Karma's Sense of Humor

Some of you might remember my post a couple months ago about Zilla's call for jury duty. I commented on his inability to sit still for five minutes straight and remarked on his frustration with the entire process. Basically, I laughed at him.

He promptly returned the favor when I received my own summons (my 2nd in 2.5 years) a few weeks ago. Seriously, he called my cell and cackled - something the man has never done before in his life. I swear this is entirely his fault. I'm half convinced he pulled aside our circuit court clerk and convinced him to send me a summons.

The interesting thing is that my father was called for the same date. He ended up not serving but it turns out I knew a couple people who were in the pool with me. My BIL's boss was in front of me during our questioning for one case. On a break he came up to me in the jury lounge and said, "You must be Beth's sister." I knew who he was but was seriously surprised that he knew who I was. When I asked him how he told me my giggle had given me away. Apparently, my sister and I have the same laugh. *shrugs* Who knew?

Actually, aside from the fact that I spent most of the week fighting a nasty cold, the experience wasn't all bad. I managed to entertain the court and potential jurors with tales of my life. During voir dire one of the lawyers told me I'd lead an interesting life. So totally wrong. It just so happens that their questioning required me to tell them about my writing, my day job, our work as an expert witness, my stint with a criminal defense attorney, Zilla's lab explosion and my treetop canopy tour in Canada. Needless to say I was struck from that jury.

But the most enjoyable moments were in the jury lounge. I met several fun and interesting people. I found a few new readers and passed out several postcards for our upcoming reader's luncheon. I really hope I see some of my fellow jurors there in May.

Have you ever been summoned for jury duty? Did you enjoy the experience? Did you sit on an interesting case?

Instigator

P.S. Congratulations to the winners from Vicki's guest blog. Catslady gets Blonde with a Wand and Jean gets Chick with a Charm. Please send your information to smartypants@writingplayground.com to claim your prize.

P.P.S. Congratulations to Chloe who won Kristi Gold's book from yesterday. Please send your info to playgroundmonitor@writingplayground.com to claim your prize.

The Joys of Jury Duty

Many of you might remember my own foray into jury duty awhile back. It was boring but I managed to fill the endless hours with books, conversation and a stint on one civil case. A week of my life gone.

Now it's Zilla's turn. And I have to admit that I've been laughing behind my hand the whole time. Zilla is not the type of man who sits still. He is in constant motion and if he isn't in motion he's not happy. Idle hours irritate the hell out of him. Therefore, he has not been a happy camper. The first day he sat in the jury lounge until 4PM...doing nothing. The second day he sat there until 1:45...doing nothing. The fact that they've kept him hanging around twiddling his thumbs while he could have been doing something is driving him INSANE. Soooo funny.

I warned him. I told him to bring copious amounts of things to occupy himself with. I suggested snacks and juice boxes. He countered with a six pack and a pillow. I promised him the security guards would at least confiscate the beer on his way in. I think he settled for his phone and a book. Yeah, that's gonna hold him for an entire week.

As I'm writing this, he has several days to go. I'm taking bets on when he blows his top...and whether it results in a trip to criminal court of his own. I'm honestly not sure who I'm rooting for. Zilla all spun up is kinda fun to watch. It doesn't happen often and as long as you're not the object of his derision...

Zilla has promised me that if he ever receives another summons to appear for jury duty he will do whatever it takes to get out of it, including breaking bones. The thing is, I know he means it.

Have you ever had jury duty? Did their inefficiency drive you insane? Did you enjoy the process?

Instigator

Win A $50 Amazon Gift Card!!!

The Playfriends are celebrating the new look of our website for 2010 by giving out a big prize this week – a $50 gift card to Amazon.com . The catch? You must answer a question from each day about the website to be entered to win – that’s 5 answers. Check out the blog each day of this week and answer the question found at the bottom of the blog post by sending the answer to webmaster@writingplayground.com. Additional entries may be earned by reporting any broken links you find on the website to the same email address. The winner will be announced on Saturday, so be sure to check in then too. If the prize is not claimed within 7 days, we’ll be awarding it to someone else who answered the questions. Okay?

Thursday's question: From The School page, what was the article in August 09?

We'd also love to hear any feedback you have from your cruising on our new site. Thanks and Good Luck!