Jury Duty

I'm halfway through my day of jury duty. I keep waffling about whether or not it is pure torture. Since I've got lots of time on my hands, let's go over a day in the courthouse....

I did not have to report to the courthouse until 10:30 am, which meant I got to sleep in AND take my sweet time getting ready this morning. Conclusion: Sweet.

When I first arrived, I waited in line for almost 30 minutes in the rain just to go through security and get in the building. My beautifully straightened hair became a frizz nest. My blood was boiling. Once inside I calmed down again...that is until I reached the end of another ginormous line, this time to get checked in as a juror. Luckily I only had to wait about 20 minutes. Still though, that is a lot of waiting in line, so my day certainly did not start off well. Conclusion: Torture.

I then headed into the Juror Lounge, which basically looks like the cabin of an airplane, or perhaps a long lecture hall. Rows of seats, an aisle in the middle, a lectern in front, and multiple TV's hanging from the ceiling. The chairs are semi-comfy, they play movies, and best of all, there is wi-fi. I checked ahead of time and came prepared with my MacBook. I have cleaned out my reader, updated my blog roll, and answered lots of emails. Conclusion: Pretty Sweet.

They have called two panels so far, and I am not on either of them. Conclusion: Awesome.

We were released for lunch at 1pm. I usually don't get a chance to eat lunch, so an entire hour is a big deal for me. I headed across the street to Cosi, along with 100 other jurors. I waited a long time for my salad (good thing we had an hour) and then had to sit on a window ledge because there were no seats. I would have walked back to the courthouse and eaten there, but I couldn't carry my bag, my salad, my iced tea, and my umbrella without wiping out and/or spilling something. On a happy note, my salad was yummy. Conclusion: Not Fun.

After I returned from lunch, I got a seat at one of the two tables at the front. Working at a table is so much nicer than burning my legs with my laptop. I've got a window behind me, so no one is reading over my shoulder while I type, and although it is crappy out, at least I get a view of the outside world. Also of importance...I am blogging during the day, which is a rare occurance given my job. Oh, and I just realized I have my iPod earbuds in my bag and that I can listen to Pandora. Conclusion: Score.

The panel announcer man just came in and released us all! At 2:30pm. I didn't get called AND I don't have to come back for two years. Conclusion: YAYAY!