Ok so, I had figured out the logistics of the house arrest. We needed a "hard line" phone line..some how the "Matrix" came to mind, although not nearly as exciting. In fact, really annoying. we called the local phone company to add the line..I needed proof of the line before I could get turned loose. The jail also had to have access to my phone records at anytime. It seemed a bit invasive, but home or not, I was still in custody, and so had no rights. Although, I only needed the line for a few months, they only give 1 year subscriptions...we are still paying for the line EVERY month. Finally, to be done in February.
The phone line was set up in our office(on the main level). My husband the "saver", managed to dig up an old banana phone to plug into the hard line. Oh, another stipulation was that the phone could not be wireless. I guess it was good he was a "saver".
Ok, so I could report we had the line, the jail verified it. I was due to go home somewhere around February 12th-14th...it's jail, there are no definites in jail. I had heard from others that once you get your drug screen, you get sent home in a day or two. Which is odd, because they ALWAYS do random urine, breath tests on those that go to the "outside". Whatever, I was still not confident that it would ever happen. I chose to have the take on it,"If it happens GREAT, if not I will be ok, and out for my DD graduation.
One night when I was actually able to fall asleep with the lights on, with the woman that was in the bunk next to me that constantly had horrible night terrors (her story was really horrible, I understood the terrors), the guards walking through with the jingling keys, and the bathroom toilet(right next to our room flushing, it seemed every 5 mins.)..ALL NIGHT LONG. That night, along about 3:00am, I was woken up by a guard, she was annoyed, she told me they had been calling me over the PA. REALLY?!, they do that all night long..ya tune it out. If it had do do with me, they would come find me...guess what?, they did.
I was escorted down to the guard booth. It was myself, and another woman who also was to go on house arrest around the same time. She was already sitting on the bench. She was drinking water, she had just peed a bit before they had called her down. With sleep in my eyes, and the weird excitement of a drug test, I chatted with her, as she slammed her water. She still couldn't pee. The guard said that I was up. As I got off the bench with my fellow inmate, I said,"Damn, I really wish I hadn't done those "ludes", yesterday". She laughed, the guard did not. I was totally busting up..(on the inside), really?, ludes? Did the guard think I was from 1970? The drug test was fine..Duh. After, my comment the guard seemed surprised..again I mentioned they are not the sharpest crayon in the box.
I think that was February 7th or so. I was able to go home on February 9th (I think) around there....it was shortly after my b-day. I thought, "How strange, it was my longest sentence, but my shortest time behind bars". Hummm?
So the gear they sent me home with was a very stylish ankle bracelet, a modem, another unit that included a camera, and a breathalyzer.
Ok so the phone line went first into the camera box, then the bracelet modem. So to explain further. I was monitored in two ways. The bracelet monitored where I was. Was I at school when I should be was I at home when I should be. It is not like TV, it makes no noise, if you go "out of bounds". If I am not where I am supposed to be it would alarm at the jail.
I was also monitored through the camera/breath box. Basically, a company...I think in California, that is a monitoring center. At the times, I was supposed to be at home, they would call me randomly. ANY TIME DAY and NIGHT...sadly usually in the middle of the night. When they called, I had to answer the phone in so many rings, turn on my camera, zero out the breathalyzer, blow in to the thing while I was on camera, and set the machine back in the cradle so they could read it.
What I learned was that it seemed that I had to be called 2-3 times a day. It also appeared that first, and second shift at the monitoring center were very lazy. So I would get called at midnight, 2:00am, and 4:00am. So annoying, but better than jail. At least when I was woken up, I could go back to my own bed. Sadly, because the "bat phone" was a floor away, and I am a heavy sleeper, my DH was also woken up, who in turn woke me up. I would go tearing down the stairs, bed head, and sheet marks on my face, to grab the phone in the allotted number of rings. I must say, DH was not a happy camper.
Sometimes, the "bat phone", would go off during dinner. DD had a relatively, new BF at the time. I would have to excuse myself for a moment.
Often, the video would not come through, so I would have to be called back. Which in the middle of the night is so annoying. It's 2:00am, I tear down the stairs to grab the "bat phone", I talk to the person at the center who called...the camera did not connect. Now I am at their mercy. I slept at my desk a bunch. Sometimes I would go back to bed. It seemed just as I was falling asleep again they would call. I would tear down the stairs again. Needless to say, not a whole lot of sleep for a few months.
I found it a personal victory, when I was up late studying for a test, and they would call. I was like,"HAHA, I was up, do your thing". I am quite sure they didn't care. Like I said, a personal victory.
The weirdest thing was I got to know the people that called me. I was not angry with them, just the stupid system. Hey, they were doing their job. I got to know their voices, their names. We would chat once in a while...weird huh?
I remember the last time I was called. It was 10:00pm before the day I was released. It was a guy that had called me almost hundreds of times. I told him I was done. It was odd, we had this retarded relationship. Never saw each other..well he saw me. Mostly business, except for the occasion I was awake and studying. He would comment that I answered quickly. HE always said good luck on the test. That night he just said,"Good Luck". The jail REQUESTED I go at 2:00am (that's when they have time) They needed my equipment to give to another. Honestly, I would have rather slept, and turned my stuff in in the AM. Still not my choice.
I still have more to say...not done with this yet. I am done for today.
Hang with me.
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