Category: Rantings

Venting, bitching, and like that

Packing My Bags For Court

~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

Alameda County Courthouse My number is up and I must report by 8:00am – tomorrow.

I sweet-talked hubby into dropping me off at the train station so I don’t have to walk to the bus stop in the dark, then ride around 2 towns for 30 minutes to get there. This will save some wear and tear on me, as well as 2 bucks.

I will need the extra time to figure out the ticket machines. They change things around every year – to keep me on my toes.

Going anywhere that is not my office at work means I have to literally pack a bag. Sometimes it’s just a matter of stuffing my Big Ass Purse to the seams. But an all day trip requires a Big Ass Purse AND another bag.

I wish I was a gal who could travel light. I see these women with teeny tiny purses that could only hold 1 lipstick, a credit card, and a condom. They must live simple care-free lives and I want to scream.

I need a purse that is at least 18″ across and 12″ deep. No kidding.

Big Ass Purse
The Big Ass Purple Purse Exposed

This is the normal everyday stuff: Ducky key-ring, 2 pairs of glasses (one is sunglasses and both prescription), cell phone, Kleenex, wallet,  gum, address book, nail file, hand lotion, day-timer, granola bar, medications, personal lady things, and the all important little box of juice. And guess what? I have a train ticket from last year’s adventure that has $2.85 left on it. Wahoo!

You may be thinking, “Oh what a whiner! That’s not so much stuff.” And you’re right. But I’m not finished packing yet. I still have to fit in my little friends.

Medical Equipment
Entourage for a Diabetic

Believe me, this stuff is all squeezed into the big ass purple purse, except for the Fruit Fizz bottle. That will go into the tote bag along with my lunch, notebook, paperback and crochet project. Maybe my iPod too.

Now I have what I need to take a day trip. Except for one important detail.

What the Hell am I going to wear??

To Be Continued…

My Annual Duty

~ JodiLea

The Jury Box  I’m talking about jury duty.

Now, before I go into my rant story, I want you to know that I am a law-abiding citizen and I show up when summoned.

I have served on a jury for 2 trials now.

This seems like a low number to me considering that I am “randomly” selected EVERY  F- -**1@G  YEAR!!  For the past 28 years I have received a notice in the mail from the court.

Twenty-eight summons for jury duty. All for the SAME courthouse. Extreme un-randomness* is going on here. Oh yes, and this courthouse is not near my town.  That would be too convenient for me to serve in the area I actually live in. I have to take a bus to the transit station, then ride the train 25 miles to the not-so-good part of a major city. And walk four l-o-n-g blocks.  This is not a happy thing for a small town gal (me) to be doing.

Oh sure, they pay me. But not for the first day anymore. What sucks is that the courts daily pay rate is lower than my daily transportation rate to get there. I did the math and I’m losing money when I’m a juror. Sigh…

They started doing something new for Monday summons dates now. Instead of calling (or going to their website) on Friday after 5:00pm to see if your number is up, now you won’t know until Sunday after 5:00pm. The Courts are closed on Friday’s so why can’t we find out Thursday night? Someone actually works at the courthouse on Sunday afternoon to make a recording and alter a webpage? There is something fishy going on here.

I hate having this hope over my head all weekend – “will I get lucky and not have to go in the morning?”, “Will the deal get cancelled?” I want to know NOW!  Sigh.

So… Sunday evening (after the 49er’s beat the Rams), I have to log in and find out the bad news. I already know that my number is up because – I bet you can guess – it happens EVERY  F–**1%@G  YEAR. Looking at it is only a formality.

My hubby? He has gotten only 2 summons for jury duty (2 different courthouses, mind you) his entire life.

Now that’s random.

.

* un-randomness: (adj.) So far from being random it’s comical.
– taken from the “Words That Should Exist Dictionary”

Post Re-Run: My War on Tags

~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

Original post published 11/10/2010 

I have very sensitive skin and I hate the way garment tags are always scratching & making me itch. In the old days if a tag bugged you, you simply borrowed your mom’s seam ripper out of her sewing box and removed a few stitches. Wa-Lah! Problem solved.

Things have changed. Not only do you have an annoying tag that is double sewed into your garment, but you may have 3 or 4 of them. Apparently one tag is not enough to convey all the manufacturer wants you to know. This information is so critical that they sew it not once, but twice into the garment.

Last week I bought some new “skinny” jeans. Even though I knew the size they claimed to be was a lie (I have never, nor will I ever be a size 4), I felt so svelte & sexy.  I changed into them as soon as I got home from the store, called 2 friends and made them guess what size jeans I was wearing, curled up on the couch with a good book and some snacks – hey I was skinny, I can eat! An hour later the jeans had to come off. I could not take the tags anymore. They were terrorizing my skin and I just wanted to scream. I think I did scream.

For a half-hour I painstakingly removed the little tiny stitches, and the ones under those, to free my fabulous new jeans of their gnarly parasites. After all that toil, the tag was still attached to my pants. They must be sewing them in 3 times these days. I sigh deeply and loudly cursed, then proceeded with my task. I spend another 15 minutes removing the little secret stitches, which by the way held a seam together, so now I have an hole in my brand new jeans. Oh- and yes, the tag remains.

Maybe you know this already, but I was naive and believed that I was only dealing with thread here. But no. The BASTARDS are now using GLUE. Tags are sealed to the garment by gluing them after they are sewn in. I still fume when I think about it.

OK, we get the fact you want the tag to remain with the garment. But why can’t you make a tag that is not scratchy? The garment is not scratchy, so obviously you have the technology. And what is the deal with tags so large you can write the Constitution on them? Or the five, count them five, tags sewn into one small (size 4 don’t ya know) pair of jeans? Three in the back, one in the front, and one on the outside seam below the hip.

The only person who sees these damn tags is me, and I am not happy with whoever made the garment.

And I know who you are. You made sure of that, didn’t you?