My bet is it's a little of both. Yes, it happens to white drivers too, but I'm sure you're not imagining the extra little bit of intimidation tactics etc.

While it is intimidating, it has always struck me more as a step in the profiling process than primarily a tactic. To be fair to the guy scoping me out on Hwy 12, he may have actually been able to recognize me as the owner of my car if he's one of the cops that patrols my neighborhood. An optimistic part of my brain would like to believe that's what that was about.

In Work is Stupid news - I had a question for another department late in the day yesterday, and the person I went to with it suggested we ask person #2, who I happened to see heading out the door right then. So I sent an email to these two people. And went home. And overnight a flurry of emails went to a growing address list including a group list that basically spams the whole company. Which is apparently up to me to clean up, somehow.

And of all the many many things I should be doing before taking several days off I don't want to do any. But that is just me, can't really blame that on anyone else.

And another email with a different group list cc'd asking me for information I already gave and telling me something I already know and have explicitly acknowledged. Awesome.

I just left a voice message, and ended it like it was an email-- like I used a closing and said my name. I think I am losing it.

At least you didn't say "I love you!"

Best,
Jesse

That is true! But I am uncoupled and un-childed, so I actually don't say that too often! But I do say "Regards, Nadine" a lot in email!

Who wouldn't want your regards?

I always feel awkward ending a voicemail message. We as a culture need to standardize that somehow. Okthxbye, or whatever.

When I leave voice mails for work, I do a variant on the closing I do for troubleshooting calls, "Thanks for working with X Company, Bye."

I just left a voice message, and ended it like it was an email-- like I used a closing and said my name.

This reminds me of Sleepy Hollow and Ichabod's voicemail message to Abbie.

Aw.

And you should totally claim you were making a reference, Sophia.

The last time I was pulled over, I knew it was for the expired plate, but my reaction was "Where the hell did you come from!" when I saw the lights in my mirror.

That's usually my reaction, but it could be because I'm never really paying attention for cops. Which is just another variant on driving while white, really. The last time I was pulled over, it was for an expired registration - over a year expired, and I had to go out of my own county before a cop noticed it. Middle-aged white woman in a blue hatchback? Invisible, apparently.

By the way, adjust your side mirrors. Swing them out so you can't see your own car in them. Then you don't have a blind spot.

I end work voicemails with "Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions! Good-bye." I feel that engineers especially are subconsciously relieved to have the definite ending marker of "good-bye".