Always Be Listening

Interior of the two euro bathroom

Jury duty continues.  Being on a jury is only slightly less annoying than being the possibility pool because you know exactly what the schedule is, know how long you are going to be there, and start knowing the best place to park, where to eat...  Though that didn't help me today when my card to get out of the parking lot got demagnetized and I had to scream and yell to get someone to let me out of the lot (or avoid ramming the hand blocking my way).

Honestly, sitting and listening to testimony is interesting in a way, but it's also very much a mish-mash of stories that the witnesses recall from years ago, and it's not like TV where everything lies up neatly.  I feel partly like a detective, but a detective who can't ask questions or do any experiments.  And I think it's unlike seeing a televised trial where every thing they say seems important.  I notice they ask a lot of the "how long did it take" question and it seems like an irrelevant question.  I also can't tell if they are trying to trap witnesses in a lie by asking them how old they were if it contradicts something someone else said.  Anyway, I am not supposed to talk about it, so I should stop this line of thought here.

In a way, it is a weird holiday not being at work.  Though I do think that sitting and listening to sworn testimony isn't so different from the sort of calls I get at work, except at work, I'm able to affect change. Sometimes.  I think sometimes all I do is just listen to people.  That's why lately group therapy has been a bit frustrating because we've had too many people in there and it seems like a lot of continuous talkers.  One of the issues shared by many of the new people is divorce.  Oh and there is a new super pushy woman who seems to think that her way of living is wonderful and she has all the answers.  I seriously think, if you really have all the answers, then why are you in group therapy?  And if you have all the answers, why are you unhappy?  Anyway, I have over the last month or two really thought of giving up group therapy for a few different reasons, but when I've been at the brink, I've been reminded by others in the group that I have a place there, that my opinions matter.  Quite frankly, there aren't a lot of other places in my life where I feel like that.

It's funny, I don't really feel like blogging much about my trip to Paris but I'm enjoying sharing these random photos.  This one was from a bathroom that advertised itself as the cleanest at Champs Elysees. I didn't do any real research on that, but I did appreciate the fake library wall paper and the little plant.  Though I do think for two euros, I should be able to press a button and have someone wipe my butt for me, but I guess that's probably the five euro bathroom that features that.