Justice

Friday, March 31, 2006

spring ahead

I have had one of those weeks where I have complained a lot. I don't really like myself when I get like this. Too much to do, not enough time and we LOSE an hour of sleep. At least the clock in my car will be right again!

One last day of jury duty next Tuesday. I can't wait.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Fools fest

I had my first of two recall days yesterday. It took all of 15 minutes before I was feeling frustrated with the people around me. I think the stupid guy got more stupid in the week and a half we were away. Once again, I was shocked by the ignorance of some of my fellow jurors. It is amazing to me that they sit there and judge witnesses and criticize attorneys. One more day. I can't wait.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Before

Now that you have seen what the house looks like now, I thought you might want to see where we have been living for the last #* months :)

The picture to the left is the master bedroom ceiling. You'll notice where the old ceiling was (where the yellow paint ends). We raised the ceiling. The room has a great feel!






Below is the master bathroom. The shower will cover the currently exposed brick wall.















This is a shot of the back bedroom. Yes, this is where my father stayed when he came to visit. He said he liked camping.










Thought I'd sneak in a picture of Eddy. He is a bit freaked out by all the commotion, but still cute as can be (and crazy). Sadly, our new refrigerator is a side-by-side so Eddy can't help himself to snacks.










Another shot of the master bedroom.













Another picture of the back bedroom. My father put up and taped all the blue insulation (and then some). We told him the more he got finished the warmer he'd be!









So, now we are all caught up. I am looking forward to the weekend. My first week back after jury duty is tough. It feels like the first week back to school after summer break. I go back to jury duty on Tuesday. Ooh. The excitement is killing me (no pun intended).
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Walls

For those of you only interested in my experience with the justice system, this post won't be too exciting. I go back next Wednesday and I'm sure I'll have lots to say. Below are some shots of our house. The drywall is up and supposedly they are coming to finish (tape/joint compound/sanding) tonight (they were going to come Monday and Tuesday also...)



Here is the man that is coordinating all of this (with some administrative help from me).

















This is a picture of the front door and living room while standing on the stairs.












This is the master bathroom ceiling and skylight.

Above is the back bedroom with new windows!
This is another shot of the living room.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Back to the mill

I am back to work at Arlington Mill. It is nice to be back - funny how life just goes on without you. It is weird. You don't want to leave your job with them not being able to function without you but you also want to be needed. Interesting little dynamic.

We have wall and ceilings. I will post pictures soon! The drywall guys came in and did the whole house this weekend. At some point they helped themselves to beers in the fridge but I guess I'll let that one go...

Lots of ultimate frisbee this weekend. Amazing weather. High of 83 today! Gosh, it sure is nice not to be sitting in the jury room!

Friday, March 10, 2006

Whoo-hoo!

L-dawg is finished. I can't believe five weeks has gone by. I am looking forward to a great weekend of ultimate frisbee, drywall (tomorrow at 7:30 am - I'll believe it when I see it - although, since I'd like to sleep in they probably will show up), and going back to work! I have a new appreciation for my job. I go back to jury duty the 21st - a quick week and a half, and then the 4th. I think these days will be better since they are in isolation. Anyway, we ended with a big vote that got delayed due the late hour. We'll get it on recall.

LAST DAY!

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Wrap it up

Phew! What a busy week...all of the AUSAs (assitant united states attorney) are trying to wrap up cases that they started. It is always better to have a jury vote when they have heard witnesses vs. hours of transcripts (which I can confirm is incredibly boring). So, we were busy all day. I would have preferred to be doing the crossword, knitting or reading for my class. Oh well. I found that a great way to kill time (not sure that is appropriate) is to take the letters in the name of the attorney and/or witness (depending on length of testimony) and make different words. Two more days! Two more days! Two more days!

I had my first corned beef sandwich the other day (I know, isn't is scary, that at my age, I have never had a corned beef sandwich?) Yummy!

Here is what I will miss about jury duty:
Lunch - one hour, uninterrupted, time to go out.
Commuting - I have not been driving. I have been taking the metro. I have road rage.
People - only some of them.

tick-tock

This week will be the ultimate test of my patience. Have you ever been really excited for something to happen and the last few moments leading up to it take forever??? I can see the light at the end of the tunnel but suddenly the tunnel is really long and my feet are stuck in mud. I know I will get there, I just wish the end would hurry up and get here!!!!!

Monday, March 06, 2006

Uttering

If you try to cash a fraudulent check you'd be charged with it.

FOUR DAYS LEFT (oh, and the two mandatory recall days but those almost don't count). I cannot wait to go back to my job! I got my ipod nano working this weekend! Good fun. No drywall yet but we are all ready. Whoo-hoo!

Friday, March 03, 2006

money, or lack of it

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


Wasn't I surprised to open my paycheck and see that instead of being paid my salary while performing my civic duty Arlington County had taken one of my personal days and taken 9 days of leave without pay (which means they charge you for insurance and things). Luckily I received a stipend in this paycheck so I didn't owe the county money. Today, between murder cases, L-dawg will be fighting to get her money and leave back. Lovely.

I am just plain bored at jury duty. It is so monotonous - murder after senseless murder. It is sad to say, but I really don't care - indict them all. Four weeks of this is enough. Five is overkill.

A jury duty riddle:

Q: What would you call it if you were driving, got out of the car, kicked someone repeatedly, got back in the car and drove off?

A: A drive by shodding. (If you don't get it read the shod foot post)


Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Shod foot

I learned something new yesterday. If you attack someone with a bat it is called ADW/bat (assault with a dangerous weapon/bat). If you attack someone and kick them it is called ADW/shod foot. I don't know why I find that really funny. The work "shod" isn't used in everyday conversation. It makes me giggle.

Also, we, the jurors, have decided to take on 'street names'. I will now be going by L-dog. The ladies behind me are H20 and vitamin. I think it fits nicely with the secret nature of the proceedings.


We have heard many interesting nicknames. Yesterday someone's nickname was "sex". It is really handy to know nicknames. Here is a hypothetical scenario between a prosecutor (P) and witness (W):
P: Who were you with at the time of the incident?
W: I was with "Chair"
P: How long have you known Chair?
W: I been knowin' her for a while.
P: How long is a while?
W: Since elementary school.
P: Do you know Chair's real name?
W: No.

How convenient is that?

No, the drywall hangers did not show up yesterday. Shocker.