Getting out of jury duty

I apologize for the lag in posts. I've been at jury duty the past two days. The highlight of the experience so far has been listening to the different excuses people give to try to get out of serving -- even before they step foot in the courtroom.

No, no one has pulled a Larry David. Yet.

So far, my favorites the past couple of days was when one man told the clerk, "My English is not that good," to which the clerk responded, "Sir, you've been living here since you were 21 and worked at a restaurant that serves mostly English speakers." And, "I have a medical condition: I am old," to which the clerk replied, "Ma'am, being old is not a medical condition." Neither were excused.

Another point of interest is what people do to kill time when not in court. At the Alhambra Courthouse, the jurors have a sweet set up. There are a few TVs, lots of puzzles, games like Yahtzee (I'm still working up the nerve to ask people if they want to play a game with me), five computers with Internet access, lots of books, plenty of couches and a couple of vending machines.

One observation: I have never seen so many adults eat bags of Cheetos before noon.