The Hustler

For Beth:

Jury Duty

After deferring twice (legit school reasons) I finally served my first-ever day of jury duty! Once I got over the fact that I would be missing an exam and having to reschedule said exam, I was somewhat excited about actually serving! This excitement lasted for the first 4 hours...as they split us up into panels, filtered out those ineligible jurors, and asked us the general questions.

here's how my first 4 hrs were spent...
8am arrive at courthouse
8:15 am wait
8:45 am file into courtroom
9:00am shuffle people around into "panels"
9:30 am judge arrives
10:00am weeding out the folks who really don't want to be there!
10:30 am start asking question

As a member of the 1st panel I was one of the few interviewed before 1:00pm. The judge let everyone go for lunch...but for some reason asked panel 1 to return at 2pm. Let's face it, the guy has probably been around for how many jury selections...maybe a couple hundred! I find it hard to believe that he truly thought they would be done interviewing the rest of the jurors by 2pm...especially when he saw that morning that it took 2 hrs for the 3 lawyers to go through 12 of us!

So I returned at 2pm...without any reading materials (as requested by the court)...and sat. Not only did we sit, with nothing to do for 4 hours...we sat in a separate room. The least they could have done would be to sit us in the courtroom so that we could entertain ourselves with the other people's stories! Sitting in that room with 30-some people, forced you to sleep or make small-talk...and you know how much I love small-talk!

Finally at 6pm! Yes, 6pm...apparently the 5:00 rule does not pertain in the courtroom...the judge called us back in for "jury strike." The jurors were joking as we waited that we should go on "strike" since pay is only $25/day...but the thing that got me was you get paid if you stay for the first 1hr or the entire 8hrs!!!

We filed back into the courtroom, I must say that by this point I felt that I had put so much in to the process, I actually wanted to be chosen for the jury!!! But after 20 minutes of paper being passed back and forth, I found out I wasn't picked...I have a feeling it was because one of the attorneys new me as a tech at Gaines School.

I understand the process is there for a reason...but I still feel that somethings could change for the better! Like...hey, maybe we could bring books, or the judge could say come back at 3 or 4.
I must say it was a very "unique" experience...but I definitely understand why so many people attempt to get out of the dreaded jury duty...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MFebZlUJ7E

I Heart Dr. Barton!

Today in Cardiology I saw the light! After sitting in this class for the past two weeks, I finally learned something! Why the change you may ask? THE TEACHER!!!! A new professor began lecturing today and I realized that a great teacher can make all the difference.

Usually when I'm half-listening and not interested in the class, I peg the material as boring and blame my lack of understanding on not studying enough...but today Dr. Barton did it again. She made me realize that a great teacher can make any subject interesting and that as a student I am not stupid for "not knowing." I am in vet school to learn. But Dr. Barton made me realize that our professors should be here to facilitate our learning, not just passively deliver information!

When less than 1/3 of the student population and the veterinary practitioners fail to learn a crucial skill, like identifying cardiac murmurs by auscultation, something is wrong with the system! So what does a great teacher do!?!? She takes it upon herself to change this statistic by TEACHING students...and not assuming they should just know!

As often as I complain about my least favorite professors, I must acknowledge that a large number of teachers during my 20-some years in school have been great teachers. I am sincerely grateful for each and everyone of these outstanding teachers...I know I wouldn't have made it this far in my academic career without them!

So, to Dr. Barton and all the other great teachers out there...THANK YOU! Thank you for your time and dedication.

Date Night

With our busy schedules...okay, really my busy schedule...Emily & I rarely get to spend time together by ourselves. So, last night we had a date night.

Our friend Ben got us free tickets to see "Drumline Live" at the Classic Center. We decided to do it up right and go to dinner too!

East West Bistro was one place we've been wanted to go back to (although we've never been there together)...and it was yummy! The show was fun, not quite what we expected...but very entertaining! There was a lot of audience participation...and according to Emily the small African-American girl in front of us kept giving me the stink-eye for my less-than rhythmic dancing...but the time we spent together was the best part!

However, Emily does now believe that she could be a member of the cast...

My Late New Year's Resolution

The other night I realized that I have spent so much of my life counting down the days til...
I say things like, "if I can just make it through this week" or "it's only for a month; I can do anything for a month."

I chalk this attitude up to my "planner" personality. I've always been a planner, and I always have a plan. In middle school it was preparing for high school, and then planning for college, and then for vet school...always trying to work my way to the next thing.

Since being in vet school, I have noticed that I have "put my head down to plow through"...and I've forgotten to "stop and smell the roses"!

So, my New Year's Resoultion (a bit late, but better than never) is to stop counting down the days...and start living my life. I am resolved to enjoy each day or at least find small things that make me happy throughout my day!