefly imagined the same spot a few monthes later, when the air is thick and hot, stirring lethargically under the blazing sun. Desk fans whirl laboriously on the windows, but not helping the officers, still in their uniforms, buttoned to the top, sweating. Few of them would have a towel on their head to assist with the frequent wiping of sweat.

I guiltily felt a hint epicaricacy (schadenfreude, for the ones claiming epicaricacy is not an accepted word).

The feeling was not long lasting, though - it has come to my attention that despite the insane amount of burden that is placed on the individual, due to the extremely polite attitude that is exhibited during these events, one cannot help but become docile and accept them without complaint. The payment stations at highway exits, for example, extracts something close to like one dollar per mile on the highway, but the attendant's unfading politeness attenuates any anger toward the indisputable fact that this is in fact, highway robbery.

Police station operated in the same way. It was an effort to remind myself that I was going to be put through a trial no simpler than the most deadly of labyrinthes - to the tune of up to 100,000 yen _plus_ a month of driver's license suspension - all for something as incredibly harmless as driving 20miles above at 2am when the road was all but void of any sign of activity.

I felt that I have reached some revelation, almost - maybe if you are nice enough about it, people would put up with some incredibly ludicrous demands, willingly.

Not having the time to write longer, I will comment that speeding anything over 30 is considered a serious offense and one is required to go to various things: first the police station to even recieve your ticket (I have to go twice because the first time was without an interpreter, which the government will provie the second time, for free I hope), once to the court to get a judgment on how much you will have to pay, and last but not least a day course in driver's safety - afterwhich passing a test will shorten the license suspension period by 29 days to one day.

As I have said in the beginning, I have many things to do for the forseeable near future.