Reasonable Doubt

Jury duty ate up two days of this Thanksgiving week. One day sitting around waiting for the selection of the perfect twelve. 57 people showed up for service. By the end of the first day there were 12 people in the jury box, six people in the waiting seats and a handful of people left in the chairs. So, the judge and attorneys released over twenty prospective jurors after grilling them with personal questions. This morning more were eliminated. I got the alternate juror seat. So, there I was, all day, observing the trial. By 4:45 the trial was over, and the jury sent off to the jury room. I was released with instructions to stay within 30 minutes of the courthouse and wait for a call. 30 minutes later I got the call. The jury had come to the conclusion. Guilty. I did not have to return.

My thoughts: It was 5pm on the eve before Thanksgiving. 12 jurors wanted to cook their turkeys. They wanted to go home, no delays. They took the easy way out. Someone must have said guilty and they all agreed because it was Thanksgiving. Personally I think there was reasonable doubt in this case. I would have sat in there and insisted that the "evidence" was not conclusive. So much for justice - 12 people got to go home and cook turkeys. One person will suffer the consequences of quick decisions. That's just my own personal opinion.

Enjoy your turkeys.

Sleeping in Seattle

Just found out this didn't publish while I was on vacation:

Now this is the way to go. Seattle hotel waterfront accommodation, Edgewater Hotel in Seattle Washington

Okay, we needed a vacation. We opted not to fly to the east coast and visit Big Brother with Baby J. It was just too long to be in the air. So we took the train to Seattle instead.

But the train time is longer than flying, right? Yes, but in the train we had a deluxe sleeper room. I got to share the lower berth with Baby J. Poor Eric had the claustrophobic upper berth. It was amusing to watch a 206 pound man climb the ladder up there. It was even more amusing watching him get out of there. Well, I guess you can use your imagination on that. I'll spare you the details of taking a shower in the toilet room that is half the size of a phone booth.

We did have a great 24 hours on the train. Good food, although not as good as the old railroad day dining, even linen on the table. Of course the train was late getting into Seattle. But that is to be expected when you take the rails. It's just another way of life.

So here we are at the Edgewater. A great room on the Puget Sound complete with fireplace and wireless internet. What could be better.

Yesterday we braved the "unusual" snow storm and visited my friend in Vancouver. Took almost three hours to drive there due to slippery streets and a stop at Maxwell's in Marysville for breakfast. Note: be sure to have a meal at Maxwells if you are in that area - it was the best.

We had sunshine and mild weather in Vancouver. Another unusual phenomena for this time of the year. We were blessed. We visited Kathy, took the water taxi to Granville Island, ate chocolate decadence cake to die for, shopped and got lost on the way back to Seattle. Let's see, we left Vancouver shortly after six. We arrived in Seattle near midnight. Our only stop was for gas and a quick MacDonald's hamburger. How lost were we????....

It was great to return to our luxurious room at the Edgewater. Today, we are hanging out in the room, watching the ferries go by and the side swept rain storm. Tomorrow morning we board Amtrak for a nearly 24 hour return trip, in deluxe bedroom car of course.

Baby J is having a great time but has the sniffles. We think his mommy and daddy will be very happy to see him again. While it has been a great adventure, Grandma and Grandma may take a little vacation on their own next time.

Checking out for one last sleep in Seattle at the Edgewater Hotel (not that I'm bragging or anything). But wait, I see sunshine out the window... perhaps we will be Sleepless in Seattle this afternoon!

Monday Monday

Just another Monday but...

still exhausted from Seattle trip
Still recovering from cold I caught from Baby J (aren't you glad we didn't bring germs to VA Big Brother?)

Called the dentist this morning first thing to tell them I have a cold and perhaps I shouldn't show up for the first crown preparation. Found out it is a germ friendly office and everyone there is sick anyway so that was not an excuse. Think about that next time you visit your dentist...

One crown down and four to go. Looks like it will be soft food until after the new year. On the bright side, at least it will all be done this year and paid for so we get the tax write off - yes we have enough to itemize medical expenses - yikes.

Drat I have jury duty tomorrow. Or at least I must show up. Just called, can't get out of that. Oh well another place to leave my germs.

Boss won't be happy, first I take a weeks vacation, then I take a jury duty break, then it's Thanksgiving. Actually I won't be happy - the work will still be there waiting and waiting and waiting and piling and piling and piling up. Will I be able to see my desk when I return? I'll be sure to tell the boss how grateful he should be that I didn't bring in my germs.

Off to bed with my achoo achoo achoo

The Circulating Journal is Moving Again

The Circulating Journal is on it's way to Germany!!!! I'm so excited.

Sonic toothbrush

What I learned about sonic toothbrushes in five days:

1. If you put more than a small pea sized bit of toothpaste on the brush, you will froth like a skunk with rabies.

2. If removed from mouth before it stops, husband will taunt you for the rest of your days about the time you left spatters on the mirror.

3. Laughing when gums are tickled can lead to severe choking sensations.

4. Looking in mirror while brush manipulates your gum can cause horrified gagging complex.

5. Using brush in front of cats causes their radar ears to twitch - do not get in way as they head for shelter.

6. Not to put on work or party clothes before brushing.

7. Two minutes is a long time.

And on top of all that, I must still floss?

Vacation in Wirtz?

Why would anyone want to visit Wirtz, Virginia?

There is no bad breath there

To clean up one's act (However there are no AA meetings there so must be those people have no act to clean up

To see this crazy corkscrew guy

Might see a ghost or two

Just for openers

Sludge

Or maybe you go there just To get your A$$ kicked

What I didn't find in Wirtz, Virginia is a local chapter of The Red Hat Society. Guess no one is over 50 there.

It was a long week

Something kind of bad happened everyday. BUT something kind of good must have happened every day too. Let's see.

Sunday - no pilot light, no heat - BUT I got to cuddle with Baby J most of the day because he was cold and wanted lots of lap time.
Monday - I need 5 crowns - BUT I joined the Ladies Workout Express
Tuesday - Still no heat and my portable heater blew the circuits so many times that my refrigerator broke BUT I had an excuse to pig out on Ben & Jerrys
Wednesday - Started to have reservations about that contract I sighed at LWE and now they weren't returning my phone calls - BUT my heater is back on and I have new circuit breakers (it's so nice to be a renter : )
Thursday - Had a slightly unpleasant meeting with the new owner of LWE BUT I did get the contract cancelled AND I got my new refrigerator
Friday - Could not get through the piles of work on my desk so have to work Monday BUT I did have an enjoyable dinner with my old friend/new neighbor

Good things and bad things led to one of the most stressful weeks I've had in a long time. I could continue, there was more bad, BUT none of it was anything bad enough to be life threatening or even life altering. Most of it all went away. At least I have a few good BUTs.

Thinking about the vacation I have planned for the week after next... I made no reservations. Couldn't decide what to do with the week. Gonna have to take Baby J wherever I end up going. The good thing is, that eliminates Las Vegas, Reno or any other gambing place. Won't big brother be surprised if we all knock on his door???? hmmmmmmmmmm

Meanwhile got this link at The Other Side

31.25 %

My weblog owns 31.25 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?

Hot and Cold

A week ago the weather was hot. Shirt sleeve, I wanna lay out in the sun all day, hot. Saturday night it got cold. Freezing cold. I tried to turn on the furnace. Nothing. Checked the pilot light. Nothing. Got out the matches, flashlight, removed the panels (okay I supervised as hubby removed the panels. We both crawled around on opposite sides - it's a wall furnace - ancient. Needless to say there was no way the pilot light would stay on.

The biggest problem was that Baby J was visiting us. I bundled him up as best I could and spent the night getting up every few minutes to cover him up.

Sunday morning I called PG&E. Four menu options later with explanations that they were overloaded with calls and it would be necessary for me to leave my number, I punched in the numbers. I waited around for them to call back. They didn't Monday morning I went out for an appointment. They called back. Left message for me to call them back. I did. Repeat from Four menu options... I called the emergency number. "State your emergency," an authoritarian voice practically yelled in my ear.

"I can't light my pilot light." I heard the sigh and the beginning of the usual speel about this not being an emergency. Before she got two words out of her mouth I gave her an earful about having an infant in the house and not getting any sleep, etc etc. She said hold on a minute and connected me to the Four menu option sequence.

No I was really railed up and called customer service billing department. The young lady on the phone apologized and said she would transfer me to the correct department. Before I could retort I was back at the four menu options. This time I went through them and actually got put on hold - for 30 minutes. It was suggested that I buy a portable heating unit. I carefully explained to the young lady that I had already do that and it blew my circuits (which is true - more about that later). I told her about the infant and not getting any sleep. She suggested I buy him some warm pajamas and gave me an appointment for nine days later - well not really an appointment, a 8am to 9pm window of time. Okay so I take Wednesday off or beg my manager to let PG&E in. I opted for that.

The manager was outraged that PG&E wouldn't come. She asked me if I told them that I smelled gas. That always gets them out. I told her yes, but I didn't do that because I just can't stand to be that dishonest. So she agreed to have someone come out and take care of the matter.

Meanwhile I informed the manager that my circuits tripped everywhere I plugged in the ceramic heater. She said I shouldn't be using one of those in my apartment. A year ago when my circuits were tripping I was told my hair dryer was too powerful and to go out and buy a reasonable wattage hair dryer. Have you seen a hair dryer with less than 1600 watts lately? Anyway I got all the circuits tripped back and off I went to work.

Came home at noon and found the refrigerator circuit tripped. Tried to trip it back. No luck. Spent 30 minutes running back and forth between the circuit breakers and the kitchen. Returned to the office, sweat pouring down my face, in spite of it being 48 degrees outside. Exhausted, hungry, I called the manager and informed her that my refrigerator seems to be tripping the circuits and would she please try to straighten it out before my ice cream melted. Also reminded her about the furnace and that maybe I wouldn't need a refrigerator anyway.

Came home from work to find refrigerator running. An hour later the refrigerator shut down. Good excuse to polish off that carton of Ben and Jerry's double chocolate whammy, or whatever you call it. Just enough to fire me up some more. Knocked on managers door. She gave me the key to a vacant apartment with an empty fridge. I hauled 4 loads of slightly thawed Lean Cuisine and frozen vegetables up the stairs and across the landing. A new refrigerator is coming at the end of the week.

Everyone I talked to said a new refrigerator won't fix the problem. It's a simple matter of changing the breakers. I asked my boss. I asked my uncle. They all say it's the breakers. I tried to tell the manager. She insisted I need a new refrigerator. So I'm not arguing - the old one dehydrates my ice cubes anyway.

Went out this evening. Came home to nice toasty warm apartment. Hmmmmmm. Magic? Checked the fridge - still dark.

Crowns, Clubs and Computers

I made a mistake. I went to the dentist on Monday. Or maybe I should say I made a mistake and didn't go to the dentist for 2 years. Either way, the jig is up. Let's see 5 crowns at $850 each. Not to mention the pain and suffering. The dentists says, well we can take it slow. Just do one for now and we'll work it out according to the payment schedule. I ask why he doesn't just put me out and do it all at once. His response, "do you have a problem getting here?" My reply, "you don't get it, I live 3 blocks away, it's a mental thing." He gave me a rather puzzled look and told me it's not good to do all at once, something about the bite being off. So let's see, according to the payment schedule, I pay $212.50 each month and get one crown every four months. I'll be done in a mere 20 months. But then again I can get a 5% discount if I pay cash up front. Heck I'll just take him a check for $4037.50 and tell him to get it over with. But then, what if I spend all that money and then get hit by a truck or something. What a waste.

I made a second mistake. I made an appointment at the new Ladies Workout Express in town. I signed up for a three year program. But, I am not so dumb - I made them put a clause in the contract that I could opt out within 30 days for any reason. I have learned something due to my previous health club hijinks. I got a free t-shirt. The only catch is, I will now have at least new enemies since I had to leave three names and phone numbers in order to get the t-shirt.

Perhaps I made a third mistake. Computer upgrades. Never mind the details.

Three C's and I'll now be working until I'm 92. Last time I calculated, I figured I could retire at 91. Oh well. Sorry kids. No inheritance.

Where have I been for two weeks?

Here. There. Everywhere.

Work. It was the end of the quarter. Any bookkeeper would know I've been working, working and working.

Home. Babysitting when the need arises. Hey it's what I enjoy. And Baby J gets cuter and smarter every day. He did not get any Halloween candy. Just a costume.

Red Hats. See the latest here

Today:
Reading 2 Sunday papers, still not finished and it's dinner time.
Babysitting, right now he is napping - he cruises and walks with walker. He's all over the place.
Freezing the pilot light won't work on our heater. PG&E has not returned my call.
Napping. Yes I did that.
Cooking dinner... what's that?
Writing. 2850 words for Nanowrimo - will I make it to 50,000 words before the end of the month?
Now - baby is awake - see ya.