Jury Duty

At playgroup this week (which should almost be renamed "A and L have a playdate" but hope springs eternal), I saw a jury duty summons. K and I had a discussion about how she and her hubby have had to go every year for as long as they've lived here.

I said, gosh, isn't there an exemption period if you've served? She said no, one year.

So today in the mail, what did I spawn with my idle chatter about jury duty? That's right, a jury duty summons. The paperwork actually says I'm exempt from jury duty for three years if I've served as a sworn juror, which, of course, I have. And I blogged about it so I have the dates, yay!

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say I've been missing it, Bob."

Yes, once again, cubicle-free me has her life summed up in an Office Space quote.

I'm back at work. I haven't worked in more than a week between the blood drive and the jury duty. But I wouldn't exactly say I've missed work at all. I would be hard pressed to think of something I missed.

My email didn't work this morning, so that burned through a good hour and a half. Then I called my boss to say, hey, back at work but the email no workee. So there was a quarter of my day. The rest was just doing the silly stupid stuff I get paid to do.

It's not exactly an earth-rattling thought, but the realization that I could be off from work for an indeterminate amount of time and absolutely not care one whit about what happened while I was gone is mildly astonishing. Today I don't even care about the quality of work going out unless it's solely mine, which is odd for perfectionist little me.

Maybe it's because I'm pregnant and creating another person dwarfs the importance of anything else. Maybe being on jury duty changed my idea of the idiot to non-idiot ratio in the universe. Maybe I'm tired of dealing with a completely new management structure.

But today's the day I shut down exactly after my eight hours were done, launches and projects be damned.

Happy Independence from Jury Duty Day

We the jury were dismissed yesterday at 4:45PM, so I will not be returning to jury duty Wednesday. I will be returning to work. This means I've been out of work since last Monday. I can't say that I've missed work.

We had a hung jury on all five counts, so the case will be re-tried. Both the judge and the prosecuting attorney made a point of telling us that sometimes juries honestly can't reach a decision and it doesn't reflect poorly on us as jurors or the process. The people on the jury were all nice, thoughtful, intelligent people so I really can't say anything bad about the process.

We also had a prenatal visit yesterday morning, early to avoid being late to court. My blood pressure was high (80/135), but that was probably because I was worried about making it to jury duty on time. My midwife asked me to lie down on my side to double-check it and then my BP was 60/110 or something absolutely fine. Everything else (weight, glucose, protein) was fine. Fundal height was 36 cm, right on track for 36 weeks. Kid's fine. The midwife asked if I had my bag packed, and alas, I do not. We need to do that.

Today I don't know what we're doing other than buying milk and spending some time with my feet up. We have apparently reached the feet up stage of pregnancy.

Jury duty continues.

I can't say anything about the case, damnit. It will be running over to Monday. We finished closing statements at 4PM Friday.

I have a prenatal appointment Monday morning, which is a bit of a sticky wicket since the trial starts at 9AM. I spoke to the bailiff as I was leaving yesterday afternoon and spent some time with the counsel and judge after the jurors were excused yesterday. The judge is very kind and helpful, especially considering that when I came back in I was on my cell phone with the birth center trying to reschedule the appointment. It was rude to everyone involved. But she was understanding and seemed to appreciate the fact that I was on the phone trying to reschedule.

The birth center's computers were down, so they couldn't reschedule me.

The court basically said I could show up a little late or they would recess early on Monday so I could make a late-day appointment. That's about as understanding as it gets. I have a number to call if I'm late and Mistah C is off Monday so he can drop me off at the courthouse door, instead of my having to plan on an hour and a half of driving and trolley-taking.

But there you are. I'm fulfilling my civic duties again Monday instead of having a day off. I wonder what the guidelines for company holidays are on this - is jury duty "working" on a company holiday? Do I get compensated for it? It took HR two months to figure out maternity leave; God knows when they'll think about this.

The massive amounts of walking this week have taken a toll on me, specifically on my feet. I didn't realize my feet had swollen so much. I'm down to my Birks worn on their loosest notches; even my Crocs are too small, which I wish I'd realized before I wore them yesterday. I've got some blisters on the balls of my feet and some chafed spots on the tops from my Crocs.

Yesterday, I came home and collapsed on the couch long enough to get my strength up to take a bath. I really do mean that I had to rest to get enough strength to go to the bathtub. (And it's quite the feat for a pregnant woman to get out of a reclined bathing position; I needed Mistah C's assistance, which surprised me.) This morning, my feet are still killing me, so I'm going to find an ottoman and put my feet up and not do much today.

And the winner is...

I actually don't know who is luckier, the City of San Diego, for having precious analytical moi as a juror, or me, for getting a government-imposed break from work.

But yes folks, I am on jury duty. The lawyers are expected to wrap up their case tomorrow and then it's whatever time we need for deliberation. It's the kind of case where I really wish I was Sherlock Holmes or Dr. House, but I can't talk about it so...argh. Not talking is really not my strong point. But it's illegal. So I won't.

I actually have the best seat in the house for the trial, front and center, so I'm happy there. The room is cold according to everyone else, which explains why I'm so comfortable. We are not allowed to eat in court but we are allowed to drink bottled beverages, so I am staying well-hydrated. The bailiff was kind enough to throw away my lunch bag when I couldn't find a trash can nearby (that, and maybe my hot pink face). I won't abuse him that way tomorrow, but he's quite kind even if he seemed gruff the first day. I'm guessing it was helped by my innate politeness of saying good morning and afternoon and thanking him when he holds the door when we enter and leave.

I am astonishingly pink, brilliantly so. It's a combination of the heat and the walking at a determined pace to run around to the bathroom, the water fountain, and the vending machine on fifteen minute breaks. The women offer me first crack at the toilets when there's a line (which I decline gracefully). People keep asking me, "You're hot, right?" My pregnancy glow is bordering on radiation burn. I look like I've run a marathon just from walking down the hallway. But people are continuing to be quite kind to me; I have been hearing about everyone's children and their births and so forth. It's interesting so far, not annoying.

The kidlet is doing fine, relatively quiet today, but I could also be preoccupied with all the interesting things. Now the baby will have served jury duty! (If the tater tot becomes a lawyer, the jokes will never end.) There were baby hiccups during some of the testimony and I wondered if other people could see my belly popping up and down. I am uncomfortable with all the walking I had to do to get the cheapest parking possible (Horton Plaza with matinee movie tickets cost $15 for the day with a midday re-park, as opposed to the $28 I paid yesterday to park all day), but now I am chafed in that fat thigh + hot weather + walking way. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't need to know, you skinny-thighed sweat-free nymph.

I'm going to go get some ice packs and sit with my hot swollen feet up. The trial could wrap up tomorrow but could go until Monday with deliberations. I'll keep you posted.

Jury Duty: To Be Continued

People can be very kind to you when you're obviously pregnant.

I found a comfortable seat in the jury lounge (SD has the 3rd largest jury court system in the country behind LA and Chicago, which leads me to believe NYC has theirs split by borough) where I could put my feet up and read. I read for many hours, knocked off a Wodehouse, part of The Geographer's Library, and part of a first-year child development book. I had lunch at Wendy's and then had a cupcake and ice cold milk in a coffee shop where some Brits asked me about the weather. The milk was better than the cupcake, but the people in the coffee shop were sweet.

A lady sitting across from me took my ticket to get me a trolley/bus voucher when everyone was told to get up and get in line to get vouchers. Her name was Susan and she was quite kind.

I have a timeline somewhere that I'll dig out, but I wasn't picked until the last call of the day. Then they called my name. So off I trot with the masses, lots of people saying, "Well, you certainly have just cause to get out of this." I explain that I'm just at 36 weeks and I'm not taking disability. Since I can work, I can also do my civic duty. Any exertion makes me pink and it's swelteringly hot, so I must look like I'm about to give birth right there in the Hall of Justice.

Women wanted to talk to me about my baby and then about their babies and pregnancies and labors. I met a woman with seven kids who breastfed them all. She said breastfeeding hurts like hell for the first six weeks (take that, lactation consultant!). They told me about their labor pains and their pregnancy quirks. I think seeing me makes them nostalgic for their own pregnancies. It's quite an unusual time. A lot of the women just urged me to figure out childrearing for myself and trust my instincts, which I appreciated.

Anyway, I was not picked for the jury in the first round, but I was added to the second string of jurors after the lawyers dismissed more than half of the first string. I must return tomorrow to answer questions; stay tuned to find out if I'll actually be serving on the jury. If I am, they expect the case to be over Friday or Monday.

Now I must eat ice cream and pet my darling cats. I feel like I haven't seen them in forever, poor guys. And I want to put my swollen feet up.

And if the maternity leave hassles weren't enough...

I have been summoned for Jury Duty. I have been summoned once before, but in Colorado, you call a number and they say whether or not you have to come in. I didn't have to serve then. Unlike Colorado, San Diego makes you actually show up in court. My summons date is just one day before I officially roll the 36th week of pregnancy.

In addition to working out the maternity leave issues with HR, I'll be sending them a copy of my jury summons.