At the police station...getting finger-printed...for the FBI

No, really.  There I was at the Glenorchy Police Station on Thursday getting finger-printed by a female officer.  They have a bench with a little strip across it, and she gets out a roller and paints black sticky ink all over it.  "Now just relax," she told me, "if you look away then you will be less likely to try to 'help' me, if you know what I mean."  Most of the crims in there just do their own, she tells me.  "Because they've done it so many times huh?" Yep.  In the toilets I attempt to wash the ink off with soap, but it sticks and is all over my previously clear nail polish.  Note to self: buy some wet wipes.

Backtrack a few days and I was on the internet looking up how to get a criminal history check from the USA, as I lived there for 18 months during my church mission, and I discover I must send my fingerprints to the FBI with a few forms and $18 USD.  Sounds like an organised crime job eh?  Why do I need a criminal history check?  Well, ask the Japanese consulate...yes, the plot thickens.  It's all part of an application for something called the "JET programme."  Kinda scary to think the FBI will have my fingerprints.  Hope I don't a have genetic-twin axe-murderer out there...