Jury Duty

It seems I am more unbiased than I thought...I was selected as lucky Juror #7 for a trial in early May. I can say, however, the selection process could use a little work...juror #9 had to be dismissed right before we went to deliberations because someone finally realized he didn't speak English. Hmmm...wish they could have figured that one out during voir dire (thank you B-LAW).

Because I found the whole process incredibly interesting, I will share a few details. The case was a road rage/drive by shooting incident involving a former marine and a mother and her 13 year old son. As the story goes (and I emphasize the word story because they are all telling their version of the events in a way to make themselves look good) the marine was trying to merge onto the 101 in Chandler and the mom wouldn't let him in her lane and he ended up in the emergency lane which really ticked him off. After he got onto the freeway, he sped up to get even with her car and threw a cup of hot chocolate out his window, which landed on her windshield causing her to not be able to see out of it (I actually think his wife, who was also in the car, did it and he was covering for her). (Count 1: endangerment) After her vision was impaired, she began driving recklessly, braking repeatedly and swerving, and somehow ended up in front of the marine. He interpreted this as her trying to cause him to get in an accident, and he "feared for his life". At this point he took his giant 45 semi-automatic handgun out of the center console, stuck his hand out the driver side window and fired one shot that went through her license plate and landed in a speaker box in the trunk (Counts 2-5: drive by shooting, discharging a firearm at an occupied structure, aggravated assault, aggravated assault) After getting shot at, this woman decided to follow this guy (with her 13 year old son in the car) to get his plate number. After he saw her following him, he called a lawyer and then the police to "alert them of her terrible driving and explain that he fired his gun in response".

I had never seen a live case (except the one I saw for 30 minutes to get extra credit in college) and it was incredibly fascinating to see it from start to finish. I had a hard time convicting a former service member, and really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there was just no way to justify his behavior in the end. I had always assumed I would automatically condemn anyone who was on trial, but I ended up feeling sorry for him (and his pregnant wife who was sitting in the courtroom crying most of the time). I guess you never know how you feel until you are actually in the situation.

The trial lasted about 5 days and I didn't sleep well any of those nights. There is so much pressure holding someone else's future in your hands. It is terribly humbling. How can we, as fellow sinners, justly judge another person? It gave me so much to think about and made me thankful that God is the ultimate judge, the only perfect one who can fairly and accurately judge.

I hope everyone gets the opportunity to serve on a jury at some point in their lives, but be prepared for the magnitude of the experience.

In the end, this guy was convicted on all 5 counts and 2-5 were bumped up to "Dangerous Offense" which adds severity to the charge because it was with a deadly weapon. For the sake of my curiosity, I found this guy on the prison website and he was sentenced to 8.5 years for an incident that took no more than 4 minutes. Makes you think about daily decisions a little more doesn't it?

OK, off my soap box...for now...

Lake Norman

In an attempt to get out of our regular "dinner at the same old restaurants and/or a movie" routine JJ and I are getting creative. Once a week we are going to have a fun date to look forward to and we are going to take turns planing the excursions. Although, let's be honest, I will probably end up planning most of them because I tend to like to control things. :)

Last week, we (read: I) did some research on hiking around Charlotte and discovered Lake Norman State Park just up I-77. I found a trail that went right along the lack shore, and as a bonus, it was dog friendly! We packed up the car and started out on our big adventure. Sadly, even with all the research I did, I failed to take note of exactly how far up on I-77 it was. About an hour later we finally reached the park and found the trail head.

Like I said, the trail was right along the lake shore, so we thought this would be the perfect way to reintroduce Barney to the water. He refused to swim in our pool in Phoenix and panicked every time we tried to teach him. I really thought he would do much better if he was able to walk in instead of having to be carried/figure out the pool steps. Well, that didn't work. He refused to go anywhere near the water and even managed to slip out of the leash and try to run away.

The hike was a little over an hour and Barney was exhausted so we hopped back in the car and hit up the Subway in downtown Troutman, NC for lunch. A true metropolitan area if I've ever seen one.

Pre-Season

Our pre-season schedule was full of visitors! This really came as no surprise to us because as soon as the games start people just seem to appear. It is a good excuse to come out and see us I guess :)

My sister who works as a traveling consultant for her sorority was in town for our two home games and Labor Day weekend (which also happened to be her birthday weekend). She was working in Chapel Hill, so it was just a 2 hour drive to spend her weekends with us here in Charlotte. As much as I would love to give you my own account of her visits, it would be far easier and less time consuming for me to point you in the direction of her blog. So if you want to read about our adventures in Charlotte and Lexington check it out.

The other big development during the pre-season was starting classes to become a certified financial planner! Because of our NFL lifestyle and the lack of certainty for where we will be living in the near future, JJ and I decided the best option for me would be to take online classes through the College for Financial Planning. I have 5 classes to finish before I am eligible for the national exam. Hopefully, I can get this all the classes finished up in about a year and see where it takes me. I am hoping to find an internship or part time job while I'm taking classes, but even if it doesn't turn into a job right away, the information will be incredibly useful in our own lives and planning.

It is weird getting back into school mode and I have spent several afternoons at Starbucks because I have to get away from all the distractions at the house to really concentrate. So far I am really enjoying it, and speaking of class, I should probably get some studying done before our date night tonight...

NASCAR

We live in Charlotte. Charlotte is the home of NASCAR. We live in the home of NASCAR.

In order to embrace our new city and experience something new, we went to the All-Star Race on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Well, to be honest, this was not really my first NASCAR experience. I did visit Texas Motor Speedway once during college, courtesy of the Henry Family. But, regardless, this was JJ's first experience and being the avid sports fan that he is, he was pumped.

As usual, our wardrobe was a major concern in the preparation for this event. Having some knowledge of the typical attire for an event like this, I threw on jean shorts (jorts) and a t-shirt. Granted the shorts were j. crew and the shirt was Banana Republic, but whatever. JJ had gone golfing earlier in the day and decided to keep his frat boy/golf attire on. Sooo not NASCAR. Once we arrived, JJ quickly realized he was overdressed. Something that has never happened before.

Let me set the scene for those of your not fortunate enough to have experienced NASCAR for yourself. Tens of thousands of fans started tailgating at 9 am. The beer is still flowing when we got to the parking lot at 6 pm. People are starting to stumble towards the track. It seems no one has ever heard of sunscreen, the rednecks are even redder now. It was a warm day, and apparently no one had ever heard of deodorant either. I tried to keep track of the mullets, but lost count after 5 minutes. There is a smoky haze covering the entire area, as everyone is chain smoking cheap cigarettes. Very few sleeves on shirts and very few teeth in the mouths. The aggregate weight of the die hard fans in attendance is equal to the GDP of Canada (google it).

All in all it is a tapestry of unflattering stereotypes.

My favorite fan of the night was a man sitting two rows in front of us chain smoking his Doral cigarettes. After about 2 hours he started alternating drags on his cigarettes, with puffs from his inhaler. Hey buddy, I bet I can guess what caused your respiratory problems. (America, THIS is what is wrong with our health care system)

The race itself was actually really fun to watch. The All-Star race is only 100 laps as opposed to next week's Coke 600. I don't think there is any way I could stay interested for 600 laps (update- I was just informed that it is actually 600 miles, not laps, still probably not going to stay focused though). I told JJ mid-race that whoever won the race would become my favorite driver and I would follow him faithfully for the rest of his career (or until I forget to care). Lucky for me it was the Miller Lite car that won, my domestic beer of choice. So it's kind of like I am already part of the team, as I have invested in the sponsor for years.

All in all, our NASCAR date night was a success. I would totally go back next year. I will just have to remember to bring my own clean air to breathe.

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

I gave into a little friendly peer pressure and joined a yoga studio. Let me clarify...a HOT yoga studio. It is sweaty, and steamy, and totally awesome. I don't look pretty after class (it takes two towels to keep me from slipping and sliding all over the mat), but I feel great. I was getting a little bored with my regular running routine, and wanted to change things up a little. I think it is really helping my running.

This place is a totally hippie, take your shoes off before you enter kind of place, but its fun. The only part that is a little too granola for my taste is the fact that the showers are across the studio from the changing rooms so there are often half naked toweled people roaming around. I like to keep shower time separate from time with my new yoga friends.

Speaking of friends, you really have no choice but to make friends as there is about a 3 inch gap between your mat and your neighbors. They have been able to maximize their space by marking off places for your mat, so it is not a free for all when you get in the room. My first day I inadvertently sat next to a very hairy, exceptionally sweaty dude who did not fully grasp the idea of personal space. Note to self, pick a spot next to the petite, pro-yoga looking chicks. They know how to control their bodies enough not get all up in your business.

I did my 3rd class today and have liked each one. They have a deal for new people, unlimited classes for the first month for $40. I plan to take full advantage.