Judgement Day...

After that title, I'm going to have trouble tomorrow... but right now I sit in the eye of the storm. My children are still mine, my life isn't in total chaos. Which gives me a chance to talk about yesterday and tomorrow.

Yesterday I was blessed with the opportunity of being... a JUROR. I didn't actually get selected (Although the judicial system demonstrated a remarkable sense of humor) but was able to meet some fascinating people, all from as wide a body as you can imagine.

"I don't know, kid. I can imagine an awful lot." - Han Solo

Okay, a reasonably sized county. We had people drive in (or bus) from the boonies. A homeless guy (I don't know how the mailed him his notice), a few doctors and a guy working on his PhD. Independent business owners. Me. It actually made you hopeful. Most of them seemed capable of making a rational decision.

Until they talked. Criminy! What idiots!

Kidding! The worst part of it was the waiting, the judge jumping out of his seat every two minutes to discuss something with the attorneys while one juror waited to get dismissed. There was a point when one selected juror sighed "yes!" when selected, went to her seat, and told them she couldn't stay due to hardship, and left.

I tried to phone in with that one, but the jury commissioner doesn't handle that. The determination is made by the judge. I wound up talking to a guy about electrical engineering while trying to ignore the MP3 player on full blast whenever the judge left the room.

If you get this call, take it! But bring a book. A good one. Or something to do. And don't forget that you have to go through security.

Which reminds me of another interesting point of the day. A young lady was working security, and one of the jurors was trying to get frisked. He was wearing something (I don't know, lead BVDs maybe) that set off the metal detectors everytime after the first (and, yes, I saw him the first time... and after lunch. And on one recess when I went out to remind myself what outside looked like. It seemed that long.

After lunch, he just smiled and yelled "frisk me!" But he wasn't really paying attention until that point, because she'd been replaced for her lunch. Some guy. The girl was back when we left, and I waved. She smiled and said "see you later," which might be true if I'm still here for 3 years or so and she's still working there. But I'm thinking not.

Today, I patiently wait (clean, really. Mostly) for the in-laws to show up. One of my witnesses husband has food poisoning, which totally stinks. She was relying on him for child care. Also, he's a great guy.

"I tried shoving a wiener in the warp drive..." Mr. Snot, "Star Drek"

So, for now, I'm trying to keep calm... to not snap and scream at every little thing. Particularly the two little things that aren't at school. But my head feels like it's about to pop."