Jury Duty, Day 3

First, I'll recap the rest of my day yesterday - BORING!!!!! I just sat in my spot in the jury assembly area on the computer playing internet games and occassionally slipping in a little work. We were dismissed at 3:30 and I headed out of here. Got to my car and zipped out of the parking lot. I had to go to the Orange Avenue Post Office to do an errand for work. I got there just before 4:00. I stood in a really long line waiting for ONE of the TWO (very slow) workers to greet me, only to be told I couldn't pay for my business reply account due to some error in their system. So I had to go down the hall to have an administrator look into it. I did this and a very nice (and even slower moving) lady came to help me. I sat there for about 10 minutes and she did her thing and told me I could now go pay the fee at the window. Gee, how nice, I got to go stand in another VERY long line and wait for one of the two very slow workers to greet me again! I have to say, I was a bit annoyed at this point! I finally got to the window, paid the fee and got back to my car about at about 4:45. I'm now truly amazed that the US Post Office gets a piece of mail to my door in a matter of a couple of days because the workers at this main post office do not move very quickly.

Oh, well, it was only 4:45 and I had to pick Hannah up by 6:00, so I was glad to know that I could get her a little early and just go home. Until I got on the highway - bumper to bumper going between 10 and 15 mph - THE WHOLE WAY!!!! I was just coming down 71 by Ford at about 5:15 or so when I started getting nervous that I wasn't going to get Hannah in time. I was afraid to have to call Tony because he's not real fun to disturb when he's sick and I didn't want to have to have him leave to go get her at the last minute, so I just hoped that I could get off the highway and zoom over to the other end of town to pick her up. I got off an exit sooner than normal and drove as fast as I could and just hoped there wasn't a cop behind me!!! I pulled into Val's drive way at about 5:58 - I was pretty aggravated at this point! I got hannah and drove home only to almost get stuck in the driveway. I then got the pleasure of snowblowing and shoveling the driveway. I wouldn't have minded so much, but I don't own winter boots and my gloves might as well be made of lace since my fingers were frozen! But it got done and I only stayed aggravated until I warmed up and got a bite to eat.

I then played with Hannah for a while - with her Barbie Diamond Castle that she LOVES (I'm so glad I broke down and got it for her). I also watched American Idol and did a little flipping back and forth to Biggest Loser.

American Idol thoughts: um, getting old, but still intrigued. Hopefully Kara reaplaces Paula, although she seemed to be on better behavior - maybe the kooky glasses helped! I did read that the results shows are only going to last 1/2 hour, so that should be better. I will still watch, but I'm not a fanatic at this point (meaning it'll be OK if I miss one or two shows).

OK, so I realize I did a lot of talking and so far, nothing about jury duty, Day 3. So here we go.......

It's getting harder to get up early. I've been pretty spoiled and don't enjoy seeing this much of the 6 o'clock hour!!! But I rolled out of bed and got ready. I left the house just after 7:30 and today, the traffic moved right along almost until I was approaching the downtown area. It wasn't a bad commute today. I got the parking garage and over to the justice center and glady found "my spot" waiting for me. It was starting to feel almost like a normal routine today. I'm now familiar with the drive, my way into the building and up to this area. It's weird to now feel like I know what I'm doing when I felt so lost just 2 days ago. Wednesday, they bring new jurors into the pool, so I would think that could lessen the chance of my name being called, but we'll see. I had no problem getting on to the internet this morning, so I checked email, did a few work things and sat here and waited. That's the worst part about this - the sitting and waiting. I think I would much prefer to get on a case and hear it out. At least there is something more interesting to help pass the time.

I was treated to a "Wednesday juror" with a very big mouth (and big butt I might add) to sit next to me and NOT SHUT UP!!! I can now tell, I'm getting a little over this experience as I'm easily annoyed. Luckily, she got called around 10:23 (not that I noticed the time) and by lunch time, hasn't yet returned. We were released to lunch (the almost 2 hour lunch) at 11:30. I went to the cafeteria to warm up my can of soup - I would highly recommend bringing your lunch to jury duty - and this other woman (one of the MANY idiots here) was waiting behind me at the microwave. I think she wanted to be nice and strike up a conversation with me, but what she didn't know was I wasn't up for small talk, especially with an IDIOT. Well, she too has been here since Monday and is sick of the snow. She also told me that she's wouldn't want to be one of these defendants......No, really, dumbass? You don't say!!! Would that be because if you were a defendant you most likely committed a crime and may face the fact that you could go to jail?? Or is it more along the lines of because if you were a defendant your destiny could fall into the hands of SOME IDIOT LIKE YOU?????

Oh, boy, I see I'm getting a little cranky!!! Day 3 has been very boring as I sit here on my computer in my cube - no calls of my name yet and I still have at least 3 hours to go before I experience the pleasurable commute home. I'm also tired of listening to stupid people's conversations.

At this point, I would say my curiosity about jury duty has been fulfilled. I see how it works, I'd have rather actually been seated on a case. I just hope at this point though, I'm not called. My luck would have it that I would get seated now and be stuck here past my 5 days. I also overheard someone talking about the fact they got seated on a capital case and would most likely be here for up to 4 weeks or longer. They had to fill out this 14 page questionarre - that would not be fun!!! Thank goodness I didn't get called in that group! The one thing I do wonder is what excactly is an attorney looking for in a juror? I wonder who they DO want seated on a case?? However, I can never know this answer and be OK with it!!!!

I'll update my afternoon in tomorrow's post. Wow, this is one good thing about being here, I actually post a blog every day. Although, no pictures tend to make them not as fun, but hopefully you got a little insight to my days here!!

Jury Duty, Day 2

Well, it was a rough start today. First of all, Tony was up getting sick all night, so I didn't sleep well. I've never heard anyone puke quite like him!! I wouldn't be surprised if he woke the entire neighborhood. Honey, I'm very sorry you didn't feel well - I really am, but I wish you could have felt awful a little more quietly! Seriously, I am sorry you got sick and I hope you feel better soon - and not just so I don't have to hear it again, but because that really sucks!

So anyway, I had to get up earlier than normal again today, although, I didn't have to be downtown until 8:30 this morning. I got the added bonus of having jury duty in lovely Cleveland in January - more snow and colder temps. I got ready and headed out the door by 7:30 (makes me very thankful for my normal 10 minute commute to work on city streets) and dealt with traffic and bad road conditions. It wasn't that good, but really, not horrible either and I got to the parking garage by around 8:15. By the way, yesterday, my car was one of the few that was not double parked, so I was able to get out relatively quickly when we were dismissed at 3:30. And also, by the way, I spent the entire rest of the afternoon sitting and waiting around yesterday. I was never called again for another case and passed the time finding games to play on my very treasured laptop.


OK, back to today - So I got parked and walked over to the Justice Center and came to the jury assembly room. "My spot" at a cube where I sat yesterday was open, but to my dismay, I wasn't able to get an internet connection. Most people around me were having trouble - I only heard of one guy that got on. So I had to find something to do to pass the morning that wasn't work related. I balanced my checkbooks and then played a few games that I brought on CD's - poker and tetris. Then at about 10:30, my name was called again. So off I went. This time with about 24 others and we went to the 23rd floor (the top floor) and were going to be seated for a criminal case. This time, we all just went into a jury holding room. It's like a large conference room with a long table and chairs all around. There were restrooms and the baliff made coffee - gee, how nice of her! So there the 25 or so of us sat - and sat, and sat. We all had to listen to the loud mouth lady who was juror #1 on my case yesterday that the judge excused because she said she couldn't be on a jury because of her religious believes that there is only one judge and it's not her or anyone else in the court systems. Yesterday, when the judge explained to her that the case was not a criminal case, she said, "but the ones involved knows who is guilty and who isn't, so if they're here in court, they'll have to wait to be judged in the end"..........OK, now I believe in the same God, but really, I also believe in (and am grateful to have) our country's court system. This lady didn't shut up for about the first hour sitting in this room today. I thought I might have to shut her up, but she finally simmered down a bit. As we waited, a man came out of the mens room and reported that the toilet wasn't working in there. A few ladies tried the ladies room, and commented that the water didn't look right. The baliff came in around 11:30 and told us to go back to the jury assembly area to wait since the water situation seemed like a problem. We were not dismissed, but just had to wait there instead. So, here's the difference between a civil and criminal case: The civil case you go right in to the court room to start the questioning and begin hearing about the case. A criminal case, you wait in this jury room while they attempt to iron out the plea deal. I finally got my internet connection when I came back to the jury assembly area - YEAH!!! Checked email and a few other things. Around noon, they came back on the speaker to announce that our case had met a plea deal, so we were dismissed off the case and were able to go to lunch. All other jurors not on a case were dismissed for lunch at 11:30 (and had until 1:15 - who gets a hour and 45 minute lunch??? I'm in the wrong business!!!)
Today, I brought my own lunch so not to have to pay for overpriced crappy food. It's bad enough that I have to pay $8 a day for parking and drive here every day. So you give your time AND your money for this public service. Oh, yeah, I forgot - in 2-3 weeks, I'll get my $25 per day to make up for it.
So here I sit again, waiting for my name to be called again - or for 3:30 when I can go for the day!!!! Wonder which will come first? For now, I'll just go back to playing internet games!! Please, oh, please don't let me lose my wireless connection!!!!

Jury Duty, day 1

So here I sit, Downtown Cleveland - at the Justice Center, fulfilling my civic responsibility of jury duty. I have to say, I'm intrigued and curious, but sort of feel trapped as well. I certainly don't mind going to work every day. It's just what I do - I know it and it's just part of my routine.
This week, my routine and what I know is all screwed up by traveling downtown, dealing with traffic and PAYING to park in an overcrowded parking garage - probably blocked in by another car! I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was here right about at 8:00 this morning like I was supposed to be. There was a line about a mile long - well, maybe not a mile, but it was REALLY long to check in. I bet there are between 300 and 400 people here! I was one of the last ones to check in and I found myself a seat on the floor in a corner since all of the chairs seemed to have been taken.
Thank goodness for laptops!!! They do allow them and they do have wireless internet, so I just took my seat and started working. I did some work through the orientation process and then realized my battery was just about done. I had to find an electrical outlet, which I did and started back to work. To my surprise, I was in the very first group of people they called. So I packed up my stuff and headed to the 22nd floor - pretty cool view of the city up there - and stood in another line to get seated to a trial. The bailiff called out names in the order of the seated jury and the alternates. I was actually seated - juror #7. This was a civil case that involved 2 guys who were working for the city as garbage collectors and were injured in an accident that they were claiming was the fault of another driver, who is now dead, but that death was unrelated to this accident -that happened in 2003. So I spent almost 2 hours being asked questions (with all the other seated jurors) by 3 different attorneys and the judge. Just as things seemed to be winding down, and I thought we were going somewhere, one of the attorney's dismissed me. I had thought I was going to be on this case for the 3 days they were expecting and be done, but it didn't pan out this way. So away I went. Then it was lunch time. I went to the cafeteria for an overpriced personal pan sized pizza and then headed back to the waiting room to be called for another case. And here I sit............

I'll update as my week - yes, my 5 day minimum - week of service goes along. Once again, thank GOODNESS for a laptop!!!

Car Shopping Stinks!!!

My lease is up next month on my car. I have one more payment to make for this month and then I need to turn in my car (or at least decide what to do) by Feb. 18th.

I thought my only option was going to be to buy out my lease since I do really like my car, it's only got 26,000 miles and my buyout is pretty reasonable.

So yesterday, I decided to start researching my options. To my pleasant surprise, I think I can buy a new one for the same payment I'm paying now for my current lease! I went to a Chevy Dealership and found that they were offering an V6 Impala for $15,406 and a 4-cylinder Malibu for $15,731. I secured reasonable financing rates so both of these were well within my budget!! It sort of seems like a "no-brainer" to pay $300 less for more car and go with the Impala, however, my husband doesn't like the look of the Impala!!! No mention of a bigger, better, faster, upgraded car.....it doesn't LOOK as good inside or out, so it's really not an option - or not one that he'd be happy with. The catch - the deal ends today.......(of course it does!!!)

So today, I go back to the Mercury dealer where I got my Milan 3 years ago. I can actually get a V6 Milan for $15,892...also within my budget, but my salesman says he thinks the rebates may even get better for the Milan a week from now and suggested I wait to do anything. (by the way, in case anyone is wondering, they're extending the employee pricing for Ford another week).

So the typical Tony and Mary would act now and somewhat impulsively as to not let the good deal slip away, but, I'm very proud to say (and I may kick myself in a month) we're holding off. I'm going to make my final payment and revisit the issue at the end of the month.

Worse case, I can get the new Milan for the same and maybe a few bucks less than he offered me today. I can give the Chevy Dealership another shot at the same (or better) offer in a month. Then - and only then - I just have to make up my mind which car I want to drive for the next 5-8 years!!! I've been so spoiled by leasing all these years and getting a new car every few years, but now I guess we'll be buying a car that I will have to drive for a while.

I'll keep my eye on the incentives and maybe, just maybe, waiting will actually proove to be a better option. I guess there is a chance I won't get as good of a deal in a month, but for once, I'm not being impulsive and I'll take that chance....you'll all hear about it if the best deal slipped pass me!!!

The other good news was that I actually took 1/2 day of vacation today to do this....I never take time off work and honestly, this felt pretty darn good!!! I will also probably regret this when I return to my piles of unfinished business, but that too, will just have to work itself out. I'm really only worried about it since I have jury duty all week next week, so I lose another week of work, but oh, well!!!

So tonight Hannah had gymnastics again and this was the first night in her new class. I was a little worried, but I had explained to her that she was not going to be in Miss Kim's class anymore, but instead with the bigger kids in Miss Callie's class. She told Bobo about that today, so I thought we might be OK since she seemed to be OK with the change. The good news was that Miss Kim wasn't there today, so that probably helped the transition. She went with Miss Callie after warm ups just fine and was actually really excited to be in a different class. She did really well tonight and this group of kids are a little older and seem to listen better and sit still, so that should be really good for Hannah. I took a few pictures tonight, but they're really grainy for some reason. The gym seems well lit, but the pictures come out terrible for some reason? I tried just about every setting on my camera and they just don't come out well. Also there are a TON of orbs in my pictures!!! That place is either haunted or just has a ton of energy in it!!! Here are a few:

The new class is 15 minutes longer, so they get to do a little extra, which is nice. Tonight they got to play with the parachute - which Hannah thought was just great!

Happy New Year!

Wow! 2009 - seems crazy to think about when 1999 rolled in and we were all anticipating the new millenium...and just this fast, 10 years went by and things are just great! It might be fun to compare things from 1999 to 2009, but that may take too much brain power, so I'll just say, "Happy New Year 2009" and I love my life now!!!

So we had to work on New Year's Eve. Daycare called to pick Hannah up by 10:00 Wednesday morning. Their furnace went out - or so we're told - so we had to pick her up. She came to work with me for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. I had a movie there for her to watch and she sat in my office and was overall, really good. We had lunch together and then I tried finishing up a few things and we left around 2:30. My dad came up to fix the hot water tank that he just installed the night before. There was a leak on the new one and he insisted on coming up to take care of it - THANK YOU DAD!!!!! I felt so guilty to have him drive up just to do a quick little fix, but he said that's what he signed up for 30-some years ago! Anyway, I really appreciate it!!!

We got ready and went over to our friend's house - Mike & Heather - to celebrate the New Year. Everyone brought their kids so they all played together and we just hung out and played a few games too. It was fun. The kids got their jammies on around 9-10:00 and watched a couple movies. Hannah was SO exhausted, but she made it all the way to midnight!!!! Here are a few pictures from the evening:

And this one was just minutes after midnight - Hannah just couldn't take it anymore!!! She was SO tired!

We packed up to go home shortly after midnight and went to bed. We had a pretty lazy day New Year's Day. We went to my mom's for dinner and then back home again. We both worked Friday and didn't do much Friday evening.

I went for a massage this morning! So nice! Tony had gotten it for me for my birthday and I wanted to use it before the place closes down - no sign of that, but who knows with this lovely economy! It felt great and the therapist commented on how many knots I had in my neck and back! Yeah, no kidding! Just a few weeks ago making cookies, I almost couldn't stand upright because I was so knotted up! Maybe that's why I've had headaches lately too? Well, anyway, it felt great and I'll have to maybe do that for myself every now and then.

Here's some pictures of Hannah's "one month before I'm 3". I can't believe that's less 30 days from now! YIKES - guess I'd better decide what we're doing to celebrate it - party or no party?? She's just so excited to get to be the one who gets to blow out the candles this time!!! She's been to so many other people's birthday parties the past several months, so she's ready for it to be her turn! Although, it was awfully nice of Jesus to let her blow out the candles on his cake last week!!

We're off to play poker tonight! Wish me luck!!!