Jury Duty and Wedding Things

Yesterday I had jury duty. It was painfully boring.

I decided that I wouldn't lie to try to get out of serving since I have no legitimate excuse. But I wasn't going to pretend I was having fun while I was there. I wore black from head to toe and crossed my arms in front of my chest. During the long roll-call picked through my purse to look at my books and my PSP. The iPhone proved to be my most useful entertainment device. (Small, discreet, quiet, and with internet browsing capabilities--I am so thankful that I am an early adopter, since I can see an immanent future where this kind of connectivity is essential).

Because I was grimly determined to serve as I was called, listening to the excuses given by some of the others infuriated me. I can forgive the single working mother who receives no pay on the days she doesn't work. I can forgive the deaf man and the guy on crutches. I can even forgive the felon; he's not legally qualified to serve! But when that one woman came in saying her husband was home alone and she needed to stay home to take care of him because he was "prone to heart attacks", I just wanted to jump up and call bullshit. She had the gall to say "He's had open heart surgery before and has diabetes. He needs me to be there because I am afraid he is just going to have a heart attack any minute." I'm sorry lady, it smacks of foolishness and dishonesty. The fact that you were excused offends me.

Thankfully every one of the 58 cases on the docket was settled outside of court, and we were dismissed in the early afternoon. If I'd been forced to stay through the entire juror selection process, I'm sure I'd have died of boredom. The entire process was wildly inefficient. People had to be "renumbered" mid-morning, and for some reason this was not an automated process. We have computers for a reason, by gods. The building was beautiful and the staff was sanguine, but I wanted to see the paperwork completed in a more intelligent manner.

Today I picked out a wedding cake. I got the simplest one available. The flavor is absolutely delicious, which is my primary concern with everything in this party. But the price is just silly. I guess it can't be helped. If I'd known what I was getting myself into, I'd have eloped.

I also worked on my bridal registry. I'm trying to finish the entire registration process online but it's proving surprisingly difficult. For instance, where most people walk through a store and scan everything they find appealing, I do a search on the company site and sort by price and by brand. The array of options is concisely displayed, but when I go to chose, for example, a toaster, I note with horror that the one I've selected is rated 1/5 stars. "Only 1 star?? What is wrong with this toaster? Why do these people hate it enough to go online and complain about it??" I'd have been oblivious if I'd seen it while walking around the store, choosing only by features and aesthetics. Clearly I cannot register for a one-star toaster. Back to square one.

The information age is a blessing and a curse.

Maybe that's why I've not been writing lately?