I was kind of disappointed to see a link here from the other thread regarding laboratory locations, as if one had the end all be all answer, only to find this. Please don't take this as a personal attack, but I am hoping my combination of tone, sarcasm and perspective drive my point home for anyone interested. As a response to the posts: I'm comfortable in my bedroom. That doesn't make it an ideal place to set up a lab. It's probably a bad idea to begin with to have a "drug lab" setup or operating on a rental property, as you aren't the owner and not the only person with a key, in a commercial establishment too? Well, that's OK I guess... so long as it is after hours and you made sure you're comfortable. Yeah, in fact, get REAL comfortable while you're risking your life and freedom. Wear your pajamas, make yourself at home. I understand by comfortable you mean, basically, just the confidence to operate in whatever capacity you are able to justify as 'safe'. However, I would not entertain it one bit, as this certainly can only lead to complacency.
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What do they say about complacency? (I forget, but...) Don't ever delude yourself into a false sense of security, but don't turn your hair grey worrying about it either. "I'm not blitzed on coke running around the building smelling like ether with a kilo of methylamine, talking to everyone that isn't there anyway, so 'it's all good.'" Try to play the part of whoever you say you are and whatever you are supposed to be doing, and try not to look like you might be a paranoid, uncertain and unstable illegal drug manufacturer, attempting suspiciously, to conceal their actions. Treat every cook like the judge, jury and executioner are on their way to do a wellness check on you as soon as you get your crude product out with a militaristic spirit of initiative. Start breaking down and cleaning up before or during re-crystallization, if at all possible, for example.
Contrary to popular belief, jails and penitentiaries aren't full of homosexual rapists and or informants. Surely, there are many more than can be confirmed. I have had the pleasure of visiting a few of these lovely institutions. I don't know where or how everyone else likes to do their time, to each their own, I'd rather be left out that equation. Maybe Hollywood is to blame for the stereotype. Both sodomy and communicating/compromising with authority, at any level, is typically universally and openly shunned. Even the "OK" prison guards don't like snitches, as the guards themselves get told on also. I prefer to read and workout myself, chess is cool too. Loss of freedom as a result of getting caught doing something you're not supposed to comes with the territory, though it doesn't have to be and we do try like hell. At some point it ought to be expected and planned for, though avoided at sometimes high costs.
My advice: kick the biggest guys ass on the first day, or become somebody's bitch..... erm, I mean... Respect everyone but try not to make friends. Don't join any gangs. Stick with "your own people." Don't gamble or get high. Keep your shit to yourself. If you're a solid dude and mind your business and know when to STFU, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Most likely, nobody is going to force anything on you, cop or con, if you don't invite it. If you think you're going to break the law and nothing is ever going to go horribly wrong, you are delusional. Your own blood can be convinced to sell you down the river, "for your own good."... "To keep you from harming yourself or others." Indeed, loose lips do sink ships.
The bottom line, as the old timers said to me, "if you can't do the time then don't do the crime." If you want to step up, prepare for the consequences and to deal with them, ALONE. I promise you, people will listen and say, "well that sucks," but at the end of the day, no one is going to give a shit how bad your luck was and how things turned out. The smart bees don't buy spinning rims and decals for their brand new Escalade with their first wad of cash. They keep it for a rainy day, when they need a lawyer and bail and everyone has unsurprisingly turned their back. I apologize for any perceived offense. I mean none, only to help. Also sorry for the tremendous digression onto the jail topic, however, I haven't seen much advice from anyone on this forum with any real insight or experience about what to do when life gets SNAFU'd. We are not all going to make it to the finish line in one piece, if at all. Statistically, a lot of us are going to slam into a wall at one point or another on this road. I hope to see the BB crew fly above the radar. I wish y'all the best of luck and success and many fruitful cooks! Sorry also, for this tome of a post.
---With love and respect. o7
