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Ching’s First Jury Duty Experience

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Ching under Life.

Where to begin on this one? A few months ago, I got my first Jury Duty summons. When I first received it, I was kind of excited because I had never been on Jury Duty before so it was going to be an all-new adventure for me. As you know, I am all about new experiences. But then, Brian started telling me how awful it would be. He said they would take my phone away and I wouldn’t be able to play pickleball or do Zumba. So then I began to dread it.

Not knowing what to expect, a friend of mine recommended that I watch the Jury Duty docu-series on Amazon Prime. Of course, I made Brian watch it with me. Without ruining the show for you, so many crazy things happened. It was completely wild. Having been through Jury Duty before, Brian told me it wasn’t anything like that. He said much of it was consistent but they only showed the interesting parts in the documentary and most of it is completely tear-your-eyes-out boring. Like 95% of the time you are going to be bored out of your mind. To be fair, the documentary isn’t really a “real” documentary. The show is more like a comedy documentary (if there is such a thing) but that’s all I can say without ruining it. I guess you’ll just have to watch.

So how was my experience? I actually didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would based on Brian’s recollection. I found the experience quite educational, actually. More on that in a minute.

One of the biggest differences between my experience and Brian’s is that, when Brian did it, they only gave them 30 minutes for lunch. On top of that, when they went down to the building cafeteria, it was closed and so all they had was vending machine food/snacks. Not only was he bored out of his mind, he also nearly starved to death. But, when I did it a couple of months ago, not only did we get a full hour for lunch, nearly every single time we returned from lunch or break, it took a good 20-30 minutes before we resumed so we really got hour and a half lunches.

On the first day, I thought I would be there all day and wouldn’t get longer than 30 minutes for lunch so I packed some fruit and an adult lunchable, and also had Brian drive me (so I wouldn’t have to mess with the parking garage). We ended up getting an hour so I had Brian meet me for lunch. That’s the day I discovered Tacos y Mariscos, this amazing taco truck that served all sorts of street tacos. You could get beef, chicken, pork, and even shrimp. I told myself, if they’re back the next day, I’m eating their food again.

As far as Jury Duty itself, I ended up being assigned to a criminal case presided by Judge Dahl. I found out that there are two types of cases you could be summoned for — criminal and civil. Criminal cases usually finish within a week, whereas civil cases can last for multiple weeks. Therefore, if you do not want to be on Jury Duty for an extended period, pray that you get on a criminal case.

The case I was on was a sexual assault that took place clear back in December 2020. Because of the backlog (partially due to everything getting shut down due to COVID and other factors), the trial wasn’t happening until almost 4 years later. They start with an overview and introductions — the Judge is in the room along with the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, and the defendant — and then go through a series of questions to discover if there might be underlying biases or other reasons (health, personal, etc.) why each prospective juror should be excused. I gathered that at least half (there were about 40 of us in the room that they were trying whittle down to 12 plus 2 alternates) of the people there did not want to be there and were actively trying to get out of Jury Duty. They’re looking for 14 people to hear the case objectively. Only 12 will have votes that count but they don’t tell you who the 2 alternates are because they want every single juror to pay attention. The fear is that if you think you’re an alternate, then you tune out most of the time and then something happens to one of the jurors and you actually step in, but you know nothing because you haven’t been paying attention. So they were going to choose 14 of us to say but the 2 alternates will not know that they’re actually alternates. So that’s the plan.

Ideally, you want to get all the way through jury selection on the first day so you can begin the trial the next day. Sometimes, you get lucky, and jury selection is completed super efficiently and you can actually begin the trial on the first day. My coworker Shane Batchelder who happened to be Jury Duty the same week (ran into him outside on our lunch break) was on a case and they actually got to begin the trial on Monday afternoon.

Anyway, when we were released on Monday afternoon, we were nowhere near getting the jury selected. Realizing that the trial couldn’t start on Tuesday morning because jury selection wasn’t complete, I was actually beginning to doubt whether this whole trial could finish by Friday. However, Judge Dahl seemed confident that we wouldn’t have to be there all week and he’s been through hundreds of these and this is only my first one, so what do I know? I did know that we were going to get at least an hour for lunch so I decided to drive myself the next day. Which, I’m glad I decided to drive because everyone ended up being released early. I remember going to break before lunch, maybe around 10:30 AM, and they told us to come back a certain time. We all came back on time like obedient little children and then 10-15 minutes passed and we still didn’t resume. Another 30 minutes passed and still nothing. We waited and waited, until it was like lunch time and still nothing. I remember thinking, “Well, now it’s time to break for lunch.” We were all just sitting there, captive, awaiting further instruction. I guess the one nice thing is that they don’t take your phone away anymore (they just make you put it on silent and promise to pay attention and not be on your phone during the sessions) so I was able to check emails and catch up on things in the meantime.

When the Judge and the clerk returned, they ended up releasing us to return to the jury assembly room for further instruction. Down there, we all ended up getting released, which is what I thought would happen because by Tuesday afternoon, all of the trials that needed jurors would have started already.

Come to find out, during the break (and all of that time we were waiting), they were making deals behind the scenes. The defendant ended up accepting a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to fewer counts but, I suppose, it was a win-win for everyone because the case wouldn’t go to trial. We get to skip everything and fast forward to sentencing, which just happens to be this week (if I remember correctly). I looked it up after we got released. You’re not allowed to look up anything, do any kind of research, or talk to anyone about the case/trial and I’m a good girl who follows instructions so I really didn’t look into it until after.

I was tempted to go to the sentencing hearing. Alas, I cannot because it’s during the work day. However, I am really curious what the sentence is. Granted, he plead guilty to fewer counts than what he was originally charged but this is the second such conviction for this defendant so who knows what the sentence will be? I guess I will just have to look it up later. Check back in a week and I’ll try to provide an update (if I can remember).

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Highlights from the Past Few Weeks

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Ching under Family, Life.

It’s so weird not having grandma send me reminders to write a post. If I haven’t written anything in a while, she usually sends an email asking for an update. May her soul rest in peace.

Here are some pictures from our employee appreciation event at the ballpark earlier this month.

I got six tickets so Jenni and Adam came out and brought a couple of friends.

Shortly after this, Jenni and I met up at Vita Bella for some Filipino desserts.

Golly! This place is cute!

They even have a fun photo wall.

So many options to choose from!

In the end, we both got halo halo and then Jenni got some other things.

Jenni’s taho.

Jenni’s turon.

I guess that is all for now. Check back next time. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I post another update. Until then, have a great summer!

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Experimenting with Drugs

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Ching under Health, Life.

Have you ever experimented with drugs? Well, that was me this weekend because I couldn’t figure out what was going on with my right knee.

Here’s what I learned… There are various over-the-counter pain meds you can take but they’re not all the same. Some pain meds are better for certain symptoms and issues.

I’ve never been a pill popper. I hate taking pills with a passion and I didn’t really start taking any pain meds for headaches or cramps until the last couple of years. In fact, when I had my thyroidectomy 12 years ago, I didn’t touch the Lortabs that I was prescribed. I took 2 Tylenol and that was it for my recovery.

Anyway, I’d been mostly taking Advil vs. Tylenol because I learned that Ibuprofen is better for treating inflammation but my knee pain was so bad on Tuesday that I had to get Hideki Fields to cover my Wednesday night class at West Y. Took a break from doing any kind of activity (no Zumba or pickleball) until Saturday morning when I had to cover Alisha Mickelson’s Saturday morning class at North Y and then I had a 3 PM at West Y that same afternoon (for the winner of the silent auction basket from the West YMCA Strong Community Campaign fundraising we did). I kept telling myself, I just need to get through the 3 PM class and then I can rest and maybe feel better tomorrow.

My knee was super sore that night and the next morning it was even worse. I could barely walk on Sunday and I scrambled to get my classes covered because there was no way I was dancing. I couldn’t even stand! We actually had to cancel the Sunday class because there was no one to sub it (everyone was at the Zumba event in Tulsa). So sorry, Andrea Burk! I put a post on FB but she didn’t see it and went only to find out class was canceled.

Here’s the experimentation comes in… My knee is sore and stiff and I can barely bend it so I was like, “Maybe I need Naproxen?” Anyway, my mom and dad who I saw in between my two commitments on Saturday gave me these blue pills (basically generic version of Aleve). They were like, “Yeah, we take these before bed and feel great in the morning.” I took one before bed on Saturday night and woke up and there was no difference – my knee actually felt worse. I’m like, “Maybe I need more?” So I took another around 8 AM and it was no help.

What I learned… Naproxen is good for joint pain caused by Arthritis so I’m guessing I do not have Arthritis because it did not work. However, I couldn’t go back to taking Advil immediately because you cannot mix Ibuprofen and Naproxen. I had to wait at least 12 hours for the Naproxen to be out of my system before I could take Advil. So Sunday night, before bed, I finally took 2 Advil. Woke up in the morning and my knee felt a little bit better. I took 2 Advil again at 8 AM and 12 PM and before bed yesterday. It seems to be helping. But I really need to know what’s wrong with my knee so I called our family physician’s office first thing yesterday morning to schedule an appointment. I wanted to get in on Monday but the first appointment they have available is today at 3:30 PM.

Advil seems to be helping but I don’t want to be completely dependent on it. And what if the 2 pills don’t work anymore. I need to figure out what’s wrong with me because I can’t live like this. Mom and dad suggested I find hobbies that don’t require physical activity. I can’t. Dancing is my life. Pickleball is my life. If I can’t dance or play pickleball I will be so depressed and then I’ll be needing other pills.

Anyway, here is a helpful chart to help you determine what to take for your pains and aches. I found it super helpful so I hope it helps you too.

Source: marshfieldclinic.org

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Goodbye, Grandma

Posted on April 5, 2024 by Ching under Family, Life.

Brian picked up grandma’s ashes from the funeral home yesterday. It reminded me of how I haven’t written about her passing. Honestly, it feels weird writing on here knowing she won’t be reading it. Grandma was literally the only person who ever read this blog. At least until the last year or so when Brian decided it wasn’t worth fixing her computer anymore each time she messed it up because she couldn’t see, anyway. I actually think that’s why her computer would get messed up. Brian had set it up so she had large icons on the desktop that she could just click on and easily open things like her email and our blog, etc. I think it got to the point where she could barely see and was clicking on the wrong things and then she would get lost and couldn’t figure out how to get back to where she needed to be. Every time this happened, she would call Brian in a panic because she thinks she’s “broken” her computer. Brian would be there almost every other day just resetting everything back to normal so he finally was just like that’s it – time to let the computer go. He was like, “I’m just going to tell her it’s broken to the point it can’t be fixed.”

Grandma loved sending (and receiving) emails. And she enjoyed reading this blog. Her face would be an inch away from the screen just to read the text but she did it anyway. She liked to keep up with what Brian and I were doing – what fancy parties (before COVID) we were attending, what food we were eating at various restaurants – and I think it helped her stay connected with the outside world given that, due to her age and frailty, we couldn’t just take her out to a restaurant on a whim. We could only take her out on special occasions. And, when I would post her pictures and write about things we did together, she really enjoyed reading those recaps. When I get completely immersed in pickleball and mostly wrote about tournaments and games and other pickleball-related things, she would tell Brian that she felt that I played pickleball too much. Grandma was never one to beat around the bush and she always would tell you what she was thinking.

Every year since grandpa passed away, there would be whispers of “I think this might be grandma’s last Christmas with us” or “we need to make this X-holiday special because it might be her last one” and every year she would prove us wrong and make it to another holiday and another. This last year was a little different, though. Grandma fell and hurt herself around Thanksgiving and spent the weeks leading up to Christmas in rehab. Her only goal was to recover in time so she could spend Christmas at our house. While she achieved this goal, we were all very concerned that this would be her last Christmas with us – more so than ever. She barely had enough strength to hold herself up in the chair while we exchanged gifts. Brian and his dad struggled to get her in and out of the car when they picked her up from the home to bring her to our house. In fact, they both made a point to say that we wouldn’t be taking grandma out anymore. Instead, we would come to her for the holidays so she wouldn’t have to be transported (which proved to be quite an ordeal, specially this last time).

Our next holiday would have been Easter. I was already thinking of how we would bring Easter to grandma this year instead of our usual brunch buffet at YaYa’s. Alas, it was not meant to be.

A few weeks before Easter Sunday, Brian got a call from Victoria Falls requesting hospice care. They said grandma was fine but they just didn’t have the staffing to fully provide the care she needed. Hospice would provide that additional assistance (to move her from the bed to her chair and bathe her stuff like that).

When Brian went to visit grandma on St. Patty’s Day, she was still talking and everything. On Monday hospice told Brian that grandma didn’t get out of bed so they requested that a medical bed be ordered so she could be moved to it instead. The medical bed was delivered on Wednesday and Brian went over there on his lunch hour to get the bed situated. At that point, grandma could no longer form words or communicate. Brian said hospice told him she hasn’t been able to speak to anyone since Monday.

On March 21, Thursday, hospice called and asked us to come because they didn’t think grandma would make it through the night. So we skipped dinner and spent most of the evening there. The soonest Brian’s dad could come up is Saturday so I told Brian I hoped that grandma would be able to hang in there at least until his dad could say goodbye.

The next day, I asked Brian for an update and he said there was no change to her vitals. Later that day, the hospice nurses said she started talking again. It was the darnedest thing. I was thinking, wow — she really is hanging in there, waiting for Brian’s dad to come. On Saturday afternoon, March 23, at around 1 pm, we got a call that she was gone.

Grandma would have been 102 had she made it to her birthday in June this year. It feels so strange now that she’s gone. She used to asked me to end all my posts with GNG for “Good Night, Grandma” and I don’t know if you’ve noticed that I hadn’t been doing that of late. I stopped shortly after Brian took her computer away so you won’t see GNGs at the end of posts going forward. She’s no longer here to say good night to, so I guess it’s time to bid her farewell. Goodbye, grandma.

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National Margarita Day

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Ching under Life.

I know National Margarita Day was a few weeks ago so this is a super late post. Most people usually go for Mexican food on National Margarita Day — because tequila — but my favorite stop is Chicken N Pickle because they have these super cute margarita flights on pickleball paddles that’s available one day only — on National Margarita Day.

However, friends had other plans this year so I didn’t get to have my annual margarita flight. First stop was a meet up with my Leadership Wichita classmates at Social Tap, also one of my favorite spots in general. Our Leadership Wichita class celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. I love how many of us from the 2014 class still get together ten years later.