Tuesday News

Happy Tuesday, friends.

Since I'm holding on to valid hope that things will not always be like this and we will gradually establish a better normal, I thought I'd document my current work routine for future reference:  After a brief period of being "open" (far from our usual routine), our courthouse is now locked down again, kind of.  The public has to come in through the Dewey Street side entrance, and the sheriffs ask questions and let people in on a case by case basis.  Masks are a requirement.  I still come through the front parking lot door, but I have to use my employee badge since it's locked.  So I put on my lovely mask, grab the badge, observe and avoid the wasps, come in, then exchange the badge for office keys since our office door is also still locked.  Once I'm in my office, I don't have to wear a mask and things feel semi-normal.  Aside from the major changes to our dockets and cases... we're doing lots of hearings via Bluejeans video (switching soon to Microsoft Teams).  The building WiFi is weak lately, so I'm now having to move my machine into Laura's office and watch/listen on her computer when we do video hearings.  There have been a few technical glitches and volume issues, but overall, I prefer those virtual hearings to courtroom hearings lately - trying to take down every word spoken by attorneys and witnesses who are wearing masks and standing much further away from us than normal... yikes, the muffled voices are not my favorite!  

One of our kinder attorneys is in the hospital with COVID and has been in ICU since the end of July with various complications... prayers appreciated for Glen.  We also have more and more people missing court hearings because they're calling in with COVID or quarantine issues (saying they were exposed or are awaiting test results or have the virus, etc.) -- a legitimate worldwide problem, but obviously also a convenient excuse for some who don't want to be here.  The new Supreme Court ruling regarding Native American cases has significantly lowered our criminal docket.  The October jury term is very limited, so my office will not have to navigate any 2020 jury trials, and I'm grateful for that.  That would be a hot mess.  In much lighter news, the government has no money to spare on janitors, so we all take out our own trash and dust/clean our own offices now.  And I'm on course to make about 1/5th of what I usually do in transcripts this year, which is not at all surprising and not a big complaint for me.  All that being said, I am thankful to have a secure job and very grateful for my health and the extra downtime I've enjoyed during this crazy year!!

After binge-watching Schitt's Creek this summer, I so wanna be friends with David Rose!  He's simply the best. ;-)  Here's a 2020 timeline according to his moods/expressions.  I love that September = him giving up and moving to the Amish farm. lolol

Moira is also hilarious and always EXTRA.

 Their scenes together are usually my favorites, although the entire cast is pretty great!

In case that wasn't enough about my TV habits, I'm currently watching The Last Dance, the documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls 1997-1998 season.  I can feel you being surprised, but back in 7th grade, I actually cared about sports and cheered for the Bulls and I remember most of that championship team, so this has been fantastic to watch and learn more about them and all that was happening behind the scenes there!  (My main takeaway so far is that Jerry Krause was a small-minded, arrogant moron who allowed his pride to ruin something that could've been great for so many more years.)  

...Also, don't pull an Adidas!  When he was a rising young star, Michael strongly preferred their shoes and wanted to sign a deal with them, but Adidas said they really didn't have the time to design a shoe tailored for him.  So Nike stepped up and volunteered themselves, and the Air Jordan brand TOOK OFF... even I used to own a pair, back in the days when I wore Nike shirts and Bulls jerseys and baseball caps. lol  (And MJ has been crazy loyal to Nike too, to the point of purposely covering up the Reebok logo on his Olympic team tracksuit.)  Anyway, over 3 billion dollars in revenue later, I'm thinking Adidas might've been able to find a spare bit of time.  Wow!

Okay, back to real life events... I got my hair done this weekend and went red for the first time in a while.  Also got my new glasses - yay!!

This is my "your story isn't over yet" ring, reminding me that sometimes God has put a semicolon where we mistakenly thought He'd put a period. ❤

An encouraging verse that can apply to so many things in our lives... 

Perfect clarity will come later.  Trust is enough for now.

Some truth from an old quotables post that caught my attention:

Mmm, that's all I've got for today.  

"Warmest regards.  Have a bless-ed day!" ~David Rose ;-)