Tues. Oct. 17, 2023: From Poetry Reading to Jury Pool
image courtesy of 12019 via pixabay.comTuesday, October 17, 2022
Waxing Moon
Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde
Showery and cool
Did you have a great weekend? I hope so.
Time for our usual Tuesday morning catch-up.
Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain:
Episode 129: Unexpected Negotiations
Shelley makes a deal with Mirren to keep the assassin for her plan.
Friday felt a little scattered. I drafted an episode of Legerdemain. I polished/uploaded/scheduled 4 more episodes of ANGEL HUNT and did the paperwork around them. I ran errands, including library and grocery shopping. I was assigned another script coverage. I dealt with a bunch of admin.
I did the graphics for next week’s Legerdemain episodes, did the episode videos for all six episodes of the three serials, uploaded and scheduled them all to TikTok.
I’d hoped I wouldn’t be needed for jury duty, but nope; got the reminder to be there at 8 AM on Monday. Nearest parking is about 10 minutes away, and we have to pay for it. I’ve never had to pay for parking when on jury duty. Or not had a lot near the courthouse. Ridiculous.
It took far longer to get ready for the Clark event than I would have liked. The original dress I planned to wear was too summery for the turn in the weather, so I went with a skirt and sweater instead. I was still pretty overdressed, which means at least I know I can be more casual at future events.
I did a final round of the Munch exhibit, to say goodbye. I’m telling you, plenty of his pieces remind me of tarot cards: the plough horses are the Chariot, “Human Mountain” is the Tower, the one with the skeleton is Death, and “the Sun” is the Sun.
I nearly cried when I said goodbye to my WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE. It is part of a private collection, so it is unlikely I will ever see it in person again. I have the catalogue, I have my own photos, but that’s different than being in the room with it.
I had my glass of wine and chatted with a few people, then went out to the reflecting pool in the darkening twilight and took some dramatic pictures.
Went home before it got too crowded. Too many people I know are coming down with COVID, and I still can’t get the boosters scheduled.
Cooked dinner, read a bit, went to bed.
Woke up around 4 AM on Saturday from a dream where I left my purse in a cab.
Did Saturday morning chores, like changing the beds, etc. Saturday is always my favorite night to go to bed, because of the fresh sheets! Drafted another episode of Legerdemain. Did a library run, and warned them that, due to jury duty, I might not be able to pick up again until next weekend. Picked up a puzzle book for my mom and a pair of smoky-style glass wineglasses to replace the once that have broken over the years.
Home, dropped things off, added my mom to the car, and we headed over to Hoosic, NY, to a favorite consignment store. We found some glass storage dishes we wanted (albeit not enough random lids). Murder Maps and I fought the whole way, but I had to take a detour because there was a parade down the Main Street of Bennington and it was closed. Murder Maps specifically took us home the way I TOLD it not to go, but Maps was right; it’s quicker and the road is better than I expected.
Stopped at a favorite thrift store on the way home, found a large cooking pan o’my dreams (stove to oven) and some Santa figures on sale that I couldn’t resist. No random Pyrex lids, though. But I now have a Sleigh of Santas (yes, that’s what a group of them are called), hanging out in the office, because it doesn’t make sense to pack them away just to take them out in about a month.
I have a feeling I might end up custom building a china cabinet this winter, if I can find the glass doors I want for it, and something to make sturdy little feet. Next time I’m at Re-Store in Pittsfield, I’ll look at the small, mullioned windows (if they don’t have cabinet doors). I might find pieces that are the doors of my dreams, and then measure and build the cabinet around them. That way, I can put all the special/vintage dishes and cups in a protected cabinet, and have cabinet space in the cabinets and bookcases that have been pinch hitting. If I can find the right bookcase and a pair of windows or cabinet doors I can attach with hinges, that might work, too. And paint the whole thing whatever color I want. Maybe do some stenciling. I see it in my head, I can even draw it (thank you, stage drafting skills), but I haven’t found the pieces yet.
It was eerie and unsettling to drive during the eclipse. Most people had their headlights on, even though it didn’t get all that dark. But the quality of light was disturbing.
Late lunch, and then I wrote up one of the script coverages, which took longer than expected, and started the next one, which I didn’t finish. I knew I’d regret that on Sunday, but I can’t do good work when I’m overtired. Managed to fill out my juror questionnaire without too much snark, though. I usually have a much better attitude towards jury service.
Loved settling into the clean flannel sheets. I really love my bed. So do the cats.
Jolted out of a nightmare (which I’ve since lost), but had to talk myself down from it, with Charlotte’s help. Dozed off, and overslept, getting up just before 7 on Sunday, which annoyed Tessa.
Wrote, edited, polished, uploaded, and scheduled tomorrow’s Process Muse, which deals specifically with the poem I read on Sunday evening with Word X Word, and how it evolved, and the influences from the Boiler House Poets Collective Residency.
Did another couple of drafts of the poem, printed it out in 16 pt. font, added breath marks.
Turned around two scripts and a score sheet.
Headed out to Lenox early. I stopped in Pittsfield, in my search for Pyrex lids (one can only buy plastic replacements from Pyrex, which defeats the purpose). I did find two blue Pyrex dishes, which I bought, and a pewter three-legged mortar (without its pestle) which is a great inspiration for Word X Word’s “artifact” conversation.
Continued down to Lenox. It was a lovely drive, sunshine while raining. I didn’t see any rainbow, though.
We were up on the terrace. It was a bigger audience than I expected – turns out this is one of the events in ArtWeek Berkshires. That made me so happy. I was bummed that I wasn’t participating in ArtWeek this year – but I am.
I was so happy to see some of the regulars again, along with the young woman who’d come to our reading at Bear & Bee, whom I had spoken to about this event. Of the guys who told me they wanted to come, one of them contacted me to let me know he was on his last day of COVID quarantine and couldn’t come, and the other just didn’t show. Figures it’s the youngest and the woman who shows up!
Anyway, a block of us read one after the other – a woman I know from several events, poetry and other; me, the woman from Bear & Bee; and a woman who does her poetry in song, who’d done a wonderful piece in the book burning/gun violence event. Even though we didn’t share our work ahead of time, it played off each other well. The other poets’ work was great, too, and hit a wide range.
I was really happy with “I Will Be Different.” It felt good as I read (and I didn’t rush, for once). I could see and feel how it landed with the audience, and it got them when and where I hoped. There are only a couple of lines I need to tweak. It got a great positive response. After the event was over, quite a few people came up to talk to me about it, and how it struck them. One audience member, who comes to a lot of these events, said she liked everything I’d brought in, but this piece took a leap.
Evidence that I learned a lot in the residency! Now, to keep applying it moving forward.
A couple of people suggested magazines to which they thought I should submit it, so I will look into that.
Once I fix those one or two lines that need attention.
But, overall, it was a great experience. Bill told me that 18 poets had signed up, but only 8 showed up. A couple of people had contacted him that they were sick (again, COVID numbers going up), but some just didn’t show up and didn’t contact him. That’s just so disrespectful.
I managed to get home as it got dark. It was okay. Not terrible, not wonderful. The event in November, at Berkshire Museum, starts later and ends later, so it will be full dark when I leave, which will be a challenge, but I really want to do it. After all, I have the artifact.
Cooked dinner, read a bit, got everything ready for Monday’s jury duty.
Up at 4:30 on Monday. Felt kind of weird. Had gastric issues. I was pretty sure it was because I had red meat the night before in the ravioli, and my body rejected it. I was trying to see if I could integrate red meat into the diet, especially for winter, but it seems I have to be careful. When I have the craving, every 3-4 months, it’s usually for something very specific, I eat it, and I’m okay. If I just randomly eat red meat, I pay the price.
I considered calling out of jury duty, but I wanted to get it over with. I took a COVID test, just in case. It was negative, as I suspected. I didn’t feel like I had a stomach virus or something; it was food sensitivity based.
By 6:50, I felt better, and decided to risk it, although it was much later leaving than I’d planned. The drive to Pittsfield was okay. More traffic and less construction than I expected, so it evened out. I parked up in the First Street lot, paid for the day. A woman (who turned out to be part of the jury pool) advised me to leave the ticket on the dashboard, when the meter people made their rounds. To me, that seems like an invitation to break into cars that will be there all day, but whatever.
I hiked the blocks to the courthouse, stopped to mask before I went in, went easily through security (I wasn’t wearing all the rings I usually wear). Settled into the jury room, took out my book and read.
The court officer in charge of us was late. Turned out he was a substitute, also from North Adams, and they’d called him when he was dropping his kid off at school, and sent him down here. This wasn’t his court. And no one left him the login information. So that took a bit of doing, to track it down. Oh, and get this? He wasn’t given parking either and had to fight for it/pay for it like the rest of us.
We checked in and got our numbers. I was 67. There were at least 80, and it might have been the full 100, spread over two rooms.
We watched our little video about process, history, and responsibility. We were told we’d go up to the Superior Court room to be interviewed; any of us that didn’t get impaneled would come back down to the jury pool room, we’d regroup, then tromp over to the District Court building and do it all again.
We hiked up the three flights of stairs to the courtroom. The judge introduced himself, the lawyers, the plaintiffs, and the defendant. He explained the basics of the case, read the witness list (anyone who knew anyone connected to the case would be dismissed), talked about the schedule. It only needed 8 jurors and no alternates; would start that morning. Superior Court tries cases from 9-1 and does other work in the afternoon. He expected the case to wrap by Wednesday, and then it was up to the jurors how long they deliberated.
He asked two sets of questions for elimination purposes. Then, people were called up in groups of five, per their number, then brought up individually for sidebar conversations with the judge and the lawyers.
It was interesting to watch, because it was so different than any other jury selection process I’ve been a part of, and cut down on the lawyer showboating.
I was number 67, so I figured they wouldn’t get to me and I’d be exiled over to District Court. The woman next to me was number 25, and a little worried. One of those interviewed (and dismissed) was one of the poets from the previous night, which I thought was pretty funny. Another was dismissed because he and the judge had grown up together and knew each other well.
Anyway, it took 21 interviews to seat 8 jurors. The judge asked if we (the jury pool) were needed elsewhere. One of the court officers said no, so the judge told us we were free to go. So, jurors tromped down the three flights of stairs and . . .left the building?
I’ve never served, even when not impaneled, in a place that didn’t have a check-out process as well as a check-in process, or where the jury pool could just wander the courthouse, so it seemed weird to me. At the very least, shouldn’t we get instructions as to whether we’re called the next day and/or get our proof of service paper? I returned to the jury pool room, which was empty and the lights were off.
So I left.
I hiked back to the car and drove home. I’d paid for a full day, but that lot was only $3.75, not the $12 the lot the jury notice pushed. Why wouldn’t I park in a lot 1/3 of the price? We were out of there around 11, and I got home just before noon.
I felt like crap, had some chicken soup, and took to the sofa like a Victorian heroine. I felt better after a few hours of rest. I checked on the jury website in the late afternoon, and my service is marked “complete” so I guess I don’t have to worry for three more years.
It just felt a little disorganized to me.
I felt better, but was only up for scrambled eggs for dinner, and an early night in bed.
Slept well, although I’m having a recurring dream about a white ceramic fluted baking pan. Some people dream of riches; I dream of dishes.
Slow start this morning. I’m not feeling terrible, but not great, either. I have this gift of a day. I will do some work, but I will also rest. I have to do a library run and pick up a prescription for my mom, but that shouldn’t be too complicated (famous last words, especially when it comes to the pharmacy). I will take it easy, do some writing, hope I get some coverage. If not, I can promote the serials, and maybe get some more of ANGEL HUNT scheduled. I definitely want to draft some more of Legerdemain. I’m finally getting a little ahead, and would like to keep that lead. I’d also like to get started on the next draft of CAST IRON MURDER this week, the draft I hope will be the submission-ready one to go out after the first of next year (well, after the 6th of next year).
At the same time, since I’m not yet feeling 100%, I want to rest as I need to, in order to give my body the tools it needs to heal. Otherwise, I’ll run myself down and get really sick.
I expected to be in jury duty at least through Wednesday, even if I didn’t get put on a case, so today is a gift, and I don’t want to squander it.
Have a good one!
