There is a white Impala running around town...that is actually a cop car! I was all, "Heyyy...." and then he cut me off and pulled someone over and I was all, "Totally not checking out your car. Swears. Good on you for pulling over that guy, he was totally speeding. Ima just pass over here, clearly slowing down and observing all safety guidelines."

Also, other upsides to Portland: McMenamans, Voodoo Donuts, and Le Bistro Montage for cajun food.

And Powell's. I love that city.

Does anyone check the cars around them when they drive? To see what models they are?

Absolutely.

I am sorry your job is filled with such terrible people, Amy.

Does anyone check the cars around them when they drive? To see what models they are?

Oh, yes. I like seeing the predominant species in different areas. There's a high concentration of Hondas and Toyotas where I live, and a noticible number of Mini Coopers. When I visit my sister in MI, Fords and Chevys predominate (unsurprisingly).

Amy, I hope you're in a position to leave our job soon.

I am sure I've mentioned this here, but my mother once sat on a jury for a child sex abuse case.that was supposed to last 6 weeks but ended up lasting 9 months. It was brutal. When I went for my fitness and character interview for the bar, my interviewer turned out to be one of the attorneys in that case.

Trudy, strength to your family. erika, so sorry for your loss.

I think I've been called 5 or 6 times, and impaneled twice, the last time being for a trespassing case where an ex-boyfriend may or may not have gotten sufficiently up on the lawn while yelling nasty things at his teenage ex. Disappointingly we had to find for the XBF because the prosecution didn't ask the XGF where on the lawn he got to -- there being an easement where anyone can walk in that town.

If we could have found the nasty, smirking XBF guilty of being a jerk, we sure would have. The XGF was honestly upset and scared and we found her believable, but this wasn't a restraining order case, and they didn't give us the one piece of testimony ("how far was he from you? Mark on this diagram how far he came up on the lawn/driveway.")

I'm still regretting my one chance to go up to him in the hallway after the trial and telling him that he was a jerk and a bully. But I'd left my stuff in the jury room and they were shutting down the courthouse.

Erika, so very sorry to hear. Hugs to you and your mom.

Trudy, we're keeping your family in our thoughts.

The one time I served, it was an aggravated sexual assault case. Difficult, but at least it only lasted three days, and none of us had any doubt that the guy had done it.

Afterwards, the defendant's attorney said he'd probably get himself killed in prison before serving out his sentence.

Ugh, Dana!

erika, I'm so sorry. You made the right decision, tough as that is, and I'm glad that there was good quality of life right up to the last day.

Trudy, fingers crossed.

I get called for jury duty every two years. Like clockwork. We have a small permanent population, a number of non-citizens, lots of law enforcement and lawyers, and any number of people who haven't passed the cut-off for their felony convictions (I believe they have to be 10 years past the end of their sentence). So ... every two years I schlep down to the courthouse and go through the one day or one trial thing. And I get picked fairly often. Once it was for a drug case where the guy admitted he had the crack and the only question was whether it was for his own use or for distribution. We decided it was for personal use, which entailed a less severe sentence. On the upside, I got to see crack in person.

I also get called for the federal court; two or three times so far. I've lost track. They're a lot more demanding - you're on call for at least two weeks (call in the evening before to find out if you need to turn up the next morning) and they can extend it as much as they want. Once it was scary - big drug case with several defendants, some of whom were delivered to the courtroom in handcuffs. And the defendants got hold of a list of the jurors, with our names and, presumably, addresses. We saw them going through the list and matching up faces with names. We spent some time under the U.S. marshals' protection. Some people were seriously frightened; I remember one woman sitting in front of me shaking she was so scared. The judge declared a mistrial, dismissed us, and tossed us back in the pool.

Another time in the federal court - the U.S. District Court, to be formal - it was some poor guy who, basically, screwed up. He did some dumb stuff but happened to have crossed state lines, making it a federal case. We found him guilty, but some of the jurors were crying over having to do so.

I like seeing the predominant species in different areas. There's a high concentration of Hondas and Toyotas where I live, and a noticible number of Mini Coopers. When I visit my sister in MI, Fords and Chevys predominate (unsurprisingly).

BMWs and Priuses here. Good lord, they're prevalent. It's hard to feel special about my new old car when there are a million on the road--older, newer, same age. And Prius has surged out of nowhere in the last couple years.

Also, cars are white, black, silver, and dark blue. BORING.

Yeah, I miss my dark red Jetta still. But I see very few of those, the VR6, on the road. More VWs than Michigan, unsurprisingly, but not that model. I get why people kept trying to buy my not-very-good-condition one off me.