Jury Duty

That's where I was, yesterday. It's the second summons I've received in the last month. When I got to the courthouse, I met several people who had received two or three themselves. How odd. The first one was settled out of court, but this one, I had to stick around and see if I was selected. I wasn't, thank goodness. It was an interesting experience, though and this is how it went:

Wednesday, I appeared at the Second District Court in front of Court Room 4 at 8:30 am. I was the second person to appear and sat with a very nice lady, Carol, who fell into the "typical mormon lady" category. She was a sweet, naive stay-at-home mom who probably allowed her husband to rule the roost, doing everything he says without question. She probably has a college degree, which she's never used, and is probably content never to use it. We sat and chatted watching as the two, potential jurors expanded to about 30 or 40. At around 8:45 am, a balif appeared and ushered us into the courtroom. The room was more calming than I expected...decorated with the State Seal and various copies of documents like the Consititution and the Bill of Rights. As we sat, the room became quiet. I looked up and noticed several cameras situated all around the courtroom. I commented to the gentleman next to me that the attorneys were probably watching us. There was also a television on a stand and as if reading my mind, the balif went over to the t.v. and announced that we would be watching a short film about the need and process of jury duty. From start to end, the film was pure cheese with an old lady ending the film with a happy, "Go for it!" The balif took the t.v. and rolled it into another room. Shortly thereafter, he returned with the court clerk. "All rise. The honorable Judge Garrett Hansen now presiding." The judge was an elderly man with silver hair...very distinguished. He gave us further instructions, telling us that the clerk would be pulling names randomly. Sixteen names were pulled (mine was not included). These 16 were questioned and interviewed to death (some were dismissed and their spots filled, my name never called during this) and then the attorneys selected their jury. The judge then stated that we could either sit and watch the preceedings or leave. He also said that we would be paid a full day's jury pay and also mentioned that it would be enough to probably by an ice cream cone. Lovely!

Things are super intense with my workouts. I'm doing my regular cardio during lunch and now a 50 minute walk at home. I know for some this is really not a whole lot, but for me it's major. I feel different already. I'm much more tired when I go to bed at night (I know that this will pass as I get used to things) and my clothes are doing much better. In fact, hubby bought me a size 8 dress which I fit into with no problem whatsoever. (Now, if I could just get into those capris before the weather goes too cold.)

I still live by the "don't deny yourself" rule and will continue to do so. I don't want to binge because I feel denied. That just causes more grief. I've got to work on the 80% rule again (that's 80% full). I tend to eat till I'm full and then stop. I tend to do much better when it's just 80% and then I find that I don't suffer from indigestion. That should be enough to stop me, but it hasn't for the past few nights. I'll get it together. I have to...those size 7 pants are calling my name.