jury duty

last tuesday i was summoned to jury duty...and unfortunately this time around, i didnt have any excuses to give to get myself out of it. in the past i got away with being a full time student and working for a company that really didnt give a rat's tail about jury duty, so they wouldnt pay you to do your civic duty- financial hardship.

this was the first time i had ever been called to a courtroom...the process is quite tedious and time consuming, but i had no other choice than to roll with the motions. right of the bat, i was assigned seat 7 in the panel and maintained the spot. tuesday was rather uneventful day because there was absolutely no progress made in jury selection, all 47 of us had to report back to court on wednesday.... not very many happy people. me on the other hand, possessed the whatever attitude about it. i didnt care either way.

i reported back wednesday morning at 930. about 11am they began thanking and excusing possible jurors. out of sheer boredom i prayed to the jury gods to get me out of that place. but my prayers were not answered. they dismissed us for 3 hour lunch. yep....3 hours in downtown. what the hell was i going to do with myself. what better place to waste time than the mall. so i made the short walk there and decided i wanted to go shopping. i hit up macy's but a couple items of clothing then hit the vans store and bought 2 pairs of shoes. having felt guilty after the vans store i made my way out of the mall and headed to la salsa for lunch. as i was eating, i though to myself...crap, being down here this close to the mall is dangerous for my wallet. i promised myself that if i had to come back on thursday i would not go the mall and eat nor walk around. i headed back to the courtroom and was situated in my seat. there they were through the remaining prospectives and dismissed most of them. at 345pm i was sworn in to be a juror. shit - i thought. after being dismissed i hastily made my way out of the courtroom to the hall of justice were i snagged my trolley pass and clocked out.

i was on that phone like no other trying to get a hold of my work. i swear my work place is the hardest place to get a hold of someone. well, i wasnt able to actually talk to anyone, so i left messages hoping they would get it in the morning. i notified that i was selected and the judge expects the trial to last to tuesday but will not know anything for sure until friday possibly monday. at that time, i was almost relieved i was chosen. especially after the stories i have been hearing about work...thank god i am not there working my ass off. i actually dont mind sitting on my rump for 5 hours a day listening to people talk. as a matter of fact, the whole process is quite interesting to me.

the lectures from college really are all falling into place. i'm finally able to make connections from what i've learned in college. its a relief actually, makes me happy that i didnt pay 18k for an education that seemed useless at the time.

thursday - we were instructed to report back at 10am. which i did. the morning was so damn boring...this judge talks so slow and repeats himself every other sentence it seems like. in any event the case finally started. opening arguments were presented and presentation of the evidence began......now it gets interesting.....finally.....

today i am to report to the court at 11am...yes folks, that's 11am. i'll tell you this much, i am not used to having the morning to myself. so here i am blogging...about to get into an abdominal and lower body workout from the comforts of my own home......

jury duty really aint so bad....

TGIF

finally its friday....

this week has really been a crazy week. i guess every now and again everyone gets into a slump...well, i cant quite say this is a slump...its a brought on stress...self induced. i am pretty known for this i guess. well my hubby says so at least.

the current work situation has been stressful in its own way. i am the go-to person for my sups and well they rely on me to get things done. i'm good for the job and quite reliable. I like the work they give me it really beats cleaning up other people's screw ups. but for whatever reason this week was just out right weird.

it started off weird. i was given this new report to work and had barely gotten to it because the phone calls kept coming in - one right after the other. i mean we barely had time to drink water between phone calls. i dont really mind it busy because it makes the day go by fast, but the continuous work really gets you by wednesday. and it sure got to me wednesday.

on top of the work situation...i have a reunion to plan. who woulda known i would be this responsible for a reunion. i'm not too worried about it because only a handful of people are interested in going. i plan on having progress next month on this reunion deal.

then...after that...on to planning mom's surprise 70th. i know i will have to do this myself too becuase well...the brothers arent so reliable...they are actually quite bossy...a lot of talk no walk. i just dont fly like that. so i will take the reins on this too.

see what i mean by self induced...i'm too much of a busy body to relax...hell, if i have nothing to do i get bored...so i constantly need things to do.

***sigh***

i'm just glad its friday...i need a drink or three...

a time to reflect

after hearing some tragic news today, i couldnt help but reflect on my own life.

it started with a text notifying me that one of my past managers just passed away today. mind you, this person was only 24 or 25. she was new to marriage and just gave birth to her son only a month ago. apparently she was on her way home from visiting her parents when she was struck by a car that was drag racing. the baby made it out fine but she died on the operating table.

i couldnt help but think. as spuds put it, when someone dies it usually forces you to sit and think about your life. and in truth it does...so here i am thinking...about life...

death at an early age always touches me. I have lost quite a few friends to the mercy of others, and its never fair when it happens. I know that when its your time to go then its your time to go - there's no negotiating involved. but to pass in tragedy unexpectedly...where does that leave you?

each and every day millions of people drive out on the roads...expecting that those fellow drivers expect the same from everyone else around them, but do they? there's that unspoken trust that we put in each driver. a trust that we hope is not breached from drunk driving, from those that have a need to drag race, from those that are emotionally unstable, from those that just dont give a fuck about themselves.

this person that lost her life today was quite a character. she always wanted what was best and really didnt sweat the small stuff. she was an assistant manager at such a young age, she had a lot going for her. she found her happiness in her family and friends. she was liked by many. she will be missed.

i express my deepest condolences to her family and friends...

....may you rest in peace....may perpetual light shine upon you.

New Zealand

New Zealand has come and gone. we had the greatest time in the world. we did our own touring of New Zealand and of course did honeymoon stuffs. no need to elaborate there. we were in new zealand for 12 days. each day was filled with absolutely gorgeous scenery. i mean you just couldnt believe your eyes most days. it was almost like being in a dream where everything almost seemed perfect.

dan did a great job picking the place and having everything set for when we got there. the honeymoon suite was amazing and the room at skycity was comfortable. it was what we needed to end the trip. did i mention, that there was a rainbow the last day we were there, that showed itself as we sat in the airport...it was almost magical.

in the trip, we chilaxed at the beach, walked on a privately owned volcano, walked the redwood forest, rode a gondola, luged down some tracks, zorbed and definitely sight see'd. we unfortunately were not able to swim with the dolphins as the weather just did not permit. we were really bummed about it. darn storms in the pacific.

the culture there was rather mixed. it was definitely a melting pot of many races, ages and sexes. it almost seemed like home. we didnt feel like outsiders nor stick out like a sore thumb.

the honeymoon was a success. the best part was having dan to myself for 12 days living the high life in paradise....

the honeymoon finally arrives

8 months and approximately 2 weeks later...dan and i are finally leaving on a plane to go to new zealand. i cannot even begin to describe how excited we are. we have had this trip booked for a while now...and here it finally is. we dont really have much planned except to fly out tomorrow, touch down in auckland, wait a couple hours until the car rental place opens, drive southwest to a beach resort off the coast of bay of plenty. we do know, however, that we want to do a day trip to an island, chill out with some dolphins and climb a volcano. we've got 2 weeks to do it, with absolutely no pressure....which will be nice for a change.

dan has experienced a lot of job related stress. i dont know if i can call it stress really, but he has faced a lot of people being laid off. a lot of these people have been at his company longer that he has with a richer skill set almost. this past week has been a nightmare for him. i sensed it in him all week...so now i think is a great time to break away from it and relax a little. he has some tough times ahead of him this coming year. i know he'll succeed in what ever he sets his mind too.

i, on the other hand, am still here. i've been working my toosh off at work....was even announced employee of the 4th quarter of 2008. the work never ends where i am at. some days i hate it and some days i dont mind it. i've been hating it for the past few weeks now just because of the anticipation of having 2 weeks off. i did tie up loose ends and took care of most everything, so i feel good about leaving.

i am sure i will have a lot of to write about when i get back, but the true test will be, if i even get to it. look forward to some cool pictures of new zealand in a couple of weeks.

paradise...here we come....

nightmare

yesterday was quite a nightmare for me. no...wait...the ending of yesterday was a nightmare for me. the day had gone perfectly well, up until the gas pedal stopped working on the I-5 south in santa ana. i'd rented a minivan to carpool my parents and their friends to a gathering in los angeles. the timing of the day was awesome. we had left when i expected and were on the road back home at a descent hour. no complaints what so ever. the auro in the minivan was nice too. everyone had a great time at the gathering and were relieved that we would be back in san diego before 9pm...which i thought was awesome cause that meant i could return the minivan that same night.

it was just a couple hundred feet before we reached the First street/ fourth street exit 104a that the gas pedal stopped working and the check engine light came on. i had no where to go but to pull over on the left side of the highway near exit ramp 55 south, and at that same time the van coasted as far left as i can get her, i instinctively yelled FUCK. keep in mind, the folks in the van are seniors. i had surprised them. i knew at that moment i was up shit creek. it was dark out, cars were zooming by us at dangerous speeds. i quickly grabbed my dads cell phone and dialed enterprises's roadside assistance. i was on the phone with them for no kidding 2 hours. the fuckers kept hanging up on me. the first person i spoke with was mario. he seemed nice at first and eventually hung up on me. i called back and spoke to another person who'd transferred me to ana at AAA who, ironically was the same person mario spoke to when i'd called. so she thankfully knew what the situation was. while on the phone with ana, the line disconnected. so i called back a 3rd time. this time pissed off as all hell.

at this time i had noticed a chp car causing a break in traffic. he came up to the window to see what the hell i was doing. he realized we were in car trouble and decided to push us off the highway. he was nice enough to push us onto 4th street and mulberry. officer peterson was a graet help to get us out of danger. i was very thankful for his aid. he stayed with us for as long as he could - then he left to answer another call.

finally i'd called back and spoke to michael. at this time i demanded that i speak to a manager. i was then connected to michael who works out of Louisiana. he was asking me for my location, i repeatedly told him i was at 4th and mulberry in santa ana. this fucker...had hte audacity to tell me .... sorry i have no idea what you're talking about i'm working out of Louisiana. oh man, my blood started boiling. are you seriously fucking kidding me. you're asking me how far i am from lax? you're the goddamn manager and your asking me to figure out the specifics of my location. bitch plug that coordinate into yahoo and you'll see where i'm at. during this feud, scott the tow guy came to take the van. i told him i was in no way or shape ready to give up this van without a replacement or a cabbie. i was not about to stand out on the fucking corner in harms way in an area where officer peterson told us not to leave our windows open. oh hell no.

scott stuck around. in the meanwhile, i was still on the phone with michael. he had me on conference call trying to get a hold of the enterprise at john wayne. it took him 25 min to finally get through the phone maze. erik from john wayne instructed that a minivan was ready for me. the problem was...i had to take a cab there. ok no big deal until michael said we'd have to pay our fare. seriously? you rented me a fucked up vehicle and you expect me to pay a $50 cab fare to pick up another vehicle? at this time profanities came out of my mouth. i agreed to pay the cab since that would be the only way to get us off the damn corner.

scott asked if i had a aaa card. and of course, i did. he suggested that he can tow me 1 way up to 100 miles. quizzically i asked...can you fight 6 in your cab? he answered, why not? i looked over my shoulder and realized that he had a crew cab. i felt relieved. i convinced everyone that it would be better and faster for scott to tow us down to san diego. so we all piled into the tow truck. i know that what scott did was illegal since we all did not have seat belts, but he was risking that for us. he totally provided great customer service. i was very impressed by him. he was a great guy, good humored and very helpful. he finally got us into the enterprise return lot at 951. talk about bad publicity for your future customers to see that a vehicle was being towed back.

i'd spoken to a brian and told him my situation and he looked at me like i was a lunatic. he insisted on telling me that the car wasnt working because i had the gears in manual. at that time i looked at him and asked him...if the car was in manual, wouldnt you think that the gas pedal would work? i asked him to explain to me how the gas pedal would stop working if the gears were in manual but would work in automatic? seriously this guy was clueless. so i insisted in saying that the gas pedal would work whether the gears were in automatic or manual. it doesnt take Einstein to figure that out. that is driving 101. give me break brian, even the retard of all retards would know a gas pedal would work either way. not so macho now are you? well, brian decided at that point, he would shave off 1/2 the price of the rental. i told him to cash me out and that was that. oh and to make a peace offering, he gave me a 2 upgrade coupon for free. wow, like that was supposed to make it all better.

needless to say, a trip that would have normally taken 2 hours to get home took 4 hours. the night was very eventful. did i mention, that we had to pass through the scales to get weighed on the highway, and that i had to ride bitch between my dad and scott? note to self, never rent a minivan from the san diego branch again. i've been renting from enterprise for quite a few years now, and this was the first bad experience for me. and you know, sometimes it only takes the 1 bad experience to steer you away from doing things another time around.

to top things off...i came down with a cold. what a weekend. i cannot wait for next weekend, new zealand here we come.

gone with the old, in with the new

2008 has come and is now gone. lets take a glimpse of what happened in 2008 for me. where do I start?

probably the first thing that happened to me was my new job at Kaiser. it came unexpectedly actually. i knew, that i wanted out of the depot, but i never thought that i'd get set up with a new job by the end of the year to start off 2008 with a more stable and better paying job.

the second thing that happened was the move. i had moved around quite a bit before 2008. dan and i decided that we would move to pb to start our new married life together...so we moved right before the wedding.

the third thing that happened was the wedding. the wedding was the icing on top of the cake. it was a royal, and when i say royal, i mean ROYAL pain in my ass. ok...not so much the wedding, but the wedding planning. boy was i relieved when it was over. but i must say, the wedding was the best thing that ever happened to me in 2008. i dont think anything can surpass that...but we'll see what 2009 holds.

the fourth thing that happened...well, this is no fourth thing. i had 3 big things happen all at the beginning of the year. the last half of the year was smooth sailing.

whats in store for 2009? i do know of one thing for sure...and...thats the honeymoon we have put off for so dang long. come february 1st we will be on a long plane ride to new zealand. dan and i can cannot wait. i'm sure i will be counting down the days. its a trip that we have both been waiting for...a once in a lifetime type of deal.

i wish all of you happiness, love and success in the new year!!!