A Restless Mind

It's been a very long and strange week.  I was selected for jury duty in a drug case on Tuesday and spent many long hours in a windowless and stuffy (the air conditioning was only sort of working) courtroom during the course of Tuesday through Friday.  We were sequestered during the day.  We were kept in a jury room with its own bathrooms when we were on breaks.  We were escorted to lunch.  We were treated with great respect (everyone stood when we entered the courtroom, even the judge) and guarded like dangerous criminals.  It was very weird.  In an effort to get through the trial, we heard testimony and saw evidence until 7:30 each night.  It was a lot of sitting and a lot of concentration so as not miss anything important.  During all this, a business colleague went missing, and it became a race every break to check and respond to emails concerning the latest updates.  Finally on Friday at 4:00 pm, the case was turned over to us.  There was some intense debate, but I'm proud to say my co-jurors were pretty awesome.  Everyone was respectful of the others' opinions.  Some difficult decisions were made but we ended up rendering guilty verdicts on both defendants.  But the hardest part was yet to come.  At 9:00, we went to the courtroom to deliver our verdict.  When the young man of 24 with no prior record heard his verdict, he started to cry.  But when the judge read the sentencing guidelines of 15-20 years for a first time offender, he and his family lost it.  The judge asked the family to step out of the courtroom if they could not maintain composure; meanwhile the guy is being handcuffed 2 feet in front of me.  The family left but you could hear them sobbing outside the doors.  Then they started to fight with each other over whose fault it was.  It was very emotional and very difficult to watch.  It was so sad for that young man to have made such unfortunate decisions and to have to pay such a price.  The judge hustled us back to the jury room and told the court police to make sure the building was empty before the jury left and to escort us to our vehicles.  I'm very thankful it is over.  However, I still have one week left on my summons and since my selection number is very low, there is apparently a possibility I could have another trial this next week.  I hope not.  I don't think my nerves can take it.

Saturday morning while I was cooking breakfast, I noticed we had visitors.  They were hanging out in front of the house.  So, Shawn and I went out to introduce ourselves.  It turns out they were a father/son duo.  We chatted for a while and they hung out until around lunch time.

 

I know I’m not alone.  I love this movie!  (“Don’t drive angry!)  It’s a fantasy right after my own heart--all the time in the world to learn what you want and all the time in the world to balance out your priorities.  I wish the real world were so accommodating.  Balancing priorities on the fly has never been easy for me.  I want to do everything, and the realization that the universe will not bend time for me has been very disappointing.  Time management has become my new mantra.  It’s not about getting what needs to be done, done.  It’s about getting the have-to-dos out of the way for my want-to-dos.  If you never get to any of your want-to-dos then you end up seriously ticked off, resentful, and generally grumped out at your have-to-dos.   I’ve never been a big to-do list user, but I’m finding if you work it right, they can be very helpful.  Plus, it is ridiculous how satisfying it is to mark things off.  It could only be better if I got a gold star for marking them all off.  

This is one of the best websites I’ve come across for goal setting and time management, www.mindtools.com.  I’ve utilized several of their techniques.  Chances are you’ll find something here that will be helpful to you.   

So Sunday we had bit more rain, a couple more inches on top of our already pretty saturated yard.  Shawn noticed it was ponding up around where he parks the truck (ok, I know you can see where I'm going with this).  There were a couple of mentions about perhaps needing to move the truck, but no action ensued.  

This is what it looked like Monday evening in Shawn's parking spot.  That's not just surface mud.  That's suck-you-down-to-China mud.

 

 

 

So Monday, he tries to back up.  No dice.  So he hits upon the idea to just go forward, around the carport, to the old driveway in the backyard.  I know this is what he was going for, but sadly he never made it.  At 7:20 am, Monday morning, Shawn got the truck stuck in the backyard.  Thankfully, he stopped before he dug to China.  No big deal as we work in the same building, so carpooling was a no brainer.  Monday night we scurried home, trying to beat sunset so we weren't trying to de-suck the truck in the dark.  Since he was on flat ground and not dug in too far, I was really hoping that we (along with his Dad) would be able to push it out.  If that didn't work, there was a very real possibility we would have to call in a tow truck due to 1) the truck was perpendicular to the old driveway, 2) neither of our Dads have 4 wheel drive which would have limited their range to the old driveway, and 3) the old driveway was about 15 feet from the truck.  I didn't want to even contemplate our neighbors laughing their butts off at us having to have a tow truck get our vehicle out of the backyard.

Thankfully, pushing worked.

This was the extent of the damage.

Not too bad.  

We were in such a hurry to start pushing so we could move on to plan B in the daylight, I didn't get a picture.  These are a bit anti-climatic.

 

 

 

Shawn immediately headed to the car wash to dispense with the offending dirt particles.

1.  When you travel to work everyday, you sometimes develop peeps that seem to travel your way or cross your path at the same time each day.  What freaks me out is when you then run late and that day, they do too.

2.  Woodpecker holes in trees.  The sight makes me a wee bit queasy and is very disturbing.

3.  I've lost something.  Where I thought I left it, I obviously haven't.  I've torn apart the closet/drawer/car several times, but when I go back to look yet again, there it is--in plain sight, right where I thought I left it.  I've quizzed Shawn a few times thinking he is only out to make me think I'm going crazy, but he denies it (convincingly I might add).

4.  We had a spider in our bathroom that would only come out of it's hidey-hole when I was getting ready to shower.  Not Shawn, just me.  Can spiders be peeping toms?

5.  Grandaddy Long-Legs.  Get it away.  I don't care how.  

Back in September, Shawn and I teamed up with his parents, Janie and Wayne to form the Kingpins, the worst bowling team in a league sponsored by the Tennessee Aquarium.  

By the worst I mean, all of our handicaps were over 100 when we started, except for Wayne.  He was our star player; his handicap was in the 90s.  A normal handicap is 40-50.  So we had room for improvement.  We got a bit better, but basically on the whole, we still sucked.  But, we sucked consistently.  Tonight, well tonight hell froze over, pigs flew, and we should probably be on watch for the apocalypse.

We were tied for first place last week and I was overcome with the sense that we could pull this off --if somehow we could cripple the other team.  Janie and I discussed it.  Should we break nails?  She thought we should flatten a tire, but I said it was too risky--they might have a spare.  In the end, we didn't have to do anything.  Our own incompetence led us to victory!

1. Birthday weekend.  I turned 31 yesterday.  I've eaten well enough to sustain a small nation this weekend.  But it was worth every last bite (at least until I step on the scale tomorrow. No wait.  Still worth it.)
2. Was struck by a serious urge to lose some stuff and filled 3 lawn and leaf bags full of clothes that I can't fit into or no longer want to be seen in and unloaded donated it to charity.
3. Raked a while on the yard.  After two hours this was the progress.
    *sigh*
4. Went bowling yesterday and had my highest score ever--120.  Yes, my friends, I'm ready for pro-bowling. :) 
5. Tried to work on a Christmas list which made me a bit nauseous.  I'm not ready.  I'm not even ready to be ready.
6. Cleaned house.  This raised the question in me that if cleanliness is next to godliness why don't I feel like a goddess when I'm scrubbing the throne? 

It's fall.  So obviously it is fall festival time.  We do fall festivals big time in the South.  Every organization, churches, schools, daycares, etc. rolls out the hay bales, hotdog roasts, hay rides, and carnival food.  So this weekend, Mom and I headed to Ketner's Mill.

Ketner's Mill is a family tradition for more years than I can remember.  I found some great crafts and stocked up on several yummy smelling soaps.  We even have tradition based meals here.  BBQ pork sandwiches and chips for lunch and then homemade ice cream from the local band boosters.  It was so cold (about 45 F, overcast, and windy) we ended up taking the ice cream back to the car and running the heat while we ate.  But hey, you can't mess with a good tradition.

 

This is not how Nike usually sleeps.  Usually she stretches out across half the room, though she really prefers to cover doorways as to be permanently in the way.  So it must be cold...

 

 

 

...and if it is cold, it must be time for a fire.  It's official.  It's fall.

So after the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, Shawn and I headed south to the VLA, the Very Large Array.  Think Jodie Foster in Contact...

 

 

27 antennae arranged in a Y pattern over 13 miles.  They had a great walking tour except...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 For a sense of scale, here is Shawn, 6' 1" compared to one antenna.  Each one was the size of a baseball diamond.

Tuesday, we changed direction and headed north to Los Alamos, where the 1st nuclear bomb was developed during WWII.  The whole town was kept secret (as much as you can keep a town secret).  While they don't let you go to the actual research facility (something about national security), they have a great museum, the Bradbury Science museum, and best of all it is free!

Wednesday, we were in Chama (tiny, tiny town) to ride the Cumbres Toltec narrow gauge railroad.  The train engine was manufactured in the 1920s and is steam powered.  

 

 

For those who have never ridden a steam engine, go prepared to come back with bits of coal ash in places of your body that never even saw daylight.

 

This is the one of tunnels.  If you recognize it, it's because they've filmed a lot of movies here.

 

 

Thursday, we headed to Taos.  This is the Rio Grande Gorge.  This picture does not even come close to the dizzying height the bridge we're on.  I was clinging to the camera and the hand railing for dear life.  We stopped at the Taos Pueblo, the oldest continuously inhabited site in the US (over 1,000 years).  No pictures as it cost $5 a camera and it cost $10/person just to get in.  The site was maybe the size of a football field and we completed the walking tour in about 15 minutes.  It was neat to see (but a bit pricey).  People still live there without electricity or running water.  

 

Shawn found a new buddy in town...

 

 

 

 

Friday, we were in Santa Fe.  This is the Loretto Chapel, the site of the "miraculous" staircase.

 

 

 The original choir loft was accessible only by a rope ladder.  So the sisters prayed to St. Joseph (patron saint of carpenters) to send a carpenter to build a staircase.  Well, one showed up.  His original staircase had no handrails (yikes).  It was 33 stairs (Jesus lived 33 years) and made 2 complete 360 degree turns.  What is amazing is that there is no center support.  What holds it up is the perfect balance of the design.  There are no steel supports; the entire thing is made of wood. After the carpenter completed the design, he left without receiving payment.  

In conclusion, it was a great vacation, but if I don't eat another chili for a while that would be ok.