Today was a milestone day in my life. For the first time, I was called to Jury Duty at the Peabody Courthouse. For someone who loves Law & Order this was pretty exciting…even without Jerry Orbach.

The first bit was boring…watching a pretty horrible, yet informative, movie about the Mass State Judicial System. Then we paraded upstairs to the courtroom for “impanelment.” Some folks got excused because they already knew the defendants and/or witnesses. The rest of us sat while the lawers picked the 6 jury members.

Since there was only one ‘real’ case on the docket today the rest of us were excused. I was so disappointed. I would have loved to get to sit on a jury, but I guess that I will just have to wait another 3+ years.

Overall, I was proud to have served my Civic Duty to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

I am a fairly frequent shopper at the Wal*Mart in Danvers, Ma. I like Wal*Mart because of their resonable prices and I like poking around for deals. This Wal*Mart is not the best one I’ve been in. It is often messy and the employees aren’t always the nicest.

My biggest gripe with this store, however, is that almost every time I am there someone asks me if I work there. Tonight, for example, I was searching around the fabric section looking for some cute skirt material. While poking in the ‘discount remnants’ basket by the cutting table I noticed a woman walk up. She looked at me as she put her fabric down and then just stood there. After a minute or so, she looked at me somewhat annoyed and said, “can you cut fabric?” I replied, “Um, no. I don’t work here. Sorry.” She kind of huffed at me.

I ask you, dear readers, Why does everyone think I work at Wal*Mart? I’ve spent some time thinking about it, and it just doesn’t make sense to me.

Any thoughts anyone?

While in Filene’s on Tuesday I overheard this conversation between two old women:

Woman One: Okay. Where do you want to go next?
Woman Two: Um…Ahh..Well..

W.O.: WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO??
W.T.: I DO NOT KNOW!!

W.O.: You’re a pill, you know that?
W.T.: No. You’re a pill.

I found it amusing!

A couple of days a week I drive into downtown Boston. My journey takes me on Route 1 and then into the new 93 tunnel. Lately, I have been extreemly sensitive to the poor driving habits of my fellow drivers.

I’m not even going to talk about cell phones. They’re not the problem as far as I can tell. The problem is the arrogance of other drivers. They seem to feel as if they are the only car on the road. I see cars running red lights, swerving in and out of traffic, and neglecting to use their turn signals.

That is my biggest gripe. Everyone with a US drivers license must pass a driving test with the DMV. During this test they must drive, and use their turn signal when they hope to change lanes or turn. So, my question is, WHY HAVE THEY FORGOTTEN THAT THEY MUST USE THEIR BLINKERS???? I drive. I use my blinker. I don’t even think about it, it just happens. When others change lanes without their signals, they are putting themselves and others in danger. Do they expect me (or others) to be psychic and just KNOW that they’re going to turn? I’ve even had someone cut me off by changing lanes infront of me without their blinker…and then when they realized how close I was to their car they had the nerve to send me a less than polite hand signal. How was that my fault? AHHHHH!!!! JUST USE YOUR BLINKER!

That has to be my biggest pet peeve of all time. But on a better note, I would like to send a big shout out to Cheryl C. We don’t know each other, but she is a toll collector on the Tobin Bridge. She is always cheerful and polite and makes appropriate small talk at the booth. Most importantly, she keeps her lane cruising along, never backing up into traffic. I think she deserves an award! Yay Cheryl!

During my drive home from Boston today I witnessed several interesting things:

1. 1 cab, 2 cars and 1 bus zipping through the red lights at the same intersection. Yikes!

2. Two unrelated cars with bumpers wearing identical “South of the Border” bumper stickers.

3. My windshield wipers, which after 2 years, finally decided to work perfectly. It’s a MIRACLE! If they had only left an image of Mary, mother of God I might have made a few pennies in the deal.

Thanks to mechanic Samir Al-ghazi of the Peabody Sunoco, and a timely tip from ***Bob Golding|http://bobgolding.blogspot.com/***, my car has passed the ***Massachusetts Enhanced Emissions and Safety Test|http://vehicletest.state.ma.us/***! I’m safe and clean for at least another year! 🙂

Since I have an even numbered year car, and this year is an even number year, I had to have an emissions test in addition to the safety test. If you’re interested in my car’s emissions levels:

Hydrocarbons GPM: 00.17 (Limit 01.20)
Carbon Monoxide GPM: 006.25 (Limit 020.00)
Oxides of Nitrogen GPM: 00.50 (Limit 02.50)
Carbon Dioxide GPM: 252.15 (No limit specified)

I’m not sure what GPM means – grams per meter? In any case, I guess it’s acceptable to the state of Massachusetts.

Hooray!