quidnunc.org: Jury Duty

A Day at the Los Angeles County Courthouse

I was summoned to serve jury duty at the Stanley Mosk Los Angeles County Courthouse beginning August 2, 2004. I was to arrive at the "Jurors Assembly Room" by 7:30 on Monday morning. After going through about six rounds of lists my name was never called for potential jury selection. I never even got to go to a courtroom and be questioned by the judge and lawyers to see if I was fit to sit on a jury for a real trial. Those of us left at the end of the day were dismissed at 3:30 to go home. Fortunately, you're only required to serve "One Day" or "One Trial" -- so my service is complete for the next year. Super boring waste of time. I took some camera phone pictures to document my day.


After sitting through a two hour "orientation" that consisted of paperwork, a judge's speech about jury duty, two video tapes on jury service and lots of repeating by the jury director... we all were given badges to wear with our ID number and other redundant information.	There were over 200 people (this photo is from later in the day) stuffed into a sad room at the end of a hallway on the 2nd floor. The clock at the front of the room was slow by two hours and five minutes, which really made the day drag by. But at least the chairs were comfy.

They even provide five computers for internet access. You had to pay to use it though. $1.50 for 15 minutes, or $6/hour.	I spent the entire day reading a new (to me) book: "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris. Funny stuff. Crazy family.

At noon, those of us who still had not been assigned to a courtroom for jury selection were dismissed for an hour and a half lunch break. I ate a sandwich in the courthouse courtyard with this lovely, huge fountain.	The trees around the courthouse have exposed roots. Kind of creepy, but interesting.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located across from the courthouse.	The LA Philharmonic performs here in this obnoxious metal structure.

Despite the sore thumb of metal sticking out among a bunch of concrete skyscrapers, this building is rather breathtaking and lovely.	On the backside of the Concert Hall their is a community park on the rooftop. Finding this was the best part of my long day.

In the park is a children's ampitheatre, lots of trees and flowers and this odd shaped water feature thing.	It's covered in a mosaic of broken blue china plates, with the odd multi-colored tile. I guess it's supposed to resemble a lotus blossom, with it's numerous petals opening up. It is filled with water and echos with the most serene sound of water trickeling through all the petals.

Moblog

Captured with a Nokia 3650 camera phone!

on the Bookshelf

	The South Beach Diet Arthur Agatston
the ever popular low-carb diet trend. the most important and beneficial thing about this book to me is the meal plans included. the diet is broken down into three phases, and each one has two weeks worth of meals laid out for you with recipes included. every meal so far hasn't been too complicated to prepare, and have been delicious and filling. it takes the guess work out of what to eat for each meal, which makes the process more efficient for my attitude toward dieting. so far, i've lost over 40 pounds in eight months following the diet plan in the book!

	Stitch 'N Bitch Debbie Stoller
a young and hip take on the craft girl phenomenon. great introductory information for the beginner knitter or a refresher course for the experienced. lots of unique patterns for any skill level. some a little "out there" but most of the projects are something i would like to work on.

	Three Complete Novels: A Is For Alibi; B Is For Burglar; C Is For Corpse Sue Grafton
i just started this popular series of "alphabet" murder mysteries. so far, the writing is laid back and pleasing to read. it's been years since i picked up a book other than a "singleton" novel, so this is a great change of pace from that! look forward to continuing the series.

on my iPod/iTunes

	Emotional Technology BT
this is a really fun album! bt really brought out some unique mixes on this album, including a song filled with fun sounds from the 80s! every song is as good, if not better, than the one before it.

	Sacred Love Sting
sacred love is classic sting. the music moves through different worlds and styles, while sting's lyrics perfectly flow over the sounds. the writing is great, and i love the remix of "sacred love" included at the end of the disc.

	Life For Rent Dido
this cd has some impressive work on it. the songs move from one to the next is perfect harmony. standard dido ballads with her angelic voice are mixed with upbeat songs equally as breath-taking. a great cd to listen to from start to finish!

in the DVD player

	Bjork: Greatest Hits Bjork
if you're a fan of the adorable bjork, like i am, this is a must-have to add to your collection! 20 full-length videos spanning her career from 1993 to 2003. some i have never seen on american television, so i thoroughly enjoyed seeing each ingenious video combined bjork's creativity on screen.

	Dressed to Kill Eddie Izzard
this has to be one of the funniest stand-up shows i've seen in awhile. eddie izzard is just intriguing to watch perform and this performance captures his dry and witty sense of humor. the dvd also contains commentary on the perfromance, done by eddie, which is slightly distracting but enjoyable.