Life Update

[amberfocus]

So today went fairly well as far as pain goes.  I was able to manage the two steps on the porch without the cane and holding onto the rail, but I still need it to get in and out of the car and if I walk more than a minute or so.  I need it or the shopping cart to lean on at the grocery store.  I'm going back to the doctor on Friday though, because my knee is still swollen and I think it needs to have more fluid drained out of it.  The doctor can decide whether or not it needs another cortisone shot.  It probably does because I still get these violent pain twinges out of nowhere, but it's manageable.  I am going to attempt just taking Ibuprofen tonight instead of hydrocodone.  I'm sick of being mildly nauseated from the narcotic.  I was able to put on socks and regular shoes today instead of just shoving my feet into flip flops.  This happened at just the right time as it was 40 degrees out this morning when I drove Rose to school.

On the looking on the bright side section of life front today, my tightest jeans are no longer tight.  I wouldn't call them loose or roomy yet, but they now fit comfortably, the way they are supposed to fit.  And this week I wore two more shirts that were tight when I bought them at Disneyland last October, but I wanted them anyway, and they fit right now.  One is a haunted Mickey Mouse-headed bat shirt appropriate for the season, although I suppose the Tower of Terror shirt is also appropriate to the season.  So, yay.  No swimming today, pool is closed for family swim on Tuesday.  My shoulders did not ache at all today, so I think 30 laps was the right call yesterday.  I will do 30 again tomorrow and then if I'm still good the next day I will consider upping it to 32 on Friday or Saturday and see how I do.  I'd like to find that place just underneath the pain threshhold, so that I can push myself to get the most exercise with the least discomfort.

Tomorrow I am going to make the attempt to quit soda cold turkey.  I have been trying to taper off, but it's not working.  Even the sugar only (instead of high fructose corn syrup) pop is highly addictive and I drink too much of it.  I finished the last can today so no more fizzy drinks.  I hope I can pull it off.  It's certainly been my bugaboo all these years and just because I'm drinking the natural version does not mean it is good for me.  Because of how it affects my digestive system,  I'd like to be totally off it in time for jury duty in November.  What? you say?  Jury duty?  During NaNoWriMo?  The first year you were seriously going to attempt to write for it?  Why, yes, now that you mention it.

I got a summons for jury duty today.  It's the thirteenth summons I've received in my life.  I know people who have never been summoned in their entire lives and it seems like once a year without fail I get called up.  Sometimes twice.  I'm sure I must have skipped a year here or there, but it doesn't feel like it.  Still, I've never had to serve because it's always been something like I was on bedrest for pregnancy (twice), had newborns and was nursing (twice), had just had a hysterectomy, or was homeschooling.  The last time was during the summer and I had no reason not to do it, but they didn't want me because I checked the box marked "have you or a family member been the victim of a violent crime?"  Apparently this makes us biased or something if we check it.  It's for November 1-12 and Chris will be home on the 4th through the 16th, so I could probably actually manage to serve this time.  It makes a huge difference when your kids aren't being homeschooled and you don't live 45 minutes away from the courthouse.  I'd have to rely on Mom to get T to school the 1st through the 4th but we can swing that.

I could probably get out of it because of my knee needing to be elevated so much of the time and the parking lot being far enough away from the courthouse that I can't easily walk that far.  I don't have a disabled parking permit (though I'm going to talk to the doctor about getting one on Friday), but if I did I could park right next to the courthouse.  I sort of would like to serve.  I think it would be interesting.  I'm just afraid if I have to take painkillers that my mind would be slightly altered and I wouldn't be able to focus properly.  It's almost a month away though, so things could improve vastly, but they also could decline again.  I wish you could sit a court case from the privacy of your own home over the internet or something.  The technology exists.  Why can't they catch up to modern day stuff?  Like just have people go in for selection and then for the actual cases use webcams.  Oh, I'm sure there're all kinds of reasons why not, but it'd just be nice.

Kind of annoyed about the appropriate clothing thing they have on the summons though.  I live in jeans and sweats and t-shirts.  I don't have and I'm not going to go out and buy professional attire.  Sorry.  You want a stay-at-home-novel-writing-Mom on your jury, that's what you are going to get.  I promise it'll be my nicest t-shirts and jeans, nothing faded, or tattered, or ripped, and it won't be tank tops and shorts, but it's not going to be business casual.  It's just not.  All right, I do have some nice tops I wear at the holidays, but aside from my long black funeral skirt, jeans are it.  Nice jeans, but still jeans.  Although I could be convinced to buy a nice new pair of dress shoes, but only because my old ones are wearing out.  And they're gonna be Dr. Scholl's.  I'm not that much of a pushover.  You'll get no heels out of me.

I wonder if they'd ever really want me on a jury.  I'm so opinionated and while I'm not prejudiced against people for race, color, nation, creed, sex, sexual orientation or any of those major things, I do have issues with stupid people.  Not people who are mentally disabled.  People who are perfectly mentally abled and just behave in stupid, stupid ways that cause them to do stupid, stupid things.  And if that's the defendant, then that's what I'm going to look at them like they are and I'm not sure that consitutes a fair trial with a jury of your peers.  I also couldn't sit on a jury of a teen being tried as an adult, because the human brain doesn't even finish devloping until you are 25.  And I'd be comparing it all the time to, "what if it was my kid?"  I wouldn't be able to see it fairly.  I'd see it through the eyes of a mother.  Well, I suppose I will find out.  Unless I am dying and in need of surgery, I'm going to send the thing in and not try to get out of it.

Comments

[emraldeyedauter.livejournal.com]

Hope things keep looking up with the knee. Wow thirteen times for jury duty. Goodness.

I have served just the once but both times after I had given birth I got called up. Had to refuse of course but it was funny.

Best wishes

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

I wish you could sit a court case from the privacy of your own home over the internet or something. The technology exists. Why can't they catch up to modern day stuff?

Like a hundred reasons. So many reasons. A judge declared a mistrial recently because some jury looked up the definition for a word on an iPhone rather than asking the court for the proper legal definition. So, the idea of letting people sit at home, on the internet, would make a lot of lawyers' and judges' heads explode.

I live in jeans and sweats and t-shirts. I don't have and I'm not going to go out and buy professional attire.

Haha, a woman after my own heart. My favorite part of my job is that I work in jeans and tennis shoes. :D

[amyo67.livejournal.com]

I hope things keep getting better with the knee. I applaud you for your effort to cut soda. I should probably do that myself, but first I think I'll try cutting back. I've been able to lose weight before by just cutting back my intake of certain things. I just have to set myself to doing it.

I get a summons for jury duty at least once a year, sometimes more. I don't think I ever got one before I was married and had kids and if I did, I don't remember the reason I gave and got out of it, but for the past 13 years I've had a solid excuse that works every time, even if they do sometimes ask for clarification. It's not my fault they don't give me enough room to write about my severely medical and mentally disabled son who's existence depends on my being there to take care of every need and that there isn't comparable care for him that I can afford. Even with nursing we don't have the nurse enough hours to allow me to be at the courthouse for so long every day. SO they always accept my excuse and let me out of it. Not that I wouldn't be glad to serve if I could.

I have to agree with you about stupid people. I have a very low tolerance for stupid people.

And you tell 'em on the dress code thing. That's just silly. Some of us don't have business casual because we don't work outside of the home.

HUGS

Can't blame you...

[burntogold.livejournal.com]

Thankfully (or not so much) I've moved 6 times in 5 years. Every time they mail the form I can just check that I've lived there less than the time they want, end of story.

Tempted to agree about stupid people, but then, experience has taught me that even very intelligent people are capable of doing things that are bone-headed stupid when you're looking at the situation from outside. The usual cause there is over-estimation and arrogance. I figure that compared to now, I was a moron 5 years ago, and if I can grow, others should have the same chance.

Hope the knee feels better soon...

[blodges.livejournal.com]

perhaps this would help with the soda:

http://members.doctoroz.com/challenge/28-day-national-soda-challenge

[crimedoc1.livejournal.com]

Good luck w/ the jury duty. I also get called fairly frequently. I generally end up going down, sitting through all the explanations and the movie and sometimes get called to a panel, but they never put me on an actual jury. They do not seem to want people who actually know something about the criminal justice system - I tell them I'm a criminology prof and work with the police, and poof! I'm out of there. It's also frustrating because you have to go through security to get into the courthouse, similar to airport security, and it's incredibly slow. Last time, I stood in line for almost an hour just waiting to get into the building! And then we got glared at by one of the workers for being "late." Hey! I was there 30 minutes early; it's not my fault that the security people only used one of the scanners for all the jurors!

Don't worry about the dress code - people show up in all sorts of clothes. I mean, yeah, don't wear shorts and ripped t-shirts and flip flops, but a nice pair of jeans and a top and trainers is just fine.

As for why they don't use webcams and have the jurors watch the trial from home, there are actually good reasons. First of all, they won't have your undivided attention. If you're at home, you'll leave the computer to go to the bathroom, or answer the phone, or answer the door, or feed the baby, or.... well, you get the idea. ;-) Second, the jurors won't be able to see the whole courtroom if they're watching via video. If you're in the jury box, you can watch the person in the witness box and then look over to the defense table and check out the defendant's reaction, stuff like that. At home, you can't change views so easily. Third, sometimes jurors need to examine physical items that are entered into evidence; again, you can't pick something up and hold it if you're attending virtually. And fourth, the jury deliberation process doesn't really work well if everyone's attending online. You're not all in the same room having a discussion. So, yeah, it'd be terrific and same a lot of time and money, but it would probably violate the constitutional right to a fair trial in front of a jury of one's peers.

You know, it is a real shame how we all feel jury duty is kind of an imposition, because it's really the only remaining role lay persons have in the criminal justice system. I think it's more the way the jury system works that makes it such a pain. Like, if they gave you a choice of three or four dates instead of telling you that you have to come on THIS DAY OR ELSE regardless of what else you've got planned. And if there wasn't so much wasted time spent just sitting around the jury waiting room or listing in case your number is called. There's where technology could help!. Instead of sitting there while the clerk drones away calling a couple hundred juror numbers, put them up on computer display screens so you can just look for your number!

Oh! Re the disabled parking permit! You should be able to get a temporary one with no trouble. Go to your state's DMV or MVA (whatever the motor vehicle bureau is called) and download the application and take it in to your doctor on Friday and get him to sign it. Temporary permits are tags that hang from your rear view mirror and are red instead of blue. Also, check with the DVM regarding the rules for disabled parking - in Florida, for example, you can park at meters w/o paying! It might be true in your state as well. ;-)

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the pop. I did it cold turkey in April. Now I only drink water, sun made green tea, and milk. And good luck with the jury duty. Glad your knee's improving.

[capemaynuts.livejournal.com]

I sure hope your knee starts behaving and healing up soon.
I served jury duty last year and only had to go to the courthouse for 1/2 a day. They called in 300 people but only had one trial to seat. I actually made it into the courtroom to be questioned by the lawyers. It was a law suit regarding a road crew truck and private vehicle accident. I found it interesting that every person that had a college degree was released by the personal injury lawyer. The defense lawyer tried to get rid of everyone that lived in the area that the accident occurred.
I was asked questions and then they moved on to other people, so I thought I was going to serve. Then five or six people later, the personal injury lawyer suddenly says "You are excused" to me. I went back to the waiting room, got my paper that says I was excused from jury duty for the next 3 years and went home.
Interesting fact, and I don't know if its the same everywhere, but if you are over 70, you can not serve on a jury in my state. You are considered too old..... but not to old to sit in the Senate or House. Go figure?