No PotD Today

There is no photo today because I left my Purpleberry at work.  Even with the laptop on my lap, I feel disconnected. 

How disconnected? Scott got home an hour ago tentatively holding a jury summons in my direction and this is the first time I've shared that with the outside world.

Jury duty.  In a new county.  In a month.  I'm #100, and am hoping they only call 1-99.  On the bright side, I know it won't be the Casey Anthony case!

Excuse Me!

Good news: I've been excused from jury duty.

Even better news: I didn't even have to make the drive to the courthouse to weasel out of my civic duty. They never got to my group number.

Yay!

County Government: Sucking the Joy Out of Life

I have roughly five vacation posts to write (Atlanta impressions/food, Travel, Hotel, CNN/World of Coke and of course the Aquarium), plus a post about today's unexpected gift and the new Indiana Jones movie, and no desire to write anything at all except this:

Can't a girl catch a break?!?!?

I got a jury summons today.

For Monday June 2.

For a three week civil trial.

And judging by the name of the case, I'm guessing it's medical malpractice.

I called The Boss and asked him to write me a letter begging for me to be excused. He said he'd talk to his boss, but was pretty sure he couldn't. His suggestion? "Punk up" my hair and dress radical.

It's not like I'm against jury duty. After all, I sat through a trial back in 2003. The problem? Let's see...

- The courthouse is basically in the opposite end of the county from my home - probably a 90 minute drive.
- Report time is 7:45 am.
- If chosen for the trial, I'm likely going to need to work on Saturday & Sunday because there's just no one else to fill in for 21 straight days.
- If chosen for the trial, Scott and I will be home together literally for 4 hours per day. And we'll be asleep. He gets home from work around 2, and I'd be leaving at 6. That is SO uncool!
- Let's not even discuss the gas my car will need to get me that far.

Oh yeah, and someone from The Restaurant recently was on the jury for a MURDER trial that only lasted 5 days. Some girls have all the luck!

I have a pretty general sense of foreboding about this time. Last time I got a summons I didn't even have to report. What are the odds my luck will hold?

poo...

Since I Haven't Whined About it in a While...

Remember jury duty? Well I called the "day before" hotline last night, and only groups 1-9 have to go in on Monday. Groups 10-22 (I'm in 17) have to call back Monday night for their status.

I'm really glad I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn on Monday.

I still need to call them on Monday during business hours, because I'm not going to miss ZoePig's vet appointment on Tuesday. I don't want to just be in contempt, ya know? So I figure I'll call and explain my situation to some civil servant who won't be able to do a damn thing for me, and then I'll have something else to whine about.

So at this point, I'm guardedly optimistic about this. Maybe I won't have to go after all. And for those of you wondering why I was so not looking forward to being at the court house at 7:45 am, I have prepared a map of my county.

As you can see, my house is in the bottom-right corner. Tavares is allll the way up, more north than the top of Orange County. It's a long trip along country roads. At 6 in the morning.

I shudder just thinking about it!

JURY DUTY!?!?!?

That's it - I am no longer acknowledging the mail. Why? Because every now and then the mail throws a real dandy at you - like a jury summons!

Apparently I am destined to be one of those "lucky" people. Ask Scott how many time's HE has had jury duty. Yep - never. And certainly not twice in four years.

I had Jury Duty the summer before my wedding. I sat around for one full day getting my happy @$$ hauled from one waiting room to another, and then was assigned to a trial that took place two days later. As an alternate. So not only did I have to drive all the way back to Tavares two days later, I had to spend the entire day in an uncomfortable chair listening to some loser white trash woman complain about the loser white trash man she couldn't decide whether or not to have a restraining order against (she kept canceling it and then changing her mind). And then the judge released me and sent me home. Before the deliberation. I never found out how the case ended.

Honestly, my jury pool is in February, and there's a chance I won't even have to go. And even if I do, it's not the worst way to spend a day. I believe in the criminal justice system at least as much as I believe in the legislative system. Still, opening an envelope that says I have to be in Tavares at 7:45 am on my regular day off makes me a little cranky.

You probably haven't heard the last of this from me. But I'll try to not whine too much.

(btw, the weird font is because I'm e-mailing this in. blogger is down for maintenance)