New Jersey - The Rodney Dangerfield of U.S. States

There is no other state that is ridiculed and made the butt of as many jokes as New Jersey. The next time I tell someone I'm from NJ, please try and refrain from asking "What exit?" Many folks' impressions of NJ are drawn from the only place they've travelled in NJ - the infamous Turnpike. The opening credits on the Sopranos don't help either. For those New Yorkers who love to razz on my state, I have one question - why do I see so many cars with NY plates here at the Jersey Shore this time of year, usually blocking an intersection I'm trying to get through.
Yes, like most stereotypes, there is some truth to them. We do have lots of pizzerias, 24 hour diners, a few oil refineries (somebody has to do it), and, yes, I've known a few guys who would have been right at home in a Soprano's episode.
Anyway, I thought I would do my duty as a proud New Jerseyan and share some of the real New Jersey with the rest of the world, starting with my hometown, Middletown.
In addition to moi, Middletown is also the home of:


Jon Bon Jovi - Check out his digs.



Mighty Max Weinberg- E Street Band drummer & bandleader of the Tonight Show Band
See home here.



Mr. & Mrs. Maury Povich (aka Connie Chung)
Home

NBC News anchor, Brian Williams, grew up here and was a volunteer fire fighter and legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi, is buried here.


Well, that's all for today's "Introduction to Middletown, NJ" class. Tomorrow's lesson: Jersey Girl's Neighborhood.

Living A Sitcom Life

The other day I posted about losing my engagement ring down the bathroom sink drain and fellow blogger, The Wizard of Otin, commented that sometimes life feels like a sitcom, and, after thinking about it, I have to say I agree with him.
This Sunday began like most, a leisurely cup of coffee or two while reading the Sunday paper. We were having people over for a barbeque and, though I had done some prep yesterday, there was still more to do, but I had plenty of time.
The LSH headed down to the basement to retrieve something and I heard "Oh, s**t! We have a leak." I hurried down the stairs to find water everywhere and large droplets still falling from the ceiling. Assuming it was a pipe, we ran upstairs to check the bathroom. I stepped in my barefeet onto the carpet runner we have in the hallway and felt "squish, squish, squish." It was saturated. My first thought was "WTF?" (This is my new favorite expression. It seems I've been using it a lot lately). I had just walked down this hall less than 40 minutes ago and things were fine. The hallway ceiling was fine. Checked the bathroom; it was dry. Checked the attic. Not a drop of water to be seen. Headed into the office and found another saturated carpet. Not only that, but everything in our bookshelf as well as my little Mets shrine on the shelf on the wall behind the desk was soaked. WTF?
Suddenly, the LSH says "Oh, s**t! (One of HIS favorite expressions). I think I know what it is."
We have about 14 window boxes outside our house. The LSH set up a wonderful irrigation system on a timer to water all the boxes. It's been working great. Our flowers have never looked so lovely, mainly because, in the past, after the novelty waned, both of us got a little lazy when it came to watering and by Labor Day, our window boxes were full of dead plants.
Well, it seems that, one of the tubes that fed water to the tiny hose in one of the window boxes disconnected and instead, not just sprayed, but sent water full force through the open window. We figured it had been doing this for at least 15 minutes.
The LSH felt like it was his fault, but I told him I was happy that was all it was. It was better than having a pipe burst.
So, I got started on my prep a bit later than I had planned, but our guests were late arriving, so it all worked out. AND now, maybe we can get some new carpeting for the office, something I have wanted to do since we moved in. So, as "they" say (whoever "they" are), all's well that ends well.

Battle Hymn of the Boomers

Oy vay! How I can relate!
(If my music is playing, you can shut it off. Just scroll down to My Playlist on the right side and hit the "II" button.

OOPS!

My Tuesday started off ominously. Rushing around this morning, trying to get out the door on time (or as close to on time as possible), I was washing my hands and my engagement ring fell off. I screamed "NOOOOO! and slammed the tap shut. But, I wasn't fast enough and it disappeared down the drain. The LSH had left for work already, so I put a sign on the sink "DO NOT RUN WATER!" I called him and said "honey, I have a little job for you when you get home."
Now, the LSH is pretty handy around the house, meaning he is capable of doing his own home repairs and improvements; the problem is getting him to do them. But I had no doubt he'd be able to handle this emergency.
So, when he got home, he looked around his workshop, trying to find the best tool for the job and thank God, he had this:

Powerful
All
Purpose
Extra-strength
Reshapeable
Centuries old
Lightweight
Indispensible
Precious stone grabber

I recommend, if you don't own one, that you make a mad dash to your local Home Depot or, better yet, your neighborhood hardware store, as soon as possible. You just never know when you'll need one. If you don't know what to ask for, you can just print the photo below.

WTF Birthday Post

Although everything I wrote on this post was true, I hope everyone realized much of it was written tongue-in-cheek. I have to realize when I post on here that:

1. Sometimes, while I may write something, trying to be funny, that attempt at humor may not be so obvious to some people and

2. Many of you who read my blog don't know me personally and therefore, don't know my sense of humor.

'Nuff said.

Rain, Rain Go Away!!

My WTF Birthday

WARNING! THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG....AND THE CAPS ARE INTENTIONAL.

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE EVERY STINKIN' BIRTHDAY WE HAVE? I MEAN, WHAT DID WE DO THAT WARRANTS A CELEBRATION? WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BUT SHOW UP IN THIS WORLD ON SOME RANDOM DAY. I ALWAYS HAVE THOUGHT THAT THE PERSON WHO SHOULD BE CELEBRATED ON THE DAY WE WERE BORN IS OUR MOTHERS. THEY DID ALL THE WORK THAT DAY. WE WOULDN'T NEED A MOTHER'S DAY. THE ANNIVERSARY OF OUR BIRTH WOULD BE HER DAY.
OF COURSE, THERE MIGHT BE ROOM FOR A FEW EXCEPTIONS:

AGES 1-16 GO AHEAD. HAVE FUN. GET PRESENTS, HAVE CAKE AND ICE CREAM, BALLOONS, THE WORKS. MOM WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHARE HER DAY WITH YOU.
AGE 21 SUPPOSEDLY A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY WHEN YOU BECOME AN ADULT. THE ONLY WAY YOU'RE AN ADULT IS NOW, FOR MOST OF US, YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS, YOU CAN BE SUED AND IF YOU'RE CONVICTED OF A CRIME, IT'S HARD TIME FOR YOU, NO MORE JU-VEE. YOU DON'T SUDDENLY MATURE OVERNIGHT. TRUST ME.
AGE 50 AND EVERY 10 YEARS AFTER - FORGET 30 OR 40, BY THE TIME YOU TURN 50, YOU'VE LIVED LONG ENOUGH AND DEALT WITH ENOUGH THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CELEBRATE. TURNING 30 OR 40 ISN'T ENOUGH LIFE EXPERIENCE TO ALLOW CELEBRATIONS.

HAVING SAID THAT, YESTERDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY (NEVER MIND WHICH ONE). THE PLAN WAS TO SPEND THE DAY DOING ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, ATTENDING A METS GAME. MY PLAN WAS TO CATCH THE 1:23PM TRAIN TO PENN STATION WHICH WOULD GET US IN TO CONNECT WITH THE LIRR TRAIN THAT WOULD GET US TO CITIFIELD AROUND 3:20P, PLENTY OF TJME TO GET OURSELVES SETTLED IN OUR SEATS FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AND THE 4:10PM START. IT WAS RAINING, SO WHETHER THE GAME WOULD BE PLAYED AT ALL WAS IN QUESTION. BUT, UNLESS WE HEARD OTHRWISE, WE WERE STICKING TO THE PLAN. THAT IS, UNTIL ABOUT 30 MINUTES BEFORE WE NEEDED TO LEAVE FOR THE STATION, THE LSH BROKE HIS GLASSES. HE FOUND AN OLD PAIR AND STARTED TO TRY AND REFURBISH HIS CURRENT GLASSES WITH PARTS OF THE OLD PAIR. I HONESTLY WAS NOT PUTTING ANY PRESSURE ON HIM, BUT AS THE MINUTES TICKED BY, HE WAS GETTING FRUSTRATED AND NOT SO MILD EXPLETIVES FLOWED FROM HIS MOUTH, OUT THE WINDOW AND, I'M CERTAIN, THROUGH THE WINDOW OF THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS. BEING THE SAINT I AM, I TOLD HIM TO CALM DOWN; WE COULD CATCH THE NEXT TRAIN. WE WOULD ONLY BE JIST A LITTLE LATE (WHICH, HONESTLY, I BELIEVE TO BE A MORTAL SIN. THOU SHALT NEVER MISS THE FIRST PITCH OF ANY GAME YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TICKETS. THIS WAS TAUGHT TO ME EARLY ON BY ONE OF THE NUNS I HAD IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, SISTER MARY DOUBLEDAY.
ANYWAY, TRYING TO MAKE MYSELF FEEL BETTER AND THE LSH FEEL LESS GUILTY, I SAID THAT THERE WAS A REASON IN GOD'S MASTER PLAN THAT WE WERE TAKING THE LATER TRAIN. I WAS SURE OF IT. AND IT WOULD WORK OUT GREAT.
SO WE CATCH THE NEXT TRAIN TO PENN, BUT UNFORTUNATELY MISS THE LIRR CONNECTION AND HAVE TO HANG OUT FOR ABOUT ANOTHER 1/2 HOUR. FINALLY WE GET TO CITIFIELD. I CHECK THE TICKETS AND SEE THAT THE GATE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO ENTER THROUGH IS TOTALLY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STADIUM. AS IT WAS DRIZZLING, WE DECIDED TO ENTER THROUGH THE ROTUNDA AND WALK THROUGH THE STADIUM. WE MAKE OUR WAY UP TO LEVEL3 AND HEAD TOWARDS OUR SECTION - 334. GREAT. WE'RE ALMOST THERE. WE SEE SECTIONS 331, 332, 333, AND................A CEMENT WALL. WTF???? WE'RE BOTH STANDING THERE, LOST, WONDERING WHAT WE MISSED. A HELPFUL CITIFIELD EMPLOYEE SEES OUR LOST, PUZZLED EXPRESSIONS, LOOKS AT OUR TICKETS AND SAYS "OH, YOUR SEATS ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE (OF WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE THE ACELA CLUB, THE HOITY-TOITY, CANDLES AND TABLECLOTHED, EXPENSIVE RESTAURANT). WTF??? THE ARCHITECT FIGURED THAT NOT PROVIDING A WAY AROUND THIS RESTAURANT WAS A GOOD IDEA?? YES, I KNOW, IF WE HAD ENTERED THROUGH THE GATE PRINTED ON THE TICKET, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. BUT, DAMN IT, WE PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THESE TICKETS AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ENTER WHATEVER GATE WE CHOOSE!! PLUS IT WAS RAINING!! PLUS IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!! WTF???
SO, OKAY, HOW DO WE GET TO OUR SEATS? THE HELPFUL EMPLOYEE TELLS US "JUST GO BACK TO THE ESCALATOR, GO UP TWO FLOORS, WALK OVER THE RESTAURANT, KEEP WALKING UNTIL YOU FIND SOME OTHER ESCALATOR, GO DOWN TWO FLOORS AND THEN WALK BACK TOWARDS THE RESTAURANT. OUR SECTION WOULD BE RIGHT NEXT TO IT." WTF???
GREAT. SO WE DO WHAT WE'RE TOLD, FIND SECTION 334 AND HEAD TO ROW 9, SEATS 12 & 13. WE EXCUSE OURSELVES AND CLIMB OVER THE FIRST 6 PEOPLE SEATED, GET TO THE EMPTY SEATS IN THE MIDDLE, AND SEE THAT THEY'RE SEATS 18 & 19. COUNTING BACK, WE SEE THAT OUR SEATS ARE ACTUALLY THE FIRST 2 IN THE ROW, WHERE 2 GENTLEMEN WERE IGNORING US, HOPING WE WOULD DISAPPEAR. WTF??? THE LSH TOLD THEM NICELY THAT THEY WERE IN THE WRONG SEATS, WHICH THEY WERE WELL AWARE OF. IT SEEMS THEIR SEATS WERE IN ROW 1 (WHICH WASN'T UNDERNEATH THE OVERHANG AND THEREFORE, NOT PROTECTED FROM THE NASTY, COLD RAIN. BUT, THEY GENEROUSLY OFFERED US THOSE SEATS. UH, I DON'T THINK SO. I'M SURE, WHEN YOU SNAGGED THOSE FRONT ROW SEATS, YOU WERE DOING A VICTORY DANCE. WELL, GO DANCE YOUR WAY DOWN TO THOSE SUPER (AND SUPER WET) SEATS.
BY NOW, IT'S THE 3RD INNING, METS UP 1-0. THE FANS NEXT TO US GET US UP TO DATE AS TO WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING, AND I'M STARTING TO RELAX. THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS WAS TO CONTACT FELLOW BLOGGER, PREPPY IN THE CITY, WITH WHOM I HAD MADE ARRANGEMENTS TO MEET. WE HAD BEEN SENDING DIRECT TEXTS THROUGH TWITTER, WHICH HAD BEEN WORKING JUST FINE ALL DAY, INCLUDING ON THE TRAIN. I SEND HER A TEXT THAT WE'VE FINALLY ARRIVED AND I GET THIS MESSAGE "SORRY, YOU MUST HAVE JAVASCRIPT IN ORDER TO USE TWITTER. UNABLE TO SEND MESSAGE." WTF??? I HAD JAVASCRIPT BEFORE I ENTERED CITIFIELD. WHO THE HELL TOOK MY JAVASCRIPT??? WTF??
SO I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THIS. THROUGH THE NEXT 2 INNINGS. THE LSH OFFERED TO GO ON A FOOD RUN. BY NOW, I'M READY TO SCREAM, BUT, INSTEAD OF SCREAMING, I DECIDED TO ATTEMPT TO EASE MY FRUSTRATION WITH FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD. TO HELL WITH WEIGHT WATCHERS AND THEIR NONSENSICAL POINT COUNTING; WHO HAS TIME FOR THAT?? GET ME A SHACK CHEESEBURGER AND A VANILLA SHAKE. AND FRIES. AND DON'T FORGET THE KETCHUP. I BELIEVE I USED UP ALL MY POINTS FOR 2009 AND THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2010.
I STILL HADN'T FIXED MY TWITTER PROBLEM BY THE TIME THE LSH GOT BACK, SO HE TOOK OVER. FINALLY,DURING THE EIGHTH INNING, INCLUDING A RAIN DELAY, THE LSH GOT THE TWITTER GOING SOMEWHAT. BUT NOT IN TIME TO MAKE CONTACT WITH PITC AND MEET.
AND, IN KEEPING WITH THE REST OF THE DAY, THE METS LOST.
THEN, ON THE WAY HOME, I HEAR THAT THE FIRST PITCH WAS THROWN OUT BY GRETA VAN SUSTERAN. GRETA VAN SUSTERAN? WHAT THE HELL DOES SHE HAVE TO DO WITH THE METS? AND WTF IS SHE DOING HERE WITH MY BOY? WHAT A COUGAR! ALRIGHT, SHE'S JUST STANDING THERE. BUT I KNOW WHAT SHE'S THINKING.
WTF???

All About Me-Me Part Deux

Here's another meme I received recently; feel free to use. I think they're a fun way to learn a bit about our fellow bloggers.

( x) Been to Europe (X ) Been on a cruise (X)Gone on a blind date ( x) Skipped school(x) Watched someone die(X) Been to Canada(X) Been to Mexico(x) Been to Florida(x) Been on a plane(X) Climbed a lighthouse(x) Swam in the ocean(x) Cried yourself to sleep( X) Seen the Cherry Blossoms in Washington , D.C(x) Played cops and robbers.( )Flown a plane -( ) Owned a boat- rowboat or canoe.....() Watched grandchildren grow( )recently colored with crayons( ) Been to the Kentucky Derby(x ) Been to Key West( )Been to a rodeo(x) Sang Karaoke( ) Paid for a meal with coins only?(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?(X) Made prank phone calls( x ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus - Many(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe-.(x) Watched the sunrise with someone( x) Seen the green flash at sunset(x) Blown bubbles( x) Gone ice-skating(x) Gone to the movies( x) Owned a convertible-1. Any nickname? "Roon" (in high school")2. Mother's name? Helen3. Body Piercing? ears4. How much do you love your job? not much5. Birthplace? Rockville Centre, NJ6. Been to Hawaii ? yes - 3 times7. Ever been to Africa ?8. Ever eaten just cookies for dinner? Hasn't everyone?9. Ever been on TV? several times10. Ever steal any traffic sign? no11. Ever been in a car accident? Yes12. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4 DOOR,13. Favorite number? 10130114. Favorite movie? Dr Zhivago15. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving
16 Favorite dessert? Chocolate Fondue at the Salt Creek Grille17. Favorite food? chocolate18. Favorite day of the week? Saturday19. favorite piece of clothing currently - black silk lounging pjs; soooo comfy20. Favorite smell? baked apple pie21. How do you relax? reading, bllogging22. How do you see yourself in 10 years? on a beach without a care in the world

Don't know what's going on with the formatting and don't have time to figure out. Hope it's not too hard to read.

Thursday Thirteen

I haven't participated in a Thursday Thirteen in awhile. Today my list is quotes from the quintessential, neurotic New Yorker, Woody Allen. I realize he's not everybody's favorite, but I've always enjoyed his comedies like Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and the Purple Rose of Cairo. So, here's a taste of Woody and his unique take on life, death and things in-between.

1. Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.

2. His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy.

3. I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.

4. I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.

5. I had a terrible education. I attended a school for emotionally disturbed teachers.

6. I'm such a good lover because I practice a lot on my own.

7. The food here is terrible, and the portions are too small.

8. If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.

9. It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.

10. Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon.

11. Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good.

12. You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.

13. Some guy hit my fender, and I told him, 'Be fruitful and multiply, but not in those words.

Wordless Wednesday

Mental Health Day 2

Last week's Monday Mental Health Day went so well that I've continued it this week and hope to continue it for, at least, the next 4 weeks. This week was the week we had been planning (in our heads) since January to be in Baltimore, relaxing, pigging out on all things crab and catching the Mets at Camden Yards. But, since my job security is STILL in limbo, we're home instead. So I'm taking those 5 days and using them for Mental Health Mondays.

Speaking of my Mets, what a weekend. After Friday night's game, I really thought I could never watch a game again. Seriously. In all the years of ups and downs (many downs), I've stuck with them. But Friday night almost pushed me over the edge. And really, they actually played a pretty good game; it was just that one guy who threw it away in the bottom of the ninth, 2 outs, Mets leading 8-7, and a routine pop-up, courtesy of A-Rod, DROPPED by our 2nd baseman, Yankees score and win 9-8. However, by Saturday, I was over it and actually felt bad for Mr Castillo. My next door neighbor, a Skankee fan, suggested that I might want to take down my Mets' flag, but, as you can see, it's still fluttering in the breeze at the front of our house. Also, Metstradamus never fails to make me laugh and his take on Friday night was no exception. Check out his post from Saturday for a good giggle.

In other big news, I got tickets to see McCartney at Citifield on July 17!!! Tickets were only available through the Mets ticket office and let me tell you, they could teach Ticket-Scheister a thing or two. Tickets went on sale at 10AM; I went online and had my tickets by 10:15AM. No getting booted off, no server going down, just "got in line" and got my tix. Very, very excited.

I've been annoyed with myself for not keeping the blog updated as usual, but I've truly been extremely tired by the time I've gotten home from work lately. I have the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes Chronic Fatigue. And it seems to be getting the better of me lately. This only started about 2 years ago and I've learned there's a big difference between being tired and being fatigued. When that fatigue hits, I feel like I have weights on my legs; I can hardly lift them. It's an effort to even move. Raising my arms over my head takes all my strength to do. And you can sleep 8-10 hours straight and still be exhausted when you wake up. It's starting to really interfere with my everyday life. For instance, those McCartney tickets. I pray to God that I'm not having an episode at that time. It's rough because I still want to make plans to do things, but I never know how I'm going to feel. And it's a hard thing for people to understand unless they've experienced it. I mean, we all get tired, but this is beyond tired.

Believe it or not, I've finally learned to download pix from my camera to my Mac. I've always relied on the LSH for all my technical needs :). So, now, who knows what photos are going to pop up here? Stay tuned!

Something To Ponder

What If The

HOKEY-POKEY

IS

What It’s All About??

Out of My Mind; Will Be Right Back

I took a vacation (translation:mental health) day today.  It's just been so crazy at work, trying to juggle a million and one things and try to keep everyone happy (an impossible task), so it just seemed the time to take a break.

I had hoped to get McCartney tickets.  He's doing two shows at Citifield next month and the press release said tickets were going on sale Monday.  Last night, I went to check out the ticket site and saw that, yes, they were going on sale Monday...NEXT MONDAY.  

This afternoon, I pampered myself with a manicure & pedicure.  It's becoming a somewhat guilty luxury, as we're trying to cut back on non-necessities, but I'll cut back on other things first.  My mani/pedis will be one of the last things to go (although I have cut back from every two weeks to every three.

I'm planning on watching the premiere of Nurse Jackie tonight on Showtime.  It stars Edie Falco, who I think is a fabulous actress.  It's on at 10:30PM, which,I admit, is occasionally past my bedtime.  Thank the Lord for the DVR, a marvelous invention.

You Have The Right To Be Bored Out Of Your Mind

Hello to everyone on this be-u-ti-ful day at the Jersey Shore.  I'm sitting on my deck with my feet up, listening to the Mets swat the Nats (get it? tee-hee).  There should be more days like this.

Anyway, I received quite a few emails (meaning more than usual) regarding the Meme I posted last week, asking me to share some details about a few of the things I have done.

One was regarding sitting on a jury.  You've probably heard that old joke "When you go to court, remember, you're trusting your fate to 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty."  Well, I'm one of those people.  Not being a policeman, fireman or anything considered vital to the success of my company, I never could finagle my way out of it.  People who have never had this opportunity tell me they would love the chance to sit on a jury.  All I can say is, be careful what you wish for.

 I've been lucky (she said, facetiously) to be called for jury duty 3 times, but only got picked to sit on a jury once.  The first day all the lucky people gather in a large, drab room in the basement of the County Courthouse, awaiting our fate, much like the defendants waiting somewhere else in the building.  Out of the thousand people who received the summons to report that day, there were only about 400 of us actually there (there must be a lot of cops, firemen and people smarter than me living in my county).  We get in two lines to have our summonses scanned for attendance purposes and then told to take a seat and wait for our number to be called.

So, that's what we do.  We sit.  And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. (Are you getting the picture?) We wait. Don't get me wrong, they have a few tvs there, not wide screen, just some 24" sets around the room.  Some even have VCRs!  And a great library of G rated videos (you never know what might offend someone if you offered those PG rated films).  Of course,  trying to get a diverse group of your peers to agree on what to watch is as likely to happen as  Jennifer & Angelina agreeing to do lunch.  Anyway, I had brought a book with me, so I tried to read, even though the woman sitting next to me seemed to think I needed to know her life story.  (I'm amazed what some people will tell total strangers AND why they feel the need to tell it).

On Wed., I got called to experience my first "voir dire," (oh, baby. Why does every French phrase sound sexy?) Actually, it's the process when the lawyers get to question you about your background and beliefs, trying to learn if you have any biases that could hurt their client.  The defense attorney questioned me and I got his okay, but the other lawyer "struck me" (ouch.  I have no idea what it was that he didn't like.) So I meekly slunk back to my seat, my self-esteem dropping a few points.  

On Fri., I got called again and, this time, I got picked ("they like me, they really like me!) Once the jury was selected (surprisingly, an all-female jury), the judge dismissed us and said the trial would start on Monday.

It was a civil trial.  A couple were suing a young man for what, they claimed, was loss of income due to the car accident they were involved in with him.  Not the most exciting case.  In fact, it was boring and dragged on endlessly, day after day.  Finally, on Friday, we were going to finally get to deliberate!  Yay!  We go into the jury room and were just getting to the first order of business, selecting a foreman, when the bailiff knocked and said we needed to return to the courtroom, where we were told, after sitting on that hard bench for 4 long days, trying to stay awake, that the parties SETTLED out of court!!  All that time and we weren't allowed to render a verdict!!

Well, that was 5 days of my life I won't get back.  (BTW, we were unanimous; the defendant would have won.)

Someone To Admire

I saw this story on a NYC early morning news program and couldn't get it out of my head all day.  

I would like to think I would do what the deli owner did, but, to be honest, I doubt I would have. But, what an inspiration this man is.  What would you have done?

One Happy Jersey Girl

The LSH was full of surprises today.  He managed to score 2 tickets to one of the Springsteen concerts at Giants Stadium in the fall.  Bruce & the band are doing the last concerts ever at Giants Stadium, as it's going to be torn down after this season.  It's only fitting that Bruce & the gang be the final act, as they hold the record in concert attendance (56 sold-out concerts, not including the shows this fall) at the Meadowlands, the entertainment/sports complex that includes Giants Stadium and the Izod Center.  

A few weeks ago, we received an invite to a party on June 20, which happens to be my birthday.

I assumed we would be going, so I was going to RSVP.  But the LSH said "I was going to surprise you.  I got tickets to see the Mets on that day."  Yippee!  Now, I just have to decide what I'm going to have to eat at the ballpark that day,  a Shackburger, the best burger we've ever had, from Danny Meyers' Shake Shack, or the taco platter from the Taqueria, or maybe some ribs from Blue Smoke. No matter what I have, I have to save room for this from Mama's of Corona: