Vacation Then Jury Duty
Alexis and I drove all over Texas and half of New Mexico for our vacation. We drove to Ruidoso and stopped in Lubbock on the way there, then stopped in Odessa on the way back to visit with family and friends. Our stays in all three places were great. In Ruidoso we went to a stocked pond where we caught some rainbow trout. They provided the poles, bait, license, and cleaned the fish. It was fun, but being a stocked pond, the fish hit the bait less than a minute after dropping the bait into the water. Here’s a few pictures:
The fish were placed in a sink after we caught them. Shortly afterward they were cleaned, hence the knife on the left.
This is one of the first fish I caught. The biggest one was 11.5 inches.
One of the strangest moments during our trip was when we noticed a car pull over near some road kill about 20 miles outside of Lubbock. Alexis and I figured they picked up the road kill, but for what purpose is a mystery. In Odessa, we were invited to go to an art show, which was the last thing I thought we would do on our trip. It was surprisingly a lot of fun. One of the funniest moments during our trip was seeing Hunter, my nephew, taste a lemon. At first he didn’t think anything of it until he managed to get enough of it to make a sour face. It was priceless.
Near the first of the month, I received a jury summons. I was panicked a bit when I opened it, but relieved when I saw that the date was after our vacation. Alexis had a jury summons several months ago and when she arrived at the courthouse, she was notified that it was canceled. I was hoping for the same. No such luck for me as I went through the whole process. To top it off it was a child indecency trial. There was testimony from the victim, the victim’s mother, a couple of police officers, and a child advocacy worker. No solid evidence and no other witnesses. There was evidence that the guy was in the area, but it really came down to whether the jury believed the child’s story beyond a reasonable doubt. After much debate and nearly a hung jury, a painful process, the verdict was guilty. I don’t know what the sentence is, since the jury doesn’t decide the punishment. I would be happy never to go through that, or anything similar, ever again.
Symphony of John
This weekend we went downtown to the symphony, which was playing music composed by John Williams. They played Raiders, Jaws, Star Wars, Memoirs of a Geisha, Jurassic Park, and more. I liked the music it sounded great and I had fun while I was there, but I’m not sure it was worth it. It’s not convenient to go to, there were people whispering occasionally behind us, and it sounded about the same as if I were listening to it on headphones, except for the solos. The solos were great and impressive. My problem may be that I have heard the music too often. Many of the songs played are in my library of CD’s and MP3’s.
Anticipation
I have neglected my website far too long. This month has been very eventful.
I had a birthday this month and the gifts I received have kept me occupied and will continue to. The cake Alexis made me was inspired by the cake in the game Portal.
Also this month we had friends staying with us while they were in town. Alexis and I suggested they eat at a Mexican sandwich shop downtown called, Tio’s Tortas. I told them the story about how the guys at work and I found the place.
We noticed the sign when it first went up and stopped by on the first day the doors were open. They were testing their recipes and training the employees so the food was free. It was so good we decided to go back the next day, but this time the credit card machines were not working. The owner decided not to charge for food instead of turning away customers that did not have cash. So we had another free meal and from then on we were hooked.
Our friends really enjoyed the sandwiches and talked about them even after their visit had ended.
I’m eagerly awaiting the birth of my nephew, who is a couple of days late so far. Every time my phone rings I think it could be the news of his birth. Alexis and I are taking a trip soon on a gamble that he will be born by the time we arrive.
