It's only taken two hours to sort things out at the studio, call customers who called me and do scandisks-virus/spyware removal, etc from where Dad strayed online.
After doing all this, I sat down in front of the PC to do some restorations and realized I am at least 2 weeks ahead of my work and... I deserve a day of leisure...
so I'm gonna blog... read some blogs, write some email and work on my website...
Like I briefly mentioned earlier, the family reunion was a lot of fun. I was feeling a bit off due to a sinus headache but I managed to hide it and enjoy myself. We had over 50 to attend and even got a few newbies that no one had seen in a very long time. My chicken salad was a success. So was Mom's Red Velvet cake. We decided to continue to organize it every year... I told Mom that I would continue to help her..after all we've got the routine down to an art.
Yesterday was a total waste of time. We had to sit in a cramped courtroom waiting to be called. My legs were cramped and I thought they would fall off by noon...but they didn't. My juror's badge kept falling off. I got frustrated with that! Hell, go ahead and stamp "Juror" on our foreheads--that would work better. About 40 of us were called to a courtroom to be selected for a criminal trial (murder with malace, attempted murder and robbery). I wasn't picked for the first go round. We sat and watched the DA question prospective jurors. It was boring until he got to one gal who had a bad experience in court and didn't mind telling him about it. She was dismissed. Then two others were dismissed due to their religious belief that only God can judge.
We were released for an hour and half for lunch. I did errands and got something to eat. All the time I was away, I kept thinking, "They are gonna call me. I've got the Parnell luck."
While we were all waiting for the courtroom to open, one of the girls selected said she thought the guy was guilty. I knew she would be dismissed. And she was... I felt sorry for her...it seems a cousin of hers was killed during a robbery with a shot pointblank to the head...and she was sitting right beside the victim's family during the first part of the jury selection. And they were visiblily upset, which caused her to remember how she felt, sitting in their place during the trial of the guy who killed her cousin. She told the judge that she couldn't give an unbiased and fair decision if she was on the jury panel, because if the defendent was sitting in court that meant he had done it...if he hadn't then he wouldn't be here. So he let her go...so that left four empty seats...
and my name was called immediately. I answered the questions from the DA... told him I worked a few blocks away, that I had a cousin in the DA's office, that I knew numerous policemen and other courthouse employees and that I was the victim of several crimes. He seemed satisfied with my answers and after questioning the others, told the judge he was done and approved the jury panel.
Now it was the defense attorney's turn to question us. He asked some interesting questions, mainly about our hobbies and our methods of keeping up with current events and news. Then he focused on me and one other person regarding the crimes against us and our views on being a victim.
This guy and I were very clear and procise in our answers. In a few replies, I cut him down because he made light of a certain crime against me--the indecent exposure crime back in 92 or 93. Even though it wasn't a violent crime, it still was a crime and I was terrified for a long time. I told the attorney that "once you are a victim, you remain one for life. Even if the event happened years ago, the memories linger. I've managed to come to turns with everything that's happened to me, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten them."
In the end, he asked for 3 of us to be excused. I was one of them and happy to be so, becasue to be honest...the defendent stared at us with dead eyes while we were being questioned and he made jokes to his lawyer, laughing and smirking. If I were accused of such serious crimes and I were really innocent, I would be sitting there terrified and somber, not relaxed and smiling. So did I form the oppinion of guilt--yes I did...and with any person on trial, the priviledge of being innocent until proven guilty should be so and his jury panel should feel that way too.
So I went home...helped William study for the EOG test...it runs today through Thursday. I turned in early because I was so tired from all the strain of the day. I slept like a baby and woke with a freshness that I hadn't had in a few weeks.
Today hasn't been so bad...it's windy out and the door to the studio keeps blowing open. My brother and I are going to see the second Narnia installment at the Cinema tonight...
oh yea..bring on the popcorn!
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