Apr 22 2002
Jury duty
I have jury duty all week. I wonder if it would be less horrifying if they could come up with something less obligation-sounding than “duty”. “Service” is just as bad, and possibly worse. Maybe even French fails to make this one sound like a good idea.
If the last time I served is any indication of what to expect this time, I won’t be able to post much, since I’ll be in a big room with no internet access all day and by the time I get home I’ll be on my last nerve.
I wouldn’t mind it so much if they had a case on hand and we got called into the courtroom to be potential jurors. Let’s say you have 10 cases going before the court today. Call 300 or 400 people, examine them and pick your juries. But the way it seems to work is you wait and wait endlessly in a big room with nothing to do but read, despair, and be appalled by your fellow human beings for up to 8 hours. It’s like waiting for a flight that never leaves, only without the bars and duty free shopping.
Since boredom is my biggest fear after Death, I’m dreading this week.