raison

As it turns out, I'll have to quit my current job in order to make room for the Ramsey County Jail internship in fall. There are other reasons for quitting this job, too, some of them best left unsaid—until my last day, at least. For one, there aren't many opportunities for growth in the foreseeable future. I do love my coworkers, however. Apparently they love me too, as implied by the element of denial in the following conversation:

Me: Did I tell you I'm leaving in August?
Payroll guy: You're full of shit!
Me: Wow, that was unexpected! [Both laugh.]
Payroll guy: Oh, you're serious?

He then proceeded to suggest that I get a bunch of Monopoly "Get out of jail" cards and distribute them to inmates at my internship. Quite a conversation, that.

By the way, the Rocori High School shootings trial ended today. What I read in the Star Tribune this morning pissed me off to no end:

Told by an investigator that he had killed a student at Rocori High School, John Jason McLaughlin smacked his fist on a table, hid his face against a nearby wall, then laid his head down on the table and began to sob.

I watched the video of this emotional "reaction," and although I would normally side with the defense in a juvenile case, all I wanted to do was hurt this kid (if he's sane). I mean, please!!! You want us to believe you took a loaded gun, chased a kid through the school, shot him in the FOREHEAD, and all you meant to do was injure him. Here's a newsflash: Guns kill people. And no, 15 is not too young an age to know this. I'm surprised his lawyer is even pursuing this diastrous line of defense. I don't know enough about the case yet to render an opinion on the mental illness issue.