I won't post photos tonight...
The kitchen cabinets are half way done...they're all up, but no doors or little finishes and frankly they look frighteningly awful. It's crazy designing your own kitchen. Jason & I spent months planning and searching and looking at samples of everything in all different light, but you don't know just what it will look like until it's all done. So I can't look at it at this stage because it frightens me that we've chosen something wrong. I'm sure I'll love it tomorrow.
I did manage to get out of jury duty. It's a long story. Should I really go into the whole story? Don't read on if that sounds like a boring topic because I'll now tell the story: today was very different from last Monday. Last Monday, 200 potential jurors (myself included) sat in a hallway for most of the day not knowing what was going on. They called about 35 numbers randomly (we were each assigned a number) and those people disappeared into a court room only to be sent back out for a lunch break 15 minutes later. We were all told to return an hour & a half later after we'd had a break (a break from what?). When we came back, we were told to take another break for an hour. When we came back again, they took the same 35 or so into the court room, sent them out 5 minutes later for what they thought would be a 5 minute break. The next thing we were told was to all go home and return next Monday at 8:30am (which was today). That was at 4:10pm. What a waste of 200 people's time! I couldn't believe I had to do it again today. However, today all 165 of us (the other 35 were selected for a trial I guess) were brought right into a court room where we were to be selected for a number of civil trials. They asked if there was anyone with a medical reason they couldn't be on a jury... then could anyone not understand written or spoken English...it was very intimidating. You had to be presented to the judge in front of all these people and explain why you were too ill or needed surgery etc. So when they asked if anyone had an extreme hardship or reason, financial or otherwise, why they couldn't be on a jury I was hesitant to approach. I knew Jason would be mad if I didn't at least try though. We really would be stuck if I had to spend weeks on a jury! So I did get up. Now, the only person the judge had excused so far was a man who said he was going to throw up right then & there (good one!) so I wasn't sure having small kids to look after was going to cut it. The woman presented her plea a couple of people before me that she had 2 small kids at home and he looked at her a little disgusted and told her to sit down. Well my knees were shaking as I approached - not unlike the lion in the Wizard of Oz now that I think of it. I told him my husband had to take the day off for me to be here & that I had 3 small kids at home. He asked their age. When I told him he said, "aren't 2 of them in school then?" I said that the middle one was only in for half days. He told me to sit down. I thought that meant my excuse wasn't good enough. When everyone had given their stories and he had told us ALL to sit down, I overheard him saying some of the juror numbers to the secretary or whoever and one of the numbers was mine. He didn't call them out though, but I thought I heard him saying something about not including those numbers in the draw...because it is a draw. It's just like bingo. They call out a number and that person goes up and sits in the jurors box. And so it began. Lawyers came in 2 by 2...said how long they thought their case would last, 6 numbers were called, the lawyers had the option of rejecting people (without asking ANY questions, just by looking at us!) and then they would agree on a jury. The jury would be sworn in, they would be wisked away to start their trial either immediately or tomorrow, then the next pair of lawyers would be called in. 2 juries were decided on, and in the third, my number was called. I was sitting in the jurors box and neither judge contested my selection. The jury had been selected for this trial. I was just about to be sworn in when I meekly said to the bailiff, "I think I might have been excused." She shouts out to the judge that juror 6 thinks she might have been excused. I called out my juror number and sure enough...I had been excused. Whew. I ran out of there! I must admit, it would be interesting to be a juror, I hope one day I get to, but right now, it would be SO HARD to balance and to find care for the kids. So I guess I got lucky! - Dana
I did manage to get out of jury duty. It's a long story. Should I really go into the whole story? Don't read on if that sounds like a boring topic because I'll now tell the story: today was very different from last Monday. Last Monday, 200 potential jurors (myself included) sat in a hallway for most of the day not knowing what was going on. They called about 35 numbers randomly (we were each assigned a number) and those people disappeared into a court room only to be sent back out for a lunch break 15 minutes later. We were all told to return an hour & a half later after we'd had a break (a break from what?). When we came back, we were told to take another break for an hour. When we came back again, they took the same 35 or so into the court room, sent them out 5 minutes later for what they thought would be a 5 minute break. The next thing we were told was to all go home and return next Monday at 8:30am (which was today). That was at 4:10pm. What a waste of 200 people's time! I couldn't believe I had to do it again today. However, today all 165 of us (the other 35 were selected for a trial I guess) were brought right into a court room where we were to be selected for a number of civil trials. They asked if there was anyone with a medical reason they couldn't be on a jury... then could anyone not understand written or spoken English...it was very intimidating. You had to be presented to the judge in front of all these people and explain why you were too ill or needed surgery etc. So when they asked if anyone had an extreme hardship or reason, financial or otherwise, why they couldn't be on a jury I was hesitant to approach. I knew Jason would be mad if I didn't at least try though. We really would be stuck if I had to spend weeks on a jury! So I did get up. Now, the only person the judge had excused so far was a man who said he was going to throw up right then & there (good one!) so I wasn't sure having small kids to look after was going to cut it. The woman presented her plea a couple of people before me that she had 2 small kids at home and he looked at her a little disgusted and told her to sit down. Well my knees were shaking as I approached - not unlike the lion in the Wizard of Oz now that I think of it. I told him my husband had to take the day off for me to be here & that I had 3 small kids at home. He asked their age. When I told him he said, "aren't 2 of them in school then?" I said that the middle one was only in for half days. He told me to sit down. I thought that meant my excuse wasn't good enough. When everyone had given their stories and he had told us ALL to sit down, I overheard him saying some of the juror numbers to the secretary or whoever and one of the numbers was mine. He didn't call them out though, but I thought I heard him saying something about not including those numbers in the draw...because it is a draw. It's just like bingo. They call out a number and that person goes up and sits in the jurors box. And so it began. Lawyers came in 2 by 2...said how long they thought their case would last, 6 numbers were called, the lawyers had the option of rejecting people (without asking ANY questions, just by looking at us!) and then they would agree on a jury. The jury would be sworn in, they would be wisked away to start their trial either immediately or tomorrow, then the next pair of lawyers would be called in. 2 juries were decided on, and in the third, my number was called. I was sitting in the jurors box and neither judge contested my selection. The jury had been selected for this trial. I was just about to be sworn in when I meekly said to the bailiff, "I think I might have been excused." She shouts out to the judge that juror 6 thinks she might have been excused. I called out my juror number and sure enough...I had been excused. Whew. I ran out of there! I must admit, it would be interesting to be a juror, I hope one day I get to, but right now, it would be SO HARD to balance and to find care for the kids. So I guess I got lucky! - Dana
posted by St. Louis Family at 8:31 PM
1 Comments:
"Well, y'see, your honour, awhile back, we were walking down the yellow brick road, and --"
That's always been one of my favourite parts of that movie.
- Andrew
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