I'm missing Law and Order for this?

Another week down, but this one is special. Yesterday marked the end of my schooling. It's over. Finé. I have to try and enter the real world again. Rent is still a bitch, and the bills are of course not working in my favor. But what else is new? That will actually be answered in an update post, coming soon to a monitor near you!

What's really new for me is right now I'm sequestered in a jury room. I've kind of wanted to be a juror ever since I really started enjoying Harvey Birdman. None of my family members have ever been to jury duty before, and none of my friends have either. the only person I know that has sat on a jury is the manager at my place of work (the one whom I'm convinced is trying to find a reason to get rid of me.) This post is to serve as a warning and a lesson as to what to expect.

This isn't my first time being summoned to jury duty, this is just the first time I've been able to make it there. School has always been a priority to me over the justice system, and let me tell you, if you have any reason you can't make it in, you need to send them that letter they give you as soon as possible. Otherwise they will just keep summoning you. That gets annoying. They also may send out a warrant after you. That’s worse.

* * *

And we're back from lunch. The worst part of this so far has been dealing with parking. I found the courthouse just in time, and spent approximately 20 minutes trying to find a parking place. I ended up initially parking at an expired meter to try and get there on time, and ask them where on earth to park. For anyone who gets summoned in St. Louis, you park next to the MetroLink Station at Shaw and Meramec. You also want to make sure you have your summons with you; it’s needed in order to be checked in and logged. Don’t have too many things in your pockets, you’ll have to take them out for the metal detector and x-ray check. This is almost as bad as going through airport security. Come to think of it, this is a lot like the airport. You hurry up to get here and wait, you go through a series of metal detectors and security checks, and then you sit in your waiting room like a terminal.

Anyway, It’s pretty cool so far. It’s usually a two day affair, though it can last as little as 1.5 days to however long your case lasts, should you get selected to serve on one. It’s a big tall room, and it has a good few amenities included. There are snack machines, soda and coffee machines, a magazine rack (complete with outdated issues of Time,) and a couple of televisions (one of them is tuned to The View. How am I supposed to be an unbiased juror with the definition of daytime dreck television showing to a room full of the fairer sex?) The best feature is this little separate work area. A number of chairs and desks are next to a window overlooking central St. Louis County.

Out of a last minute thought, I had decided to grab my laptop, which remained in my truck until the 90 minute lunch break. You’d assume with the “hush hush” nature of juries and cases and such, any connection to the outside world would be forbidden. The joke is on me though, and in an ironic way. There is next to no internet connectivity in this room. There is no wireless, and though there are Cat5 data ports all over the room, none of them connect anywhere. The 56k modem lines connect to the outside world, and that used to be this laptop’s primary connection to the internet. I grabbed a Cat5 cable before I left, but no phone cable. The lesson learned is that I either A) need a newer, more modern laptop (I’m looking at an Asus model or two, simply because I’m a fanboy, or something from CyberPower, for the same reason) so that I can go mobile broadband and call myself a disciple of the internet, or B) need to not call myself a disciple of the internet. I should have grabbed the Vonnegut that Kurt has lent me. I’ll bring that tomorrow.

Other observations: In stark contrast to The View, there is a very lively forum going on in an alcove next to the workstations. The subjects have ranged seamlessly from the housing market, to the current presidency, a religious history and philosophy discourse, and now they’re talking about foreign policy. My goodness, I’m lurking in real life! I’m glad that I’m still learning. I should probably go over there and see if I can contribute anything, but to be perfectly honest, I’m scared. My opinions aren’t very strong except for a couple of subjects, and they’re pretty taboo. I guess I’m afraid of turning out to be incorrect or wrong, and without my beloved Google, Wikipedia, and Fark quickly available, I don’t really feel like I have the moxie or facts available to be a good debater or contributor in an actual, intellectual forum. Case in point: I’m rambling. Oh well, maybe next time.

My number still has not been called, and it’s just over a half hour to closing time. If I don’t get put on a case, I should hope I get summoned again so that I can actually sit in, and learn how a case works, see how attorneys act, and what it’s like to actually deliberate. Here’s hoping to that.

My final note is that I have finally come across a couple of subjects about which I would like to write, e.g. updates, thoughts, observations, and a couple of obscure memories which I am trying to confirm actually existed. Adieu until next time!