Results tagged “band” from Debi's Journal

This is Mel's second year in her middle school marching band. This past October 19 they marched in the Loma Linda Community Parade. Loma Linda used to be populated by mostly Seventh-Day Adventists, who observe the Sabbath on Saturday (thus many shops are closed Saturdays). Their post office is open on Sunday, and they hold their big parade on a Sunday. The Grand Marshall this year was Brigadier General Loree K Sutton, MD, U.S. Army; her connection to the town was the fact that she received her graduate degree from Loma Linda University some two decades ago.

October 29 was Jury Duty Day for me. I took an antihistamine before I left home as a precaution. I dutifully arrived at the courthouse a few minutes shy of 8:00AM and zipped through the metal detector with a small bag I borrowed from Melody containing just my ID, car keys, jury duty paperwork, and a novel (at least, that's all that I thought I had at the time). I remember during my previous stint that camera phones were banned from the courthouse, but this time around everyone had their Blackberries/Tilts/whatever and phones were constantly ringing in the jury assembly room.

The room. It was packed full of people, and it stank. The antihistamine didn't seem to have any affect on my sinuses, and within the first half hour I was no longer able to breathe through my nose. The room reeked of smokers, heavy perfume, and body wash. Ugh.

The check-in staff didn't even finish processing everyone until around 9:20AM. I could have shown up an hour late to the courthouse and nobody would have cared. Once the last person was checked in, we all had to sit through a movie featuring jurors who had such a wonderful experience serving on a jury. Maybe 15 minutes after that, the assembly room staff posted four lists, and we all had to check to see which group we were in. I was in Group C. The staff announced that each judge would eventually call in and give instructions for their particular group. I assumed that this meant there were four cases and four judges for today.

About 9:50AM, the staff announced that one of the judges has called in! The defendant has plead guilty! Group C has been excused!

I was relieved, not because I didn't want to be on a jury, but because Mel had two appointments the next day, plus it was a minimum day at school, and I didn't want to be stuck in a courtroom for two days like the last two times I had jury duty. So it all worked out and I won't have to expect another summons for at least a year.

Oh yeah, about that bag I took with me... After I returned home and emptied it out, I noticed that the side pocket had a hole in the bottom. I found several items underneath the bag lining including lip gloss and a swiss army knife. Great job you're doing there, courthouse security. I'm glad I've never taken that bag to the airport. I fear what TSA would do to me.

Sorry, no photos today. I was hoping to get a nice shot of one of the Teenlet's kites flying in the air, but the wind really picked up after school so we opted to avoid the outdoors.

What has Debi been up to?
This week I am in between student teaching sessions. I finished up with a wonderful 1st grade class last week. I had been with this class since the end of October, so the last day was somewhat emotional with a little going-away party the class threw for me, and all the sad goodbyes. I think I enjoy lower elementary grades the most since most of my experience from the last six years has been with Kindergarten through 2nd grade.

My next assignment, however, is 5th grade at a different school. I'm really going to have to change gears!

How is the Kidlet doing?
I started referring to her as the Teenlet since she started the 7th grade this past fall. I guess she's not technically a teen yet, since she is 12, but she and her friends are definitely beyond the tween stage. She is still playing the bells in band, though she made the jump from beginning to advanced band over the summer. She's already plotting to drop band next year to take Journalism for her elective (or Exploratory period, as the school calls it).

And... she is still in Girl Scouts. She didn't really want to stick with it for another year, but as a Cadette she is taking more of a leadership role in her troop (e.g. planning activities, finding volunteering/service opportunities) and I feel she will continue to gain valuable experience and growth by staying involved in scouting.