Jury Selection

Jury Duty has been a really remarkable experience for me that may prove to be quite formative. I had very low expectations going in, and instead ended up facing a challenge that was singularly unique in my life so far. With this in mind I have decided to record the day to day impressions and occurrences through out the process; with all trial proceedings published at the trials conclusion.

Monday, April 26^th

In January I found out that I had been called for Jury Duty. I didn’t really think much of it, and I assumed that I would have to spend a day in and out of waiting rooms getting work done until finally being rejected and sent home. So when the day finally came around I took the much touted 501 express bus from down the street to Boston in a paltry 20 minutes for the first time and arrived at the court house at 8AM sharp.

The building reminded me of the evil tower in Ghostbusters, in that it was strangely ornate and threatening despite just being an old gray building. I went through what reminded me of a airport security in 1990 (kind of a half assed effort) where I went through a rudimentary metal detector and asked politely if I was carrying any weapons.

I proceeded into wood paneled elevators to the second floor Jury Pool room. The Jury Pool room is exactly how I imagine purgatory to be. It was filled with approximately 200 distressed looking people who had no interest in talking to each other. About 20 people had brought lap tops, and there was precisely one power jack that worked. There was wireless internet which connected long enough to bring up the header of web pages before disappearing. People were not permitted to leave. It was like being in an airport with out the benefits of hot food, a bar, TVs, a place to smoke or any scheduled flights.

Starting at 10am Court officers began calling groups of jurors to be whisked away via a secret elevator for Jury Selection. Eventually, my number was called, and I was taken into a court room with 70 other jurors. In the courtroom were also present the prosecution, the judge, the defense and the accused. The judge gave a brief description of the case and then asked a series of questions to weed out ineligible jurors. Then we were again whisked away to another room to wait.

One at a time jurors were called to sit in the witness stand and be questioned. In Massachusetts, only the judge may ask questions of the juror. Based on the answers given the prosecution and defense counsels accept or reject you. Most of the questions I was asked surrounded the pronunciation of my first name, as well as verification that I was employed and that I had no criminal record.

Shortly after leaving the room, I was told that I had been accepted as a juror.

A Brief Rambling on the Efficacy of Exercise, Obama and Perseverance

This week has been pretty crazy for me. I took on a project last Friday in a consulting role, and somehow by Monday had become the owner of the project; the building of an Access db to track employee training. It initially seemed simple, and by late Monday morning, I was pretty sure I could get it done by end of day. By Monday afternoon however scope creep had attacked, and what I thought was going to be simple had ballooned into a monstrosity that had to be geared toward an audience who was not Excel/Access proficient.

I spent 12 hours a day working on it for most of this week. Initially I was cursing my luck, but now sitting here on Friday afternoon on the verge of completion I am feeling a solid sense of accomplishment for pushing myself.

Between crossfit and biking I am starting to look and feel the way I want to. I had really forgotten how much fun it is to have an activity that you are always motivated to do. Skiing was the exception for a long time, but with snow fall sucking most of the last 5 years, it's gotten harder. Being on either the Mountain Bike or the Road Bike though feels great. Especially now that I have the right gear and the right protection.

Lastly, the last few weeks have been an amazing vindication for me and my belief that Obama can be a great president. No, I am not happy about his proposal to allow off shore drilling, and no I don't think that either health care reform, or the proposed financial reform will go far enough but what has been done (and undone) from when he took the reins from W. is very respectable.

In the last few weeks he has gotten health care through, strengthened title 9, created a nuclear treaty that will halve the number of nukes, visited Afghanistan and pushed an agenda for Financial Reform that looks like it will pass.

Road Rash

I put the road bike down for the first time this weekend and it came as a pretty big shock. Since I started getting back into biking I've been in a cloud of happiness and invincibility. This woke me back up to the fact that YES - what I do can have consequences.

I came into a corner I love to take fast not remembering that things are slippery when wet. Next thing I new I was skidding over gravel on my ass and palms. I didn't get too hurt, but my hands and ass look like hamburger.

Moral of the story I have started wearing my helmet. I also got kick ass gloves with carbon fiber knuckles. They make me feel like a terminator.

It's Over Before it Begins

It’s been almost four weeks since I changed the direction of my life and it’s been gut wrenching. How do I apologize for doing something I had to do? How do I move on? Like a bad trip that won’t end, the time I’ve been apart from Meg has felt both compressed and eternal. There is no up. There is no down. There is no gravity. I am lost and the Blair Witch is chasing me.

Holy fucking metaphors.

As with most things is my life, the pathway to healing has been fraught with contradictions. I’ve been on my bike or in the gym every day. I’ve also been fighting battles with my liquor cabinet that leave no winners and no survivors.

The sun still manages to show its face everyday though. Works been great and the project I am managing starting to get real traction. I’ve been meeting people and spending more time with old friends.

I just can’t shake the feeling of dread that this is the new normal, that she’ll find someone better than me, that it was all my fault, that I wasted three years of my life and that I’ll be alone forever.

Drink R&D Lab

Last night was the first hot night of spring. I made plans to go on a hookah picnic/bike ride with a friend after work and in preparation I made some roadies. I picked up some new booze last week at the NH liquor store and I have developed some tasty new summer concoctions.

Monk In the Orchard
2 Parts Stoli Gala Applik
1/2 part Frangelico Hazelnut Liquor
Shake with ice and server as a martini or shot.


Boris in Fiji
1 Part Stoli Gala Applik
1 Part Malibu Pineapple Flavored Rum
2 Parts Sprite
Serve on the Rocks

The Longest Day

This weekend I went to Vermont for some sunshine and to bask in the restorative qualities of cheese. On more or less all fronts it was a resounding success. Ryan is back early from the freestyle circuit after a frustrating injury, Mike had some time off from the hospital and Scott was flush with victory after finally securing a job in Burton's R&D lab that involves benefits.

We played some mini golf, drank some beers and generally had a great time.

I was almost kicked out of a bar for the building and successful deployment of paper airplanes.

The only hitch in the weekend came when I tried to leave. At some point my keys were abducted so I was stuck. I searched for them for 4 hours on Sunday to no avail... didn't bother me that much though it meant another night in VT waiting for the dealership to open the next morning.

The dealer couldn't get my car started however. At some point my car had the ignition swapped so they couldn't cut new keys. That left me with the choice of spending $150-400 on a lock smith or making the drive back to Boston to get my spares.

I spent 12 hours yesterday making the drive back and forth. Wasn't so bad though. the weather was nice and it provided some good contemplative time.

Ahh, the power of cheese.

Personal Update: Kenny Loggins Edition

After nearly three years together (with some time apart) Meg and I have gone our separate ways. It still feels earth shattering to have gotten to a point where it was clear things just were not to be. We have a lot in common, but in the end I think we may have been too similar and hard headed to ever really come to a peaceful co-existence. Things came to an end as amicably as possible, and I think there is hope that at some point down the line there could be a salvageable friendship.

For now though all I can really do is mourn what we had and hope for a brighter day.

I leave you with this: