Once again, please note that this post does not discuss any specifics regarding the case I am currently sitting on. This post only discusses my experience today as the case went to the jury for deliberations.
I don't think there is any official blogging policy for Jury Duty but I am not obviously supposed to discuss any details with anybody, not even fellow jurors. Today however, we were finally able to discuss the case and that is the one thing that the 12 people in the room were all ecstatic about as we entered deliberations. The day began excruciatingly slow as we all sat in the jury room from 9:00am until 1:00pm before we were called down to the court. The defense quickly rested and the judge then proceeded to give the jurors and hour worth of instructions regarding the law in the case.
We then returned to the jury room and began to discuss the basic details in the case. I was under the false impression that we would all be on the same page. I sat in the courtroom for five days and heard testimony from a number of witnesses. I was in the same courtroom as all of the other jurors and heard the same words from all the same people. But I soon found out that 12 people can hear all the same information and come to 12 different conclusions. I had discounted the testimony of witnesses I felt had been impeached and were untrustworthy, while others held this testimony as the pinnacle and turning point of the case. I sat in the room and was shocked.
I resisted my general urge to call all of the people that disagreed with my obviously correct opinion of the case idiots and tried to listen to their reasoning. Most of this reasoning in my mind was flawed, (keep in mind I am always right) and I tried to impress upon the importance of the specifics of the case as I saw them.
I am not sure that I will understand how all 12 of us came to different conclusions, but I really now appreciate the need to a trail by jury. We will all need to review the evidence as presented to us and come to one conclusion. If Americans were not all guaranteed a trial by jury then only one person (the judge) who is a representative of the state would make this decision. At least now the defendant has a fair shot. Deliberations will be one of the most interesting parts of this trial.
I just hope we can all agree that I am right.
Fast Reader
I have never been accused of being a fast reader, actually at my old store they used to make fun of me because it would take me a month to finish a book. I called L to tell her of this accusation today and she laughed out loud.
I am a notoriously slow reader, but since I have been on jury duty I have read 3 and a half books. One fellow juror has only read 100 pages of My Life So Far (Jane Fonda's memoir) and another juror just finished My Sister's Keeper. I guess compared to the snail like pace in which these people are reading I am a fast reader. The thing is we have have tons of extra time (wasted time) and when I am sitting in the jury room I read my book. Also, I have read two fast paced books (A Walk in the Woods and Me Talk Pretty One Day). I am just confused as to what people are doing during these hours of down time that we have, I guess they are sitting in silence but I am not paying attention because I am tearing through my books.
I am now officially the fastest reader in the world according to my fellow jurors.
I am a notoriously slow reader, but since I have been on jury duty I have read 3 and a half books. One fellow juror has only read 100 pages of My Life So Far (Jane Fonda's memoir) and another juror just finished My Sister's Keeper. I guess compared to the snail like pace in which these people are reading I am a fast reader. The thing is we have have tons of extra time (wasted time) and when I am sitting in the jury room I read my book. Also, I have read two fast paced books (A Walk in the Woods and Me Talk Pretty One Day). I am just confused as to what people are doing during these hours of down time that we have, I guess they are sitting in silence but I am not paying attention because I am tearing through my books.
I am now officially the fastest reader in the world according to my fellow jurors.
Me Talk Angry Today
Jury Duty is driving me nuts. I hate it. I just don't understand what is taking so long and why we are constantly on break. Why does a one hour lunch turns into a two hour break from court and why does a fifteen minute break turns into 45 minutes? I am so insanely frustrated because we only end up hearing about 2 hours of testimony a day and the prosecution has yet to rest.
What is making me crazy right now is that the state only requires companies to pay for the first three days and then the state will compensate you with I believe $35.00 a day. Now keep in mind this barely covers lunch in Government Center! So, it looks like I am going to need to take vacation time to do my freaking "duty" in order for me to be able to pay for the house I live in. I am so pissed!
Now, onto the up side of jury duty and all of the free time we have, I have now completed three books since i started Jury Duty. Yesterday I finished re-reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, I read this originally when it came out but the stories are so light and funny that I thought it would make great jury duty reading and it did. Again, I was laughing which might not be the best thing to do in court but I don't really care, it was funny. I love his writing and I am thinking about re-reading Naked very soon as well.
Today I picked up The Crying of Lot 49. I started reading this in the fall and managed to make it through about 10 pages before I practically threw it across the room in frustration. I was not in the mood for it and it was making me crazy. When I picked it back up today I wasn't sure about how I would feel and I have to say it is definitely not one one of my favorite books. The books is so confusing and so convoluted sometimes that you aren't really sure what you are reading about, but in the end it does come together and it has some enjoyable moments when you aren't so confused you want to cry.
I am going to go for something a bit lighter tomorrow. I think I am actually going to start reading Tender Bar tomorrow. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time and I think it is a great time to start reading it.
What is making me crazy right now is that the state only requires companies to pay for the first three days and then the state will compensate you with I believe $35.00 a day. Now keep in mind this barely covers lunch in Government Center! So, it looks like I am going to need to take vacation time to do my freaking "duty" in order for me to be able to pay for the house I live in. I am so pissed!
Now, onto the up side of jury duty and all of the free time we have, I have now completed three books since i started Jury Duty. Yesterday I finished re-reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, I read this originally when it came out but the stories are so light and funny that I thought it would make great jury duty reading and it did. Again, I was laughing which might not be the best thing to do in court but I don't really care, it was funny. I love his writing and I am thinking about re-reading Naked very soon as well.
Today I picked up The Crying of Lot 49. I started reading this in the fall and managed to make it through about 10 pages before I practically threw it across the room in frustration. I was not in the mood for it and it was making me crazy. When I picked it back up today I wasn't sure about how I would feel and I have to say it is definitely not one one of my favorite books. The books is so confusing and so convoluted sometimes that you aren't really sure what you are reading about, but in the end it does come together and it has some enjoyable moments when you aren't so confused you want to cry.
I am going to go for something a bit lighter tomorrow. I think I am actually going to start reading Tender Bar tomorrow. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time and I think it is a great time to start reading it.
What Not To Wear Jury Duty Edition
OK, I know I am risking coming off bitchy in this post but I can't help it. I walked into the Jury Room this morning and half expected Stacy and Clinton from TLC's What Not to Wear to walk in the door behind me. They didn't and I am now wondering how quickly I could get them to show up for a fashion emergency edition of the show.
I know there is no particular dress code for jury duty and I am dressing more casually for jury duty then I would usually dress for work. I am leaving my ties and dress pants at home but on Friday I wore nice jeans a sweater and a blazer and today I wore a nice sweater and jeans and dress shoes. When I walked into the jury room i saw a college girl wearing her pajama pants, an older woman in a red velour jump suit and a woman wearing a very short black skirt white tights and red shoes.
Here is the thing people, these are not things that you should wear in public at all let alone to jury duty where you are going to be part of the public record. I mean what if this was a high profile case and there were going to be television cameras outside the courthouse. Do you really want to be photographed in your saggy ass pajama pants? And how am I supposed to take you seriously during deliberations if you are wearing my poor deceased (may she rest in peace) grandmothers jumpsuit and jewelry. By the way I won't take you seriously, I will look at you and laugh on the inside and then run home and blog about how ridiculous you look.
I know this sounds mean and I don't think it is necessary for you to go completely in the opposite direction and wear a shirt and tie and business suit. You don't need to bring your fur coat and designer bags but at least get dressed in the morning, don't wear your pj's don't wear your gym attire. Pretend like you care. You at least owe that to the defendant, I know he is probably looking at you and going oh shit I am F*cked!
I know there is no particular dress code for jury duty and I am dressing more casually for jury duty then I would usually dress for work. I am leaving my ties and dress pants at home but on Friday I wore nice jeans a sweater and a blazer and today I wore a nice sweater and jeans and dress shoes. When I walked into the jury room i saw a college girl wearing her pajama pants, an older woman in a red velour jump suit and a woman wearing a very short black skirt white tights and red shoes.
Here is the thing people, these are not things that you should wear in public at all let alone to jury duty where you are going to be part of the public record. I mean what if this was a high profile case and there were going to be television cameras outside the courthouse. Do you really want to be photographed in your saggy ass pajama pants? And how am I supposed to take you seriously during deliberations if you are wearing my poor deceased (may she rest in peace) grandmothers jumpsuit and jewelry. By the way I won't take you seriously, I will look at you and laugh on the inside and then run home and blog about how ridiculous you look.
I know this sounds mean and I don't think it is necessary for you to go completely in the opposite direction and wear a shirt and tie and business suit. You don't need to bring your fur coat and designer bags but at least get dressed in the morning, don't wear your pj's don't wear your gym attire. Pretend like you care. You at least owe that to the defendant, I know he is probably looking at you and going oh shit I am F*cked!
Jury Duty and Bill Bryson
Please note that in this post I am not commenting on anything involved in any case or any specifics in regards to jury duty. I will only comment on the experience I had on Friday while waiting to be selected for the specific jury I am now placed on.
I get called for Jury Duty at least once a year, since you only have to serve every three years in the state of Massachusetts I can usually get out of it, however, this year my time was up and I had to report to the courthouse at 8:00 am on Friday. I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to be dismissed but as the day progressed I realized that this wouldn't happen.
When I arrived at 8am I checked in and took my seat in the jury room and waited for over an hour and a half for the last person to arrive. Silly me, I thought that reporting on time to jury duty was a necessity. So in this 90 minutes I read quite a few pages of A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson was actually making my early morning of sitting and waiting quite enjoyable. At 9:30, they put on this obnoxious video telling you that Jury Duty will be the best experience of your life. Oh please, if Jury Duty was the best experience of anybodies life don't you think it would be easier to get people here, I mean at least people would show up on time, and I have served on a jury, not even up in the top 10 of best things that have ever happened to me.
Around 10:00 they started calling numbers and lining people up to go to courtrooms. My number (148) was called and they lined us up in a hallway outside of the jury room. They kept us lined up in this hallway for about 30 minutes. They then stuffed about 20 of us into a very crowded elevator and brought us up into a courtroom. This courtroom had about 100 seats and about 180 people packed into it so I spent close to an hour standing up waiting for people to move or be dismissed. I finally got a seat and continued to read. However, Bill got me in a little bit of trouble because if you have ever read any of his books you know there are moments where you need to laugh out loud, so I did, and apparently laughing in a courtroom is frowned upon. By 1:00pm they had only gotten to number 50 and they let us break for a one hour lunch. I practically ran out of the courtroom but still had to wait for the elevator for 10 minutes, got downstairs, and was greeted by a blustery wind blown snowstorm outside. Great this is the perfect Friday.
I reported back to the courtroom as I was told to about 10 minutes before I was expected and sat down on a bench and began reading once again. About five minutes later when there were about 15 people in the courtroom a court officer came in and told us we weren't allowed to be in there. We were asked to leave and sit outside (err stand outside) and a court officer would bring us in when they were ready for us. Twenty minutes later (fifteen minutes late) they brought us back into the courtroom and continued to call everybody up individually. By 4:00pm they finally called my number and asked me to the sidebar. I had read 170 pages since the morning which was quite a feat considering how slow I read. The judge asked me a series of questions, all of which I answered truthfully but shortly and with a twinge of frustration in my voice (I do this very well) and he asked me to step away from the bench and both sides discuss whether I will be a good juror.
The judge calls me back up and explains that he understands that serving is a hardship for everybody but because it is you civic duty and he sees no specific reason to dismiss me he is going to have to ask me to be on the jury.
SHIT. I have so much work to do and I just spent an entire day in the courthouse. I really don't want to be on this damn case that is going to take a good portion of my week. This is one of those occasions when I would much rather be at work. Plus, I now need to go into work this weekend to get stuff done, and finish payroll so all of my employees get paid. But really this is supposed to be the greatest experience of you life? Give me a break!
By the way I also finished reading A Walk in the Woods this weekend as I laid in bed with a stomach bug. If you have never read any Bill Bryson I highly recommend him. He is an insanely smart man who is also hilarious. His dry sense of humor keeps you wanting more. I read 274 pages in 3 days, now that is quite a feat for a slow reader such as myself.
I get called for Jury Duty at least once a year, since you only have to serve every three years in the state of Massachusetts I can usually get out of it, however, this year my time was up and I had to report to the courthouse at 8:00 am on Friday. I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to be dismissed but as the day progressed I realized that this wouldn't happen.
When I arrived at 8am I checked in and took my seat in the jury room and waited for over an hour and a half for the last person to arrive. Silly me, I thought that reporting on time to jury duty was a necessity. So in this 90 minutes I read quite a few pages of A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson was actually making my early morning of sitting and waiting quite enjoyable. At 9:30, they put on this obnoxious video telling you that Jury Duty will be the best experience of your life. Oh please, if Jury Duty was the best experience of anybodies life don't you think it would be easier to get people here, I mean at least people would show up on time, and I have served on a jury, not even up in the top 10 of best things that have ever happened to me.
Around 10:00 they started calling numbers and lining people up to go to courtrooms. My number (148) was called and they lined us up in a hallway outside of the jury room. They kept us lined up in this hallway for about 30 minutes. They then stuffed about 20 of us into a very crowded elevator and brought us up into a courtroom. This courtroom had about 100 seats and about 180 people packed into it so I spent close to an hour standing up waiting for people to move or be dismissed. I finally got a seat and continued to read. However, Bill got me in a little bit of trouble because if you have ever read any of his books you know there are moments where you need to laugh out loud, so I did, and apparently laughing in a courtroom is frowned upon. By 1:00pm they had only gotten to number 50 and they let us break for a one hour lunch. I practically ran out of the courtroom but still had to wait for the elevator for 10 minutes, got downstairs, and was greeted by a blustery wind blown snowstorm outside. Great this is the perfect Friday.
I reported back to the courtroom as I was told to about 10 minutes before I was expected and sat down on a bench and began reading once again. About five minutes later when there were about 15 people in the courtroom a court officer came in and told us we weren't allowed to be in there. We were asked to leave and sit outside (err stand outside) and a court officer would bring us in when they were ready for us. Twenty minutes later (fifteen minutes late) they brought us back into the courtroom and continued to call everybody up individually. By 4:00pm they finally called my number and asked me to the sidebar. I had read 170 pages since the morning which was quite a feat considering how slow I read. The judge asked me a series of questions, all of which I answered truthfully but shortly and with a twinge of frustration in my voice (I do this very well) and he asked me to step away from the bench and both sides discuss whether I will be a good juror.
The judge calls me back up and explains that he understands that serving is a hardship for everybody but because it is you civic duty and he sees no specific reason to dismiss me he is going to have to ask me to be on the jury.
SHIT. I have so much work to do and I just spent an entire day in the courthouse. I really don't want to be on this damn case that is going to take a good portion of my week. This is one of those occasions when I would much rather be at work. Plus, I now need to go into work this weekend to get stuff done, and finish payroll so all of my employees get paid. But really this is supposed to be the greatest experience of you life? Give me a break!
By the way I also finished reading A Walk in the Woods this weekend as I laid in bed with a stomach bug. If you have never read any Bill Bryson I highly recommend him. He is an insanely smart man who is also hilarious. His dry sense of humor keeps you wanting more. I read 274 pages in 3 days, now that is quite a feat for a slow reader such as myself.
You Do This and You Do That
I feel that one of my greatest accomplishments as a manager is that I have at least 3 people that have worked for me that are at least department managers with my company now, and numerous others who are supervisors. It is a great feeling to know that people took the lessons I taught them and are using them to be successful. The funny thing is when I talk to these past employees and they tell me that they learned this or that from me I think it is really cool but I don't really remember teaching them anything specific or groundbreaking. I like to teach (and lead) by example. My new position now has me not only teaching by example but hands on training my employees and working with them so they can be successful.
My GM Manger is in Orlando this week at the Annual Back to Campus show, and right now she doesn't have an assistant or a floor supervisor. My week has been busy in the general merchandise department. But part of my week in the GM department has been working with one of the full time employees who has been at the store for a while. She is a young sales associate with a ton of spirit and know how. She can see what needs to be done but lacks some of the confidence to make sure it gets done or make a decision. She can shy away from problems because she has never been empowered to make the big decision.
This week I started to empower her to make key decisions as well as be the lead when it comes to maintaining the floor. She worked hard pulling merchandise up to the floor and did an excellent job finding the different tasks that needed to be completed everyday. I worked closely with her on assigning tasks since delegation seems to be one of her weaknesses (definitely a difficult thing when you have not done it before).
On Tuesday she had written down a list of 8 or 10 things that needed to be done. There was a full staff in the GM department so I went over the list with her and asked her who was going to be working on each task. She went down the list and 6 of the 10 things she had written down she said that she was going to do. I pulled her aside and said, "O, you don't need to do everything, what you need to do is explain what needs to be done to your employees and hold them accountable for completing the tasks. On Tuesday I walked with her and explained the tasks that needed to be completed to the employees and then later helped O follow up with the employees. She was a bit shy about this at first but then she warmed up to the idea because she realized that things were getting completed quicker and she was able to focus on the bigger tasks and the bigger picture.
By Thursday evening I walked up to the customer service desk and gave her a few items that I wanted to be completed while I was on Jury Duty. I pulled her aside and gave her the list and her response was:
OK, well J is doing the mugs so I will make sure that she pulls these and fills up that shelf and C has been working on the gifts section so I will ask her to fill in these items over there. I will have A go downstairs and breakdown the boxes since he was working in the stockroom today and I will continue to work on organizing the high end gifts stockroom and labeling the display cases. Do we need to work on anything else tomorrow?
Oh man, I have created a monster! I love it!
My GM Manger is in Orlando this week at the Annual Back to Campus show, and right now she doesn't have an assistant or a floor supervisor. My week has been busy in the general merchandise department. But part of my week in the GM department has been working with one of the full time employees who has been at the store for a while. She is a young sales associate with a ton of spirit and know how. She can see what needs to be done but lacks some of the confidence to make sure it gets done or make a decision. She can shy away from problems because she has never been empowered to make the big decision.
This week I started to empower her to make key decisions as well as be the lead when it comes to maintaining the floor. She worked hard pulling merchandise up to the floor and did an excellent job finding the different tasks that needed to be completed everyday. I worked closely with her on assigning tasks since delegation seems to be one of her weaknesses (definitely a difficult thing when you have not done it before).
On Tuesday she had written down a list of 8 or 10 things that needed to be done. There was a full staff in the GM department so I went over the list with her and asked her who was going to be working on each task. She went down the list and 6 of the 10 things she had written down she said that she was going to do. I pulled her aside and said, "O, you don't need to do everything, what you need to do is explain what needs to be done to your employees and hold them accountable for completing the tasks. On Tuesday I walked with her and explained the tasks that needed to be completed to the employees and then later helped O follow up with the employees. She was a bit shy about this at first but then she warmed up to the idea because she realized that things were getting completed quicker and she was able to focus on the bigger tasks and the bigger picture.
By Thursday evening I walked up to the customer service desk and gave her a few items that I wanted to be completed while I was on Jury Duty. I pulled her aside and gave her the list and her response was:
OK, well J is doing the mugs so I will make sure that she pulls these and fills up that shelf and C has been working on the gifts section so I will ask her to fill in these items over there. I will have A go downstairs and breakdown the boxes since he was working in the stockroom today and I will continue to work on organizing the high end gifts stockroom and labeling the display cases. Do we need to work on anything else tomorrow?
Oh man, I have created a monster! I love it!
I Told You So...
For those of you who were walking outside in tank tops, flip flops and shorts earlier this week, keep in mind that I told you so! It is snowing out just like I said, it feels like the dead of winter. Where are you flip flops now huh?
I love it when I am right, but I hate this weather I want the 70's or even the 50's back.
I love it when I am right, but I hate this weather I want the 70's or even the 50's back.
The Curious Lives of Cadavers
A couple days ago I finished reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers. This book tells the story of what happens to our bodies after we die. I started reading it last year and was very surprised at the fact that I was laughing about dead bodies within the first few pages. The waitress at the restaurant that I started reading it at even gave me a sideways glance like there was something seriously wrong with me. I know you are all thinking I am nuts, but I am telling you that this is a really popular and entertaining read. Here is the first review off of bn.com so you know that I am not the only one who thinks this...
Impossible (and irreverent) as it may sound, Roach has written a book about corpses that's both lively and fresh. She traveled around the globe to conduct her forensic investigations, and her findings are wryly intelligent. While the myriad uses for cadavers recounted are often graphic, Roach imbues her subject with a sense of dignity, choosing to emphasize the oddly noble purposes corpses serve, from organ donation to lifesaving medical research. Readers will come away convinced of the enormous debt that we, the living, owe to the study of the remains of the dead. And while it may not offer the answer to the ancient mystery we were hoping for, Stiff offers a strange sort of comfort in the knowledge that, in a sense, death isn't necessarily the end.
Overall, a good read even though as usual i did get a few odd looks reading it on the train.
While reading this book I also came across another reason why Jell-o scares me and I am right about it being gross in so many ways. Jello is a gelatin product and gelatin is made of processed cow bone chips and freshly chopped pig hides. Now if that is not gross I don't know what is.
I started reading A Walk in the Woods now, I am going to get a bunch of that read while I am on Jury Duty tomorrow.
Impossible (and irreverent) as it may sound, Roach has written a book about corpses that's both lively and fresh. She traveled around the globe to conduct her forensic investigations, and her findings are wryly intelligent. While the myriad uses for cadavers recounted are often graphic, Roach imbues her subject with a sense of dignity, choosing to emphasize the oddly noble purposes corpses serve, from organ donation to lifesaving medical research. Readers will come away convinced of the enormous debt that we, the living, owe to the study of the remains of the dead. And while it may not offer the answer to the ancient mystery we were hoping for, Stiff offers a strange sort of comfort in the knowledge that, in a sense, death isn't necessarily the end.
Overall, a good read even though as usual i did get a few odd looks reading it on the train.
While reading this book I also came across another reason why Jell-o scares me and I am right about it being gross in so many ways. Jello is a gelatin product and gelatin is made of processed cow bone chips and freshly chopped pig hides. Now if that is not gross I don't know what is.
I started reading A Walk in the Woods now, I am going to get a bunch of that read while I am on Jury Duty tomorrow.
Another Note on Darwin
If Darwin was right about Survival of the Fittest, then how come there are so many unfit (stupid ass) people still left in the world?
Warmth
I love spring, it is probably my favorite season. A perfect day for me is 70 degrees and sunny. I can't wait to Rollerblade on the Charles again. These things make me happy.
Today is warm, but it is also early March and I know that it is not quite spring. Yet when I got off the train after work I saw numerous people in shorts and flip-flops. People, it is not that warm and this is New England, it is going to snow in 10 minutes (OK maybe ten days). It was also only 5 today, I was comfortable in my jacket and pants. Yes, I left my scarf and gloves in my bag but I did not break out my bathing suit.
Relax, enjoy the somewhat seasonable weather but you are going to get sick if you continue prancing around half naked in March. Then again, maybe it is natural selection and Darwin was right. I must just be more fit then you!
Today is warm, but it is also early March and I know that it is not quite spring. Yet when I got off the train after work I saw numerous people in shorts and flip-flops. People, it is not that warm and this is New England, it is going to snow in 10 minutes (OK maybe ten days). It was also only 5 today, I was comfortable in my jacket and pants. Yes, I left my scarf and gloves in my bag but I did not break out my bathing suit.
Relax, enjoy the somewhat seasonable weather but you are going to get sick if you continue prancing around half naked in March. Then again, maybe it is natural selection and Darwin was right. I must just be more fit then you!
Semi-Responsible Adulthood
About 2 and a half years ago I bought my house. Home ownership is great and home ownership sucks. Remember when you rented and when something went wrong, the solution was to call your landlord, they would take care of the problem. There is none of that when you own a house. When you rent, you can't paint your walls, when you own you can paint them whatever color you want. When you rent you pay monthly and don't worry. When you own you pay your mortgage but you worry about whether your property values are increasing or decreasing and taxes and resale.
Another funny thing happens when you own your house, your furniture from your apartment just looks silly. Its almost an immediate thing and your are not sure why that futon that worked really well in your rented apartment just doesn't look quite right in your new living room. Maybe its because you now live in a place that is yours? Maybe it is because you control the color of your walls and what you do to your floors and where everything goes?
So, when you buy a house you slowly start to replace all of your "dorm" furniture. It's a normal part of growing up but it has to be done slowly and it requires planning and shopping and disappointment. In the past two and a half years I have a new couch in my living room, I love my couch and it was the first real piece of furniture I bought. I also have a really cool coffee table. I have a great headboard and cool desk. Another unexpectedly expensive item were custom wood blinds for all of my windows. My mom is great at helping pick out great things. Now, after shopping around I am in the process of getting a new kitchen table and chairs.
Today was all about the house. I cleaned up a little bit in the morning and toyed with the idea of moving my existing kitchen table and chairs down to the basement to prep for the new furniture but decided to wait until I had the new items in place. The plan was to meet my sister at the store at noon and pick up the four chairs and table I wanted and put them in our two cars and drive them to my house. Easy right? Well, not so easy! I got to the store a little bit before my sister and that was still not at noon. I walked in, found my set and went to the counter to ask a few questions. Since it was a new item I really didn't anticipate any problems but I should have known better. The store only had 2 chairs and the table in stock and the first person who helped me told me that they would not be able to order it. I asked if they could check at some other stores and they found another store but they also just had the floor models. I would have taken the floor models from store one and two floor model chairs from store two except for the fact that I was under the impression that the table would be in two pieces. Again, no such luck. So, even though it is a small table it won't quite fit in a civic. After some discussion my sister was able to talk to an associate who explained to us that the reason they were unable to order it was because this branch was closing but any other store could order it and I could pick it up there. This also provided me with the ability to find a friend and borrow a truck!
We placed the order for my stuff and by next weekend I should have my new kitchen set. That makes me happy.
After I returned from the store, much later then expected I was thrilled to see that the open house for the newly renovated condos was still going on. These condos are about the same size as mine and they are on the same street so it was really important to check them out and see how they were redone and what they were selling for. When you own a house it is really important to track the other properties in your neighborhood. So I spent about 45 minutes touring the units and talking to the realtor about square feet and condo fees and closet space and taxes and all of those fun questions my father asks me about when I tell him I went to an open house in the neighborhood.
But after all this, I felt like I wanted to go back to renting and futons, I was tired and really just wanted to go to sleep. Being a semi-responsible adult can be draining.
Another funny thing happens when you own your house, your furniture from your apartment just looks silly. Its almost an immediate thing and your are not sure why that futon that worked really well in your rented apartment just doesn't look quite right in your new living room. Maybe its because you now live in a place that is yours? Maybe it is because you control the color of your walls and what you do to your floors and where everything goes?
So, when you buy a house you slowly start to replace all of your "dorm" furniture. It's a normal part of growing up but it has to be done slowly and it requires planning and shopping and disappointment. In the past two and a half years I have a new couch in my living room, I love my couch and it was the first real piece of furniture I bought. I also have a really cool coffee table. I have a great headboard and cool desk. Another unexpectedly expensive item were custom wood blinds for all of my windows. My mom is great at helping pick out great things. Now, after shopping around I am in the process of getting a new kitchen table and chairs.
Today was all about the house. I cleaned up a little bit in the morning and toyed with the idea of moving my existing kitchen table and chairs down to the basement to prep for the new furniture but decided to wait until I had the new items in place. The plan was to meet my sister at the store at noon and pick up the four chairs and table I wanted and put them in our two cars and drive them to my house. Easy right? Well, not so easy! I got to the store a little bit before my sister and that was still not at noon. I walked in, found my set and went to the counter to ask a few questions. Since it was a new item I really didn't anticipate any problems but I should have known better. The store only had 2 chairs and the table in stock and the first person who helped me told me that they would not be able to order it. I asked if they could check at some other stores and they found another store but they also just had the floor models. I would have taken the floor models from store one and two floor model chairs from store two except for the fact that I was under the impression that the table would be in two pieces. Again, no such luck. So, even though it is a small table it won't quite fit in a civic. After some discussion my sister was able to talk to an associate who explained to us that the reason they were unable to order it was because this branch was closing but any other store could order it and I could pick it up there. This also provided me with the ability to find a friend and borrow a truck!
We placed the order for my stuff and by next weekend I should have my new kitchen set. That makes me happy.
After I returned from the store, much later then expected I was thrilled to see that the open house for the newly renovated condos was still going on. These condos are about the same size as mine and they are on the same street so it was really important to check them out and see how they were redone and what they were selling for. When you own a house it is really important to track the other properties in your neighborhood. So I spent about 45 minutes touring the units and talking to the realtor about square feet and condo fees and closet space and taxes and all of those fun questions my father asks me about when I tell him I went to an open house in the neighborhood.
But after all this, I felt like I wanted to go back to renting and futons, I was tired and really just wanted to go to sleep. Being a semi-responsible adult can be draining.
Hondas and Waiters
I am sitting here in the Honda dealership, waiting on my car to be fixed. It has been a very expensive first few month for me and I can't wait to get my tax return so I have a little bit of a security blanket in the bank. I am actually a bit upset because I left my book in my car, which is back in the shop but luckily this very nice dealership/ repair shop has computers set up so I can get online while I wait for my car to be fixed.
So, I took this opportunity to get caught up on my blog reading, including K's blog (www.kaitable.blogspot.com) and my new favorite (www.waiterrant.net). Working in the service/ retail industry I identify with the people the Waiter comes in contact with everyday and I empathize with the struggles he has with customers or patrons.
It is somehow comforting to see that you are not the only person that deals with the crazy people in the public. There are so many times when you are working with customers that you feel abandoned and alone. You know in your head that this is just a passing customer who feels you are incompetent but it is very disconcerting when you have a few bad ones a day and they all think you are an idiot because there is no way you can provide them with the item/service/refund/golden ticket that they want.
This is why I read K's blog and I laugh because I was at that store and I know the crazies that come in and this is why I read Waiter's blog and sit there and say "Hey, I think I know that guy!" I probably don't but I know that type of guy or girl. I know the spoiled children, I know the demanding customers, I understand how customers have a sense of self entitlement.
When you work in the service business dealing with the public you see all sorts of things, but at least when you read about others experiences you know that you are not alone. You can identify and you feel like you are part of a community that understands what you are going through each and every day.
It's fun, we love it, I don't want to be doing anything else, I guess I am a bit of a masochist but it is good to know there are others like me out there and while we are a bit crazy at least we are not as crazy as the people we help every day.
I am going to add Waiter-Rant to my links and I encourage you to check it out, it is very funny. Oh, and to tie things together, in a matter of months I am going to be selling his book so keep your eyes open for that.
Here's to dealing with the public... at least we will always have stories to tell!
So, I took this opportunity to get caught up on my blog reading, including K's blog (www.kaitable.blogspot.com) and my new favorite (www.waiterrant.net). Working in the service/ retail industry I identify with the people the Waiter comes in contact with everyday and I empathize with the struggles he has with customers or patrons.
It is somehow comforting to see that you are not the only person that deals with the crazy people in the public. There are so many times when you are working with customers that you feel abandoned and alone. You know in your head that this is just a passing customer who feels you are incompetent but it is very disconcerting when you have a few bad ones a day and they all think you are an idiot because there is no way you can provide them with the item/service/refund/golden ticket that they want.
This is why I read K's blog and I laugh because I was at that store and I know the crazies that come in and this is why I read Waiter's blog and sit there and say "Hey, I think I know that guy!" I probably don't but I know that type of guy or girl. I know the spoiled children, I know the demanding customers, I understand how customers have a sense of self entitlement.
When you work in the service business dealing with the public you see all sorts of things, but at least when you read about others experiences you know that you are not alone. You can identify and you feel like you are part of a community that understands what you are going through each and every day.
It's fun, we love it, I don't want to be doing anything else, I guess I am a bit of a masochist but it is good to know there are others like me out there and while we are a bit crazy at least we are not as crazy as the people we help every day.
I am going to add Waiter-Rant to my links and I encourage you to check it out, it is very funny. Oh, and to tie things together, in a matter of months I am going to be selling his book so keep your eyes open for that.
Here's to dealing with the public... at least we will always have stories to tell!
Salt
I finally finished reading Salt today and I have to say that it was not my favorite book I have read so far but it definitely was interesting. My overall problem is the author is throughout the book he constantly referred to how each culture made salt (there are two ways- solar evaporation of sea water or natural salt deposits that were drilled and purified. This is great information to know in detail once, however, I don't need 100 pages throughout the book repeating this process. It is amazing though how salt played a roll in numerous important events throughout history, including the American Revolution, the Civil War, Gandhi's passive resistance in India, and so many more world altering occurrences.
The one thing that I really noticed as I read this book is that while I have a problem finding food I eat and enjoy this day and age, I would NEVER have survived until recently. I don't eat fish, I don't eat seafood, I don't eat red meat, I barely eat veggies. Back prior to refrigeration all of these things were heavily salted or pickled and kept as a mainstay of anybodies diet. I definitely would not have lived very long.
Now that I am done reading Salt I think I am going to finish reading Stiff. I picked up Stiff close to a year ago and for some unknown reason I abandoned it. I was really enjoying this book about "The Curious Lives of Cadavers," so I am not sure why I put it down.
By the way the Ancient Egyptians salted their Cadavers as part of the mummification process!
The one thing that I really noticed as I read this book is that while I have a problem finding food I eat and enjoy this day and age, I would NEVER have survived until recently. I don't eat fish, I don't eat seafood, I don't eat red meat, I barely eat veggies. Back prior to refrigeration all of these things were heavily salted or pickled and kept as a mainstay of anybodies diet. I definitely would not have lived very long.
Now that I am done reading Salt I think I am going to finish reading Stiff. I picked up Stiff close to a year ago and for some unknown reason I abandoned it. I was really enjoying this book about "The Curious Lives of Cadavers," so I am not sure why I put it down.
By the way the Ancient Egyptians salted their Cadavers as part of the mummification process!
"People Think I Am Crazy..."
When I heard a passenger on the T utter "People Think I am Crazy, but I am not, REALLY I'm not," as I got on the train I should have turned around and gotten off and waited for the next train, but instead I got on and sat down and had quite a trip home on the Orange Line.
I was trying to finish reading Salt because I really don't want to be reading the same book for three weeks. I read about a half a line when the woman who uttered this aforementioned line stood up, bent over, and started "picking up" imaginary papers off of the floor and ranting about how her mother once slipped on all of these papers that were on the floor and fell under the train. Now, we are on the train so it would be quite an amazing feat to slip on papers inside the train and catapult yourself out and under the train in one swift move.
Once she is done picking up these imaginary papers she turns to the guy sitting next to me and yells "Do you work for the T?" "If you work for the T I need to talk to you about all these papers on the floor!"
The man very nicely says "No ma'am I don't I am sorry."
"YES YOU DO, AND YOU ARE THE REASON MY MOTHER SLIPPED AND FELL UNDER THE TRAIN, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF IT WERE YOUR GRANDMOTHER!"
Yes, she said grandmother, which I didn't quite understand but I guess I really shouldn't look for this conversation to make sense. At this point people are trying to slowly move away to the other side of the train. I am still trying to read my book but I am three seats away from crazy paper lady.
"IF SHE WAS YOUR GRANDMOTHER, YOU WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF HER, SHE WAS MY MOTHER, TRAIN, PAPERS..."
She then continues to pick up papers and mumble to herself... once she is done with that she sits back down and talks loudly to the woman across the aisle knitting, and how she used to knit when she was in the Army. Again, this makes no sense to me but I don't think I should be looking for sense in this rant.
As I approach my stop I continue to try to avoid eye contact but she looks at me and asks me if I understand what she is saying. I look her in the eyes and muster up a little bit of sincerity in my voice and say...
"If people think you are crazy then I don't know what is wrong with them!" And I step off the train.
I was trying to finish reading Salt because I really don't want to be reading the same book for three weeks. I read about a half a line when the woman who uttered this aforementioned line stood up, bent over, and started "picking up" imaginary papers off of the floor and ranting about how her mother once slipped on all of these papers that were on the floor and fell under the train. Now, we are on the train so it would be quite an amazing feat to slip on papers inside the train and catapult yourself out and under the train in one swift move.
Once she is done picking up these imaginary papers she turns to the guy sitting next to me and yells "Do you work for the T?" "If you work for the T I need to talk to you about all these papers on the floor!"
The man very nicely says "No ma'am I don't I am sorry."
"YES YOU DO, AND YOU ARE THE REASON MY MOTHER SLIPPED AND FELL UNDER THE TRAIN, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF IT WERE YOUR GRANDMOTHER!"
Yes, she said grandmother, which I didn't quite understand but I guess I really shouldn't look for this conversation to make sense. At this point people are trying to slowly move away to the other side of the train. I am still trying to read my book but I am three seats away from crazy paper lady.
"IF SHE WAS YOUR GRANDMOTHER, YOU WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF HER, SHE WAS MY MOTHER, TRAIN, PAPERS..."
She then continues to pick up papers and mumble to herself... once she is done with that she sits back down and talks loudly to the woman across the aisle knitting, and how she used to knit when she was in the Army. Again, this makes no sense to me but I don't think I should be looking for sense in this rant.
As I approach my stop I continue to try to avoid eye contact but she looks at me and asks me if I understand what she is saying. I look her in the eyes and muster up a little bit of sincerity in my voice and say...
"If people think you are crazy then I don't know what is wrong with them!" And I step off the train.
Results Night 3
Finally America got it right and voted Antonella Barba off, she was a big ole bitch last night and she deserves to be off of the show. Is it wrong that I laughed when she started crying? Am I mean because I thought it was so fitting that she butchered her going away song? HAHA... bye bye (I Hate You). It's funny because it is very obvious that Simon hates her too.
I feel bad for Sabrina who was not the top singer but she was a very sweet nice girl and she got voted off (I DON'T Hate You) but I do hate Antonella!
Now, I guess America can't get it 100% right because my new least favorite is Sanjaya- I have no idea how he has made it this far, and his flat ironed hair on Tuesday makes me want to smack him. Man people, get rid of him next week PLEASE
Also have I mentioned I hate Antonella!
I feel bad for Sabrina who was not the top singer but she was a very sweet nice girl and she got voted off (I DON'T Hate You) but I do hate Antonella!
Now, I guess America can't get it 100% right because my new least favorite is Sanjaya- I have no idea how he has made it this far, and his flat ironed hair on Tuesday makes me want to smack him. Man people, get rid of him next week PLEASE
Also have I mentioned I hate Antonella!
First Dates
It has been many months since I broke up with my ex, we talk and get along and things are good with us. It really is time for me to move on. I haven't been on a first date in like close to a year. First dates suck, they always have but we go on them because there is always that little glimmer of hope that we will find the right person for us. That one "soulmate" (god I hate that term), its right along the lines of "everything happens for a reason."
Anyway, on Wednesday night after our good ole Wednesday night tradition (the boys go out every Wednesday for like 3 years now), an acquaintance asked me out on a date and I said yes. We exchanged phone numbers and he said he would call me. He did on Friday just like he said (good first step) and we made plans to meet up on Saturday night and go to Providence to hang out and then meet up with a few of his friends. Not my idea of an ideal first date but that's OK, it sounded like it could be fun. I picked him up on Saturday night and drove to Providence, I figured I would get to know him a bit in the car, but it turns out he doesn't like to talk while others are driving. OK, well I can be quiet I guess that works so we drive in almost silence to Providence until I need him to give me directions to exactly where we are going.
We park and walk to the site of our first date, a run down dirty pool hall with a dance floor in the back. OK, not what I was hoping for but I can be a bit judgemental (shut up S, I know) and I decide that I am going to give this a chance. We hang out a bit and talk and I have my water since I can't drink and I need to give up Diet Coke. About 45 minutes into getting there he puts his name on to play pool, I don't play pool but I encourage him to go play a game. He is really very good I am very impressed and he is clearing the table game after game. All the while I am holding up a pole in the corner watching. He continues to win and drink and get a bit loud. He goes out for a smoke here and there and is gone for like 30 minutes at a time. His friends show up but they don't really talk to me so I am stuck in a pool bar in Providence pretty much all by myself. Let me tell you this is not my idea of a good first date.
Then of course we have a ride all the way back to Boston, we drive the hour almost in complete silence with the exception of him asking me "if I had a good time!"
No, I did not have a good time, a better date would involve dinner, a drink, conversation, not pool with other guys and pretty much ignoring me.
Guess I am going to need to go on another first date one of these days cause this guy was definitely not my "soulmate"
Anyway, on Wednesday night after our good ole Wednesday night tradition (the boys go out every Wednesday for like 3 years now), an acquaintance asked me out on a date and I said yes. We exchanged phone numbers and he said he would call me. He did on Friday just like he said (good first step) and we made plans to meet up on Saturday night and go to Providence to hang out and then meet up with a few of his friends. Not my idea of an ideal first date but that's OK, it sounded like it could be fun. I picked him up on Saturday night and drove to Providence, I figured I would get to know him a bit in the car, but it turns out he doesn't like to talk while others are driving. OK, well I can be quiet I guess that works so we drive in almost silence to Providence until I need him to give me directions to exactly where we are going.
We park and walk to the site of our first date, a run down dirty pool hall with a dance floor in the back. OK, not what I was hoping for but I can be a bit judgemental (shut up S, I know) and I decide that I am going to give this a chance. We hang out a bit and talk and I have my water since I can't drink and I need to give up Diet Coke. About 45 minutes into getting there he puts his name on to play pool, I don't play pool but I encourage him to go play a game. He is really very good I am very impressed and he is clearing the table game after game. All the while I am holding up a pole in the corner watching. He continues to win and drink and get a bit loud. He goes out for a smoke here and there and is gone for like 30 minutes at a time. His friends show up but they don't really talk to me so I am stuck in a pool bar in Providence pretty much all by myself. Let me tell you this is not my idea of a good first date.
Then of course we have a ride all the way back to Boston, we drive the hour almost in complete silence with the exception of him asking me "if I had a good time!"
No, I did not have a good time, a better date would involve dinner, a drink, conversation, not pool with other guys and pretty much ignoring me.
Guess I am going to need to go on another first date one of these days cause this guy was definitely not my "soulmate"
A Catch Up Post
So, after my fit of OCD I had a very busy 8ish days. Work was crazy and Bob needed to go back to the doctor to have his sutures taken out (no more cone). My parents were up last weekend and we had a busy weekend that even included more cleaning and some shopping. I had a funeral service to go to and a doctor's appointment for myself (kidney stone go figure).
So starting around Tuesday night I was in excruciating pain and unfortunately I had to wait until Friday for the doctor to have an open appointment, meanwhile at work I had to conduct 12 (yes 12) interviews for four open positions at the store, all the while squirming around to try to find a comfortable position to sit while listening to their answers.
Mom was up again on Thursday, so my sister picked me up at work and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I love Cheesecake, but I scared my mom because I really wasn't feeling good so I didn't eat any of my FAVORITE White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake.
Then there was Idol, oh man what is wrong with you America! Overall, the girls kicked butt again and I really like Melinda Doolittle, even though she kinda looks like Shrek! No really she does! The boys were much better this week. Results however pissed me off once again. How is it possible that Sanjaya (who barely even sang his song) and freaking Antonella Barba who has no redeeming characteristics, she is bitchy, thinks she is hot shit and she can't sing are still on this show. Come to your senses America and vote these guys off (not that I vote).
I started reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky last week (and continued this week) and I am enjoying it even though there are times when I wish he would stop describing exactly how salt was made in the good ole days (solar evaporation of sea water) and how salt was used to preserve fish (layer salt and fish in a big wooden barrel and seal). Overall, it is a very interesting look at world history and how salt was a part of major occurrences. When I am finished I will give you a full recap.
I am sure that plenty of other things occured this week but I am writing this on a tremendous amount of pain killers. The funniest thing I remember from this week is when a customer stole the pen from the customer service desk. Now if they had stolen a plain old Bic pen I wouldn't have thought anything of it. The funny part is we have "bank" pens at the front counters, the ones that are stuck to the counter. So, the customer pulled the pen off of the counter, chain and anchor and all and walked out the door. So seriously if you are around Boston and see a person walking around with a four foot chain hanging out of their purse, or if you are in Cambridge and see somebody signing their credit card slip with a pen attached to a chain and anchor tell them to return my pen.
I mean really who rips a pen off of a counter when all they needed to do was ask to borrow a pen and then not return it. OK, I am going to go lay down and moan in pain, damn Diet Soda I need to stop drinking you.
So starting around Tuesday night I was in excruciating pain and unfortunately I had to wait until Friday for the doctor to have an open appointment, meanwhile at work I had to conduct 12 (yes 12) interviews for four open positions at the store, all the while squirming around to try to find a comfortable position to sit while listening to their answers.
Mom was up again on Thursday, so my sister picked me up at work and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I love Cheesecake, but I scared my mom because I really wasn't feeling good so I didn't eat any of my FAVORITE White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake.
Then there was Idol, oh man what is wrong with you America! Overall, the girls kicked butt again and I really like Melinda Doolittle, even though she kinda looks like Shrek! No really she does! The boys were much better this week. Results however pissed me off once again. How is it possible that Sanjaya (who barely even sang his song) and freaking Antonella Barba who has no redeeming characteristics, she is bitchy, thinks she is hot shit and she can't sing are still on this show. Come to your senses America and vote these guys off (not that I vote).
I started reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky last week (and continued this week) and I am enjoying it even though there are times when I wish he would stop describing exactly how salt was made in the good ole days (solar evaporation of sea water) and how salt was used to preserve fish (layer salt and fish in a big wooden barrel and seal). Overall, it is a very interesting look at world history and how salt was a part of major occurrences. When I am finished I will give you a full recap.
I am sure that plenty of other things occured this week but I am writing this on a tremendous amount of pain killers. The funniest thing I remember from this week is when a customer stole the pen from the customer service desk. Now if they had stolen a plain old Bic pen I wouldn't have thought anything of it. The funny part is we have "bank" pens at the front counters, the ones that are stuck to the counter. So, the customer pulled the pen off of the counter, chain and anchor and all and walked out the door. So seriously if you are around Boston and see a person walking around with a four foot chain hanging out of their purse, or if you are in Cambridge and see somebody signing their credit card slip with a pen attached to a chain and anchor tell them to return my pen.
I mean really who rips a pen off of a counter when all they needed to do was ask to borrow a pen and then not return it. OK, I am going to go lay down and moan in pain, damn Diet Soda I need to stop drinking you.
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