Fuck no, they aren't realistic. There is a lot of stuff that they can't/won't show you. They won't show you how crooked those guards can get. They don't show you the tremendous fuckups that are made in the prison bureaucracy. Li'l Bandit knows all about my prison time. He knew why I was there. I'm not going to lie to him. I wrote/called regularly (I even drew up comics featuring Jake and Finn from "Adventure Time" to send to him; he loved that show. Ask if you want to see them.), and my dad would bring him up to visit me every few months. (Although I would have preferred no visits; they are awkward as hell, and you're really depressed for the rest of the day. I only did it for them; inmates can refuse visits. It's one of the few rights we had.). Professionally it has been a huge setback. I have an okay job now, but for about a year after I got out, nobody in my field (auto/truck/heavy equipment repair) would touch me. I worked free-lance during that time. It's going to be awhile until I can get hired with a better firm. Personally, it hasn't done much; there were some people who stopped talking to me after I went to prison, but fuck them. I'm still the same person I was before. An experience like that lets you know who your real friends are. Solitary confinement is a necessary evil, if you ask me. I think it is harmful to the psyche (my brother spent a total of a few YEARS in solitary. I really wish he was here to add to this thread.), but there are some guys who are so violent/unpredictable that there seems to be no other option. My political views are exactly the same. I think Republicans and Democrats are two sides of the same coin. I can elaborate if you want, but I don't want this to become a political thread. 'Nerds, I'm gonna get back to you on this one because there is a lot to say about the subject. Also, Gravy, I haven't forgotten about your funny story question; I'm going through some letters that I sent to my brother, and I'm transcribing them. I went to prison for a DWI while I was on probation for DWI. If you want more details, go back to our DUI thread a few years ago. I believe that the title was "6th time's the charm." Keep in mind that my views have changed a little since then (but not much). As to your question about Jungle Julia writing to me: She wasn't just writing to some random inmate (although there ARE women who do that), she and I had a few mutual friends, and she had actually contacted me on her own when I was still free. Re-read my responses. I thought I made everything pretty clear. But if not, I'll tell you what you need to know.
Okay folks, I'm back on duty for this thread. I apologize for stepping out for so long; my dad's health has been declining rapidly, and that has been taking up a lot of my time. Okay, I must preface this question with the following statement: Conditions can (and often do) vary wildly from one unit to the next. Hell, sometimes the conditions vary from one building to another on the same unit. As I said before, most of my time was spent on transfer units. Almost all transfer units in Texas are sheetmetal buildings that were built in the '80s, laid out in the following pattern (this is the Garza West unit in Beeville, which is the designated "Intake unit" for new prisoners for the South Texas region.) Those units don't have cells for the most part; they have dorms that house 48-58 men, depending on how they arrange the bunks. There is one building on every one of those units that does, though. It's referred to as "seg" (short for segregation), or "the chicken coop," because they don't use bars. Instead, they use a layer of expanded metal, and chain-link fencing. I had to spend a month in the chicken coop at Garza West... That... That was an experience. Anyway, the dorms measure about 50'x50'. I can draw a layout if y'all like. When you are on one of those units, the only time you leave the dorm is to go to the chow hall, for work or school, for medical and/or pill window (where you get your prescribed medication), to go to the mail room, to go to the building that hands out disciplinary cases, or to go to outdoor rec. There are other reasons, but the point I'm trying to make is that you basically spend all of your time inside one big room. Your bunk area is considered your cell. The unit I spent most of my time on (Dominguez, in San Antonio) usually only had outdoor rec once a month. Garza West called for outdoor rec a few times a week. This is one of those cost cutting measures I was talking about earlier. At Dominguez, they said that they didn't have the staff to have outdoor rec more often than that, and once a month is all that they were legally required to give us at a transfer unit. The state can get away with doing this because it was considered a transfer unit. At an ID unit (where prisoners will be staying for the long haul) like McConnell, Briscoe, Coffield, Ramsey, or Walls, you get a lot more privileges. You get to go to rec every day. You can go to the library on a regular basis (getting to the library was HELL at Dominguez). The food is better. They have more/better jobs and programs. I signed up for every educational program I could (there's a funny story in that) to stave off boredom. I had a job working as an SSI (Systems Support Inmate) at Dominguez; basically, I was a janitor, but the job gave me a lot of freedoms and privileges that other inmates didn't have. I worked from 10pm to 6am, but if I finished early, my time was free. I got into a good workout routine with the spare time. (Oh, free-weights are gone from Texas prisons. I used a "weight bag," a nylon-mesh bag filled with 16.9 ounce water bottles. These were not allowed, but I got to keep mine because I had a job in that building. Perks of the job.) I read A LOT. Like I said before, I have a bunch of book reviews to transcribe and post in the book review thread. I'll get to it soon, I promise. There's a lot more that I can say about daily life, 'Nerds, so ask away about details. I trust cops even less than I did before. I sure as shit don't drink and drive anymore. I never thought that they would actually send me to prison for that, since I never hurt anyone and never caused any property damage. I just got caught speeding after I'd had some beers... Several times. And the Texas criminal justice system used to not give a shit about that; they'd just stack on more probation. But then I actually got sent up, and I met guys who got WAY more time than I did for the same thing. I'm talking 20, 30 years. Now, they probably won't do all that time, but they'll lose significant parts of their lives that they WILL miss. I lost two years of my early 30s. I still drink, but I don't drink and drive anymore. Make no mistake; I screwed up, BUT I DID NOT DESERVE TO BE BRANDED A FELON. I will not back down on that as long as I live, so y'all can forget about trying to argue with me on this. Do any of y'all have any more questions about Jungle Julia?
So you say you will never drink and drive again. The prison sentence/felony accomplished what it set out to do. How else could they have punished you to get you to stop without sending you to prison? This is a real question. I'm not trolling. If I remember correctly, several years ago they sent you to rehab instead of prison. But then you got another DUI. I'm very curious about how to get people to stop fucking up without prison. I wish the state could invest its money in some sort of program that doesn't leave people in a worse place than when they started out. I understand why you have to get the most dangerous people away from the masses.
I'm curious about this too. I used to be very hardline against drinking and driving, but I've softened my stance a bit while examining the kind of impact a felony charge can have on someone's life, especially if they didn't cause any harm (injury, death, property damage, etc.).
The one thing that you have to keep in mind with this is some of that is pure luck. I'm sure at some point in his (or anyone who drank and droves) life he was distracted behind the wheel for long enough that if he has been unlucky then he could have hurt or killed someone. I understand the legal system punishes both on intent and result (attempted murder vs murder and stuff like that). But saying that you didn't get into an accident doesn't always mean you did something less wrong than someone who did. Just means you got lucky. Not to get this off topic but just as an add into the question regarding punishments.
YOU, trolling? Perish the thought! Anyway, let me put it this way: the prison sentence did its job, but the felony on my record is a ball and chain that I can never get rid of. Yeah, I got sent to a state rehab facility for six months (which in many ways was worse than prison), but I never intended to stop drinking or doing drugs. I saw it as an "inconvenience." Like I said before, I didn't think that the state would actually give me prison time for what I did. To this day, my dad still can't believe it. I just KNEW you were going to chime in on this thread, Volo (once it took this turn, anyway). A felony conviction is a huge stumbling block once you get out of prison, even for menial jobs; believe me, I found out the hard way. In addition, I can't vote, I can't own a gun (even though I'm a non-violent offender), there are many countries I can never visit, there are lots of jobs I can never have, etc. What did my crime have to do with any of that? Can you define "fucking up," Frebis? I think prison is a "necessary evil," and even though I didn't like it, I think I benefited from it; I probably wouldn't have stopped drinking and driving if I hadn't gone there. I wish it didn't turn out that way, but I can be a very stubborn guy on some issues (shocking, I know). Some guys never learn, though, and some actually like the lifestyle. trojanstf, are you always 100% focused on your driving? If you are, I'll suck your dick. On a live web-feed on this board. Everyone gets "distracted" some times while they are driving, whether they know it or not. Have you just been "lucky" that a kid never ran in front of your car while you were changing your radio station or reaching for a soda? Look, I've already admitted that what I did was wrong/stupid. What is your stance on people who operate motor vehicles that don't have proper safety equipment/ aren't in good running order? I'm a mechanic, and on an almost daily basis, people bring in cars that are unsafe to drive (bad brakes, bad lighting, stalling in traffic, can't get up to speed, etc.). Should those people be charged with serious crimes and a felony charge? A car with bad brakes will kill you just as dead as one driven by a drunk. Yeah, wasn't this thread supposed to be about Jungle Julia and my time in prison? With the exception of Frebis, Volo, and trojanstf (because I specifically asked them questions), I'm going to invoke my power of "fuck off" to any questions about my DWIs or my opinions on the subject. I've made my views on that subject abundantly clear many, many times on this board. If anyone else has something to say/ask me about that subject, PM me. Let's keep this thread on topic.
Not about JJ directly, but have you always liked "bigger" women? Or is this something you've become attracted to? It seems that while you've always posted bush, the girls have become borderline Lane Bryant customers.
I know you answered this, but in my opinion, not fully. Did you ask her what made her write to you? You mentioned that she is in grad school, had a boyfriend, etc. I would assume that time was short based on ....just life. In this world of text and email, why would she pick up a pen, paper, and go out and buy a stamp to write the first old fashioned letter to a guy she has never actuallly met who is in prison?
(Chuckles to self) I've always loved "thick" women. I appreciated most female body types, but I like those the best. Ironically, most of the women I've dated had unexceptional, average body types. Believe it or not, I date women for their personality, and their body is secondary. If you can't stand being around her, who cares how hot she is? I just happened to get really lucky with Jungle Julia. You're right, I have been posting a lot more plus-size women in the Drunk Thread. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1) Jungle Julia is plus-size/curvy; her measurements are almost exactly the same as Ashley Graham's. I see JJ almost every day, so I've got that on my mind. 2) I have several friends (one of whom is a plus-size model) who are always posting pictures of thick/curvy/"chubby"* women on Facebook, so I see it there too. *They're listed as "chubby," but I would fuck those women until my dick broke off. It's all in how she carries the weight. Well isn't it obvious, mya? Women find me irresistible. If you had lived in my area, it might have been you who was writing to me. All kidding aside, mya, that's a really great question, and one I myself wondered about for years. We've talked about it before, but her exact reasoning escapes me right now. To give you the best answer, I'll ask Jungle Julia about it and give you her side, as well as my own theories. That means I'll have to get back with you tomorrow or the next day. Thanks for the great questions.