See here…
Yes, indeed, I was number 2. Juror number 2, that is.
I reported to the Hall of Justice jury room (not so chic as the courthouse on McAllister) Monday and I arrived fully prepared: 2 books, 2 catalogs, pens, note cards for belated thank you notes, and my Rio loaded with a fresh, upbeat playlist. After about an hour into my wait time it was announced that hizzoner was coming in to personally address us. Turns out that there will be an emergency need for a jury for a trial that has been scheduled for 2 weeks and 2 weeks only in mid-July. He gave us his spiel on hardships and how jury duty separates our trial system from other systems around the world, etc. etc. After 85% of the room left and tried to apply for a hardship excuse, the remaining 15% of us answered a questionnaire. I turned my questionnaire in, and was instructed to report back Tuesday am.
(Since I was somewhat downtown, I stopped at the Orpheum to pick up tickets to Wicked and shoes at Puma. Sometimes, I just can’t help myself.)
Tuesday morning, I reported directly to the Hon. Moscone’s (relative, descendant of George, I’m sure) courtroom. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t the “Law & Order” type courtroom I had hoped it would be. Small, outdated, and I’m sure there was asbestos lurking above that ceiling. Before I knew it, I had been named “Juror Number 2”. I took my seat in the box. I have to admit it was all pretty surreal. What really creeped me out was that I caught a glimpse of a person in shackles and an orange jumpsuit. (It’s funny how television can numb a situation.) After a few rounds of questioning from the ADA and Defense atty, we took our lunch recess. It wasn’t looking good for me. All the things that needed to be taken care of at work were running through my mind. Yet, I was starting to think that jury duty isn’t so bad after all…this is kinda cool. (Plus, my company fully pays for jury duty absences.) But this being a criminal case, not a civil one, made it all that more exciting. 4 o’clock rolled around and I perked up when I heard the defense attorney say, “I would like to thank and excuse juror number 2.” I was relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved that I didn’t have to sit there for one more minute, but disappointed that I couldn’t stay to see how things panned out, who they actually chose to decide the defendant’s fate. But I’m glad I got to experience what I experienced and perhaps jury duty isn’t so bad after all.
I’m Oprah! How can these French people turn me away? I’m a celebrity!!!
Borrowed from here.
Oprah being shunned at Hermes in Paris – get over yourself lady. Not everybody in the WORLD knows who you are or cares. Comparing this to a moment in “Crash”? Lame.
Borrowed from here
Katie & Tom’s betrothal – let’s see how long this one lasts? I mean, who doesn’t know that he fancies men? As if the Scientology fanaticism doesn’t scare you off. Oh, lest I forget…he’s the psychology know-it-all. Matt shoulda socked him one.
Steven Klein’s photo borrowed from here.
Angelina & Brad’s photo shoot in W – tres cool! If they are a couple, so what? She’s hot. He’s hot. They’re both beautiful people trying to make a difference in this world.
(more…)
News for all you SoCal peeps with pets!!!
My friend Gina and her sister have just opened Fetch! Pet Care San Diego Inland, servicing Mission Valley to La Mesa and north up the I-15 corridor to Rancho Bernardo. They’re big animal lovers and will take great care of your pets while you’re away from home, whether it’s for travel or just long hours at the office.
Anything you can do to help spread the word for them would be greatly appreciated. They look forward to making their business a success and having fun with pets along the way!
Check out their website to see the fun services offered!
www.fetchpetcare.com
Go to “Service Areas”
Search by Zip Code – 92115
Fetch! Pet Care San Diego Inland
619-287-PETS
sdinland@fetchpetcare.com
p.s. – Tell them you know me and they’ll give you 10% off your first service
I’ve learned to never ever say never.
After four years of driving from the Bay Area to San Diego (six times a year, I might add), I vowed to never make that drive again.
Well, it wasn’t quite San Diego, but driving to La-la land is just as tortuous.
J, my cousin, was graduating from UCLA this past weekend. So my mom, bro and I had an excuse to leave town for a bit. (S stayed home to work. Which may have been a good thing, because #1: I wouldn’t have been able to shop as much as I did; #2: we wouldn’t have been able to get an “early” start on both days; and #3: he would have gone super ballistic with all the traffic we had to deal with.)
We started our drive at noon-ish Friday. We stopped at Harris Ranch for lunch. (Harris was always the place we’d stop for lunch or dinner during family trips down to SoCal.) I didn’t notice the cows this time around, so I didn’t feel guilty as I sank my chompers into a Ranch Burger.
We pulled into the Valley around 6.30p and into the 405 South parking lot. Sitting on the freeway, looking up to the Getty Museum, it was killing me that we were SO close to our turnoff, yet so far away. So, what normally should have taken us 15 minutes to get to our hotel, took us almost an hour! (Yah, traffic in LA sucks! Yes, I know it doesn’t help that it was a Friday evening.)
We stayed at a boutique hotel in LA – on the border (literally) of Beverly Hills and the Palms/Century City section of LA. We were kitty corner from The Kabbalah Center (no sights of Madonna, Demi, or Ashton).
The Kabbalah Learning Center of Beverly Hills
After an hour upon our arrival, I was out the door to meet Heidi for dinner. (Heidi was my roomie my freshman year at UCSD.) Since neither of us was familiar with LA – we headed for an area we both knew – Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica. We enjoyed catching up over a lovely and late Italian dinner. (I hadn’t seen her since our wedding! And didn’t even really get to talk to her then.)
I skipped breakfast Saturday morning, still full from the Ranch Burger and the Chicken Marsala I had for dinner. The 3 of us were out the door en route to the Getty Museum before 10a! And, of course, there was traffic on the 405 North, but we made it to the center a quarter after ten. We paid the parking fee, parked the car and were on a tram taking us up to the museum within 10 minutes. (There is a parking fee, but entrance to the museum is FREE!) Even without seeing the paintings, photographs and sculptures, the museum and gardens itself are quite impressive. So after viewing Art after 1800, the Central Garden, and the Rembrandt exhibit, we made the requisite stop at the bookstore. Unfortunately the print that I wanted was not available without a frame (and is no longer available on their website).
The entrance to the Getty Center
We dropped my brother off at the hotel, cultural places like that tire him out, and then my mom and I headed out to find Intuition. We should have kept driving, because Intuition was highly disappointing. Stick the to their web store is all I can say. I took her out to the Third Street Promenade and we stopped at Banana Republic petites, Zara (J’adore Zara!) and a massive sale at Anthropologie. We got back to the hotel around 5.30p and picked up my brother and traveled up to Hollywood Blvd (not worth getting out of the car), then to Beverly Center and then to Oishi Sushi for dinner. It was an early night since we had to be at UCLA at 8.30a Sunday morning.
J, me, and bro at UCLA Commencement
Commencement is always an exciting time! I always find it fun and exciting to visit a college campus and UCLA is definitely that. A lot bigger than UCSD, that’s for sure. Something ironic during the ceremony: it was the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology ceremony and yet all these helium filled balloons were “released” into the atmosphere. Think about it. After pictures and a stop at the bookstore (you know it’s LA because there was a Clinique counter and a Paul Franck section inside), we headed out to Marina Del Ray for lunch at C & O Cucina for the best darn garlic rolls and ginormous servings of pasta.
And yet again, we were on the road home…all in all it was a fun weekend and I was glad to get away for a little bit and lightly crisp (bronzer, to tan en français) at the same time. But it’s always nice to come home.
A lot late…if I had known how easy it is to upload pictures on the mac mini, I would’ve done this ages ago! :o)
Taken from the 2nd bedroom upstairs
The unused hummingbird feeder :o(
A nice little “alcove” of sorts
I would post more – but the files were too big. So when I figure that out, I’ll post them.
Big Bird needs our help! (Image borrowed from here.)
A House panel has voted to eliminate all funding for NPR and PBS, starting with “Sesame Street,” “Reading Rainbow,” and other commercial-free children’s shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.
The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year — $100 million — and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children’s shows like “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” “Arthur,” and “Postcards from Buster.” Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.
Click here to sign the petition!
Here’s the Post’s article on the matter.
…and I mean it this time! This past week, chez Rebaud has been plagued with internet connection problems and a crackling phone line. The DSL peeps came out and added/replaced a filter, thinking that would solve our problem. Nope. Connections kept dropping and talking on the phone was unbearable. So, today, I’m assuming that SBC came out to the house to fix the actual phone line to the house. I say assume because now I have access to kellybean! ;o)
S + I have decided that Friday nights at the sushi bar are the best time to eat sushi…and best be sure to arrive close enough to closing. They shared beer with us, we shared Spanish lessons with our sushi chefs and they in turn, offered us tasty bites (not available on the menu), gratis. We were partaking in a late dinner because we were waiting up for Thierry and Nivalda, who were driving up from SoCal for a weekend visit.
Waking up late Saturday, we had brunch at a nearby favorite on West Portal and took Lucie for an outing at Fort Funston. That afternoon, the boys and I hit (or attempted to) hit golf balls at the mission bay driving range (it was apparent that I haven’t practiced my golf swing in quite a while). Later, we all meandered down 24th street (I REALLY need to start shopping here more) to Savor for dinner. We then had a champagne toast (and strawberries and chocolate dipping sauce) at Bubble Lounge to celebrate S + T’s recent birthdays. After a truly delightful conversation about former girlfriends, “conquests”, and other things, we moved on to Cigar Bar for cigars and some musica Latina. After witnessing T + N’s salsa cubana moves, S felt more inclined to sign up for salsa lessons (remains to be seen, but I’ll keep you updated). :o)
Sunday, we did the requisite hike up Mt. Davidson with Lucie and then showed T + N the Ferry Plaza Market. After a so-so lunch at Market Bar (so-so because they didn’t have ½ the things listed on the menu!), the boys enjoyed treats from miette and the ladies indulged in gelato from ciao bella. By the time we arrived back home, it was time for guests to pack up for the long haul down south. All in all it was a fun, yet tiring weekend (I had to take a cat nap while they were packing)!
…but no rest for the weary! At the end of this 4 day work week, I am off to la-la-land for cousin’s graduation! I’ll be resting my head in 90210, which may or may not be a good thing. Intuition, anyone?
I know I promised pix of the yard, and I will try to get those up before I leave for SoCal. Really!
(taken 6.3.05, via t*mo)
Luckily, Lucie and I were on the top of Mount Davidson when the pink blob decided to form a protective shield over Diamond Heights and upper Noe Valley.
I apologize for not posting much last month. I don�t think that I was THAT busy.
Let�s see�S + I went to Chicago for a long weekend�Zeflashh was here with us for a week or so�the boys rented motorcycles one weekend � Sylvain�s first ride since the accident�saw Monster-in-Law (I just adore that Michael Vartan � yes, he�s related to Sylvie) with my friend Jenny�also saw Episode III � most excellent, could�ve done without Episodes I and II…unfortunately, the projector busted in the middle, but luckily some overeager (and probably drunk) moviegoers dressed as Jedis re-enacted a few key “scenes” with their plastic lightsabers for the audience (hilarious!)�went to both a garden luncheon and a BBQ memorial day weekend.
(Spoiler alert!)
Sadly, the last two weeks of May, I was consumed with season finales!
The OC: (I�ve happily discovered that some of my friends watch this and are as addicted as I am!) Caleb died, Kirsten�s in rehab, Tate Donovan is back and Marissa shot Ryan�s brother. Could it get more soapy than that?
Lost: are you even more confused? How the heck is Michael going to rescue Walt from the �pirates�? Is Sawyer really dead? The saddest part was when the dog swam after Walt, who had had just departed on the raft.
Alias: I knew that they couldn�t kill off Nadia. Jennifer Garner is my hero! Wish I had the discipline and motivation to wake up anytime before 7a to workout. But Vaughn a bad guy?
One Tree Hill: truly my guilty pleasure. My bets are that Keith poisoned and set fire to Dan…only because I like Andy and Karen together.
Desperate Housewives: Rex is �dead�. Mike �could� be Zach�s father. Gabrielle � did she leave Carlos? I can�t even remember. We still don�t know who the father is? Looks like Lynette�s going back to work. Mary Alice�s secret fully revealed. Curious to see what skeleton Alfre Woodard brought to Wisteria Lane.
I took a �Which Desperate Housewife Are You� quiz�I�m a Gabrielle. Luckily for S, our gardener probably prefers men.
Yes, in response to the icy and anonymous request to keep our yard neat and tidy, we hired a gardener to clean up and�wow! It�s a whole new yard! We have plants I didn�t even think we had. We�ve started to clean-up and clean-out the back yard. I bought a new hummingbird feeder to commemorate the event! Lucie�s glad the yard is cleaned up too: she can now see the cats and squirrels that walk along the fence. (Pictures to be posted later�)
Tonight, we�re having dinner at Luna Park with Gina & Leslie, who are in town for a franchise orientation/training.
Tomorrow is Sylvain�s birthday. Nothing major planned � just a nice dinner at Chouchou. So far, he�s received a red craftsman tool chest and a massage at Fruition.