Warrant for arrest

In Dallas I rode the DART – Dallas’ surprisingly decent light-rail system – to work. Daily passes ($5) were available but I got in the habit of buying them per ride ($2.50) because tickets were easy to buy (thanks to an almost decent mobile app) and I got picked up from work by Heidi for random reasons at least a couple times a month. So, to save $2.50 on those occasions, I bought piecemeal.

The problem with this approach was that I often forgot to buy my ticket on the way home (probably once a week). In early April, I got caught and was handed a $50 fine. She didn't care that I’d forgotten. I didn't have a ticket, so I got fined.

Ugh. In my effort to save $2.50 roughly once or twice a month I’d lost any savings with that fine.

But then it got more fun. I tried to pay online as soon as I got the ticket, but the system hadn't received the ticket yet so I had to wait a week or two to pay. 

Then I moved to California and completely forgot about the whole thing. 

Then my mom got a letter in the mail with a warrant for arrest, addressed to me (which didn't specify who was actually included in the warrant, but I assumed it was me, nor what the cause was). Naturally, I got this letter Friday afternoon after the Dallas constable’s office had closed, so I had the privilege of worrying about it throughout the weekend.

First thing this morning, I called in and confirmed that the warrant was indeed for my “fee evasion” antics in Dallas. My court fees to close this whole thing out? $330. The clerk asked me if the charge was acceptable – my response: “Do I have an alternative?” She laughed.