bouncy Category: Life
It's been a weekend of (to a quote from a whole stanza from a Hemingway poem), "nada, nada, nada, nada, nada, nada..." It feels luxurious! You know how some people like fine wine, silks, precious metals or fancy schmancy cars as their meaning of luxury? My definition of luxury is to just get the recommended amount of sleep & just feeding myself, well, like three square meals a day...
Anyway, I had to report to jury duty recently, like Thursday two weeks ago & then again, this past Monday b/c I didn't want to lie to the judge saying I had a "great personal hardship"...I mean there has to be people with REAL hardships other than me -- so I didn't want to make some big white lie to get out of it -- I wanted to give them a legitimate excuse besides, "I JUST don't have time or the willingness to be here..." (besides that, court rooms make me nervous! If I ever got convicted of something (NOT that I EVER, EVER would -- that's where the Catholic upbringing would influence too much anyway) -- I think I would CRACK like an old Roman Coliseum under the pressure & time duress) ...but luckily for me, b/c of the work I do & the line of work most of my co-workers do (mostly civil engineers and/ or stationary engineers), I was automatically disqualified from the 2nd round. Needless, to say, what with the few facts of the case the judge, law clerk & attorneys gave us during jury selection, it had something to do with a stationary engineer slipping & falling, hurting his back & then suing the contractor that contracted him to the job in the building...then the contractor sues the building managers saying it was some kind unsafe workplace & then the building countersues the contractor back saying no, it's not them but that they didn't make sure the engineer was taking safety precautions during the job...OY VEY! Did you get that or what? Yes, so you see -- I wanted to make my get away outta' there fast, fast, ondale, speedily & swiftly outta' that court room...
I actually never made it that far & when they ask you to stand-up, say your name, what you do for a living, who you live with -- it's disconcerting. Esp. with the 40-50 so leftover jurors sitting next to you listening to your mini-biography or statistics on your life while you stand in that juror box. I was potentially Juror ..17 & I had to say before my name, "Juror ..17 ..." I do this, I've lived in SF, so & so years, etc...." It took an hour & half of questioning via the plaintiff's lawyer to get to break at noon... they collected all the people who work for the city or govt, some nurses, doctors & then just some really smarty pants people -- like former execs. or CEO's of companys -- they wanted to weed out the people who had TOO much knowledge...funny as heck...don't want them to be too knowledgable about the case....you know...there was one who was a physician who actually is a courtroom consultant apparently & he said he would totally be "unbiased"...in my head, I was just thinking, "LIAR, LIAR pants on fire!" ...but that's me & my irreverent self...
Oh well...I got out of it & I promptly went home & took a much deserved nap from being put into the machinations of our justice system...they dismissed me FIRST too...though, I think the defense really wanted me to stay b/c they asked me "Do you think you can be unbiased for this case? At all...(they had to add the "At all")" -- I was like, "Honestly, counsel, I really, really don't think so..." -- he gave me this pleading, knowing look, like, "Come on -- STAY!" ...too funny, I felt for a bit there that I was in some kind of courtroom drama...yet, I needed to tune out of there & I think I made the right decision for them...I'm way too biased & knowledgeable...I would be yelling back at th lawyers if at sat in that jurors box...I know it already...again, that's me being irreverent sometimes, though...again, that courtroom what a nerve-wracking place...
Soooo, I had to take field trip to Moccasin/ Yosemite Friday again in the sunshine coming there & then in the rain coming back...I was trapped in the "coche" ("car" in Tagalog) with 4 other colleauges that day...we were all having cabin fever by the time we got to our destination...esp. on a Friday...hoo boy! Anyway, when we were conversing back & forth in the car looking at the scenery, I suddenly blurted out, "This idyllic & bucolic scene is lulling me to absolute slumber..." Everyone laughed at me & said, "That's pretty big words for you, young lady...are you aspiring to be or just quoting Shakespeare?" ...I just told them I was trying to use my private school, English Lit. degree for something & that I do own a dictionary & I'm not afraid to use it...baha! Anyway, I was sleepy...I've been sleep deprived all week until I caught a bunch of REM's last night...
Mmmmm, one thing...taking the MUNI in the rain esp. the 38 after work is such a muckety, muckety mess...people are cranky b/c they're all wet; b/c you know most Californians treat rain like it's snow -- so they drive like maniacs in it & then I read somewhere that the rainy weather or any weather that makes you stay cooped indoors gives you a condition called, (I kid you not) "SAD" aka "Seasonal Affective Disorder" where psychiatrists have actually named it as an official disorder -- check out the SF Chron tidbit op-ed on it below:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/04/BAG6MI2NG21.DTL
Anyway, besides possibly going through this disorder riding on the 38 Express...you might get the Avian Flu, too...I say this half-jokingly if it wasn't true. This past Wed. evening, as I was taking the bus around 6:00 pm that evening, there was "clucking" going on next to me -- I'm like saying to myself, "Mmmmmm, I'm crazy & hearing things but is that a chicken?" before I could even finish that thought, this older gentleman says, "My god is that a chicken in your bag!" ...he's saying this to this middle-aged Chinese woman who is sitting to the right of him, she then feigns speaking any English & just nods her head sheepishly into a big OLD "YES!" ...everyone who is sitting nearby, of course, hears that conversation& we all start laughing out loud. Then, the same man says, "Don't you know that the bird flu is killing thousands in your country & is now spreading to Turkey & the other Balkan countries! Aren't you concerned? Don't you read or watch the news at all????" She just sits there pretending she didn't even hear what he just chastised her for or even understood one lick of English, which I'm thinking is the latter...pretty, wacky having farm animals on a huge, long bus & so crowded, too...but that chicken was clucking away for a good 6 more stops before the lady got off with no one even telling her to get off, accept for the man trying to give her a lesson on current events & just plain old health concerns for the collective society...lawrdy, lawrd...really, people I don't make any of these things up...it's just too plain bizarre to be even be fiction, you know?
Thankfully, I know most of you enjoyed the sunshine at least yesterday...that was good, I tried to just run a buncha' errands & get some sunshine in my system...Vitamin D is good for you! HA! Anyway, now, I'm just chillin' at home before I have to do some prep work for tomorrow night...there's all this '06 Earthquake events going on in the city starting next week & then, the end of the month, my department is helping put up an exhibits of old photos during that era in City Hall - we're doing a little kick-off for some people & I'm helping tomorrow just coordinating stuff & also being the "Greeter" for my colleauges -- I was drafted along with another co-worker -- I had no say in it (again) but whatever...glad to help b/c I think the exhibit of photos we're putting up is fascinating & anything that makes my job more interesting -- I always welcome...I think I'll be all entrenched though doing this all month ...the one event that I'm glad I'm not going to be a part of is this year's "Lota's Fountain" commemoration...a few of my more media connected colleauges have to do that one & that one starts at like 4:00 am in the morning & they have to be organizing it before that time...I told one of them they'll have to spend the night in a City car to get to the assignment on time..., just wake-up, brush your teeth in a nearby restroom & you're good to go! Baha! Damn, buenas suerte to them...
Alright, I've "graced" you with my presence long enough...until, I rant & rave, again -- be well...hopefully, after all the work bruhaha...I can come out & play in between all this constant work...
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