dodging bullets.

jury duty today.

oh joy.

i don't know what it is about jury duty that turns every dang one of us into a bunch of crybabies. myself included.

now, if it came down to me needing a jury of my peers, well, all i can say is i want the system to work, as it usually does every day in America.

but i also know that there's a lot of idiots out there. a lot. and i'm not sure i want them as a jury of my peers.

of course, there's the fact that if i was stupid enough to get arrested and put on trial for something, then apparently i get what i deserve.

on the bright side, since i had my service rescheduled from last November, to April to now, i got to go to Fullerton, not too far from our casa, and much nicer than driving to the county seat of Santa Ana.

downtown Santa Ana.

with the occasional gang problem. that i have to drive the 5 freeway to. (ed. note: the 5, is a main artery going from San Diego in the South all the way up to the California state line, and beyond. it gets crowded. a lot. especially since it goes by most of the major Mostly Smoggy Southern California attractions)
so i gladly will take Fullerton. 'sides, they have a totally cool Old Town and some bad ass vintage and antique stores. a good vibe it has.

and i got to drive the Buick. why, where is your car, you ask? oh, it would be at the radiator ship, getting pressure flushed and all new hoses put in.

nice.

yesterday, B decided to replace my air filter and check the oil. then, on a whim, he checked my radiator, which apparently had more sludge than Washington DC.

so this place came recommended to us, and as they flushed, they told B that my hoses needed replacing.

see - everything falls apart after 45.

anywhoooo - they are keeping my car until tomorrow afternoon, and lucky Brendan, he gets to get up early when i do, so he can take me to work.

ah, the Luck of the Irish indeed.

while at jury duty, i was busy attending a pity party in my honor, when smack in the middle of it, one of my Voices in my Head (the smarter, more sensible one, as you will see) walked over to me and smacked me in the back of my head.

'um, hello?! do you not realize how lucky you are?'

lucky? me?? have you not noticed that half of our household is unemployed, i may bloody well be as well and my freaking car is being repaired for the tune of $300?

'you are lucky. you are working. you have the money to fix, and things could be worse. you are not only lucky, you're blessed and you should hit the ground and thank God for your blessings.'

man. i hate it when she's right.

it's all a matter of prospective. the forest vs. the trees. it reminds me of one of my favorite 'Far Side' cartoon about the four types of personalities. the first one joyfully sees the glass as half full, the second as, naturally, half empty. the third is confused about the glass and what was that question again?

the last one says, irritated, 'hey! i ordered a cheeseburger!'

that one is me. occasionally missing the point altogether.

so i am blessed. we have the money to fix the car, the timing just sucks.

and to add to my blessings, i got excused from jury duty around 11:45, no more cases that needed juries that day.

i felt like i did on the last day of school.

blessed beyond reason. i just need smacked around sometimes to realize that.