Let the countdown begin

A few things have happened since my last post so let’s start with Friday and move on from there.   Friday arrived with some rather upsetting news regarding my summons to serve jury duty.  It is the policy of my employer to pay an employee for the hours they would miss while serving jury duty, however, as a seasonal employee I am not entitled to this benefit.  We are talking about a loss of at least $400 in potential income for someone who barely survives paycheck to paycheck.  My first productive reaction to this was to ask my supervisor if I could get this in writing so I could attempt to get released from jury duty due to the financial hardship it would cause my family.  I didn’t anticipate that I would be successful getting released from my obligation, but it was worth a shot. 

Saturday saw the completion of the playhouse my parents bought at Menards last weekend.  We’re actually still missing a piece which, hopefully, will be sent to us posthaste.    Maybe I’ll find a picture of the playhouse online and post it on my blog.  It was incredibly satisfying to see Ashley move her little camp chairs into the house and play for an hour.  The playhouse even smells awesome since it is constructed of cedar!  Once we have the missing piece we’ll be able to attach the stove top so Ashley can run a play taquería out of her home.  Ashley and Josie should have a ball playing with the playhouse.

Sunday was uneventful for the most part, which is exactly how I like my Sundays to be!  Monday started way too early for me as I rushed to get out of the house on time.  I needed to be at Gisela’s before 8 am in order to grab the bus to the government center for jury duty.  Only the people who don’t have a choice or don’t know any better are willing to pay that much for parking.  I managed to catch my bus and find the room I needed to report for jury duty.  I got checked in and then spoke to the clerk about having my hardship evidence looked at for release.  She directed me into the glassed in offices off to the side of the main jury waiting room, and I spoke to the administrative assistant about my situation.  She directed me to speak to her Supervisor and told me to just walk in.  The lady in question was short; rail thin and her face held a dour expression that the line indicated was habitual.  She had every appearance of being una mujer amarga.  I presented her with my letter which she perused with a frown.  She asked me why I hadn’t presented this information in a timely manner as requested in my summons, but cut off my response stating that by the date of the letter she will allow that I didn’t know ahead of time.  She told me to write a letter describing the financial hardship my family would suffer and dismissed me from her office with a legal pad on which to compose my letter.  I took myself off into the main room and found a table at which to sit and write.  I wrote an entire page about our financial woes, which was really only half the story.  I turned in my letter and shifted uncomfortably as she read it.  After an extended sigh and what appeared to be a grimace, she explained that my attendance today would not count so my name would be put back in the pool.  Maybe if I sent her a thank you note she’d crack a smile.

Tuesday was simply a nasty day for me, scoring an amazing 6 out of 10 on my stress scale.  The morning was uneventful but once my reminder started chiming it all went downhill from there.  Tuesday afternoon was the Omnibus Hearing for Alberto and I was running late.  I managed to get up to the floor we were on last time, to discover that I was on the wrong floor this time.  Thank God I glanced at the scheduling board being I went through the security checkpoint so I could figure out where I needed to be.  After arriving at the correct floor and finding the right court room, no one was there.  I wandered back to the elevators to almost get mowed down by Brian who was running later than me.  We walked together to the courtroom to find that the judge was running later than all of us combined.  We left the courtroom and spoke briefly about the case while he filled his water bottle at the fountain.  It was then that the clerk of courts appeared and asked Brian to accompany her because the judge wanted to talk to him before the hearing in his chambers.  I waited in the lobby and paced for 15 minutes before we traveled back to the courtroom for the hearing.

It was so hard to remain seated when Alberto was led into the court room, but I figured the guards would take exception if I approached my husband.  There was one guard stationed at the back door that they had brought Alberto through, and another guard was sitting at a table where the defense side would be sitting.  The guard sitting closest to me, a younger and thinner man, glanced over at me curiously before settling back to watch the proceedings.  Alberto stood for the entire hearing with his feet shoulder length apart and his hands clasped loosely behind his back, while he listen avidly to the interpreter on his right.    Brian led the hearing with little to no input from the prosecutor.  He insinuated that he was going to submit an inadmissibility motion to exclude the testimony provided by Nemesio and Tecla because the minor girl, Sabrina, acted as their interpreter.  Typically any statements or testimonies given by an individual who does not speak fluent English must be translated by an impartial third party if not a certified court interpreter.  The hearing adjourned after Alberto pled not guilty to all charges and had his rights explained to him.  The trial date has been set for October 17, 2011.  After the hearing Brian and the prosecutor were going back and forth about his offer of 74 months (6 years) which Brian turned down.  That’s when the victim’s advocate chimed in that 85 months (7 years) was what Alberto would get for his crime and cackled coldly.  I pinned the woman down with a cold glare that had her swallowing uncomfortably, which I must admit gave me a small thrill.  Never underestimate the power of silence in combination with a strong glower.  I wonder if she has guessed who I am at this point since I still have not spoken within her hearing.

The interpreter was a lovely woman named Natalí who actually talked to me for a few minutes about Alberto.  She asked if he was my boyfriend and I told her he was my husband.  Natalí then asked Brian if he needed help with Alberto for a visit to talk about the case.  Brian stated that he had me for that, but he would let her know if he needed help with anything else during our case.  Natalí turned to me and asked if Alberto spoke a lot of English and I responded that he really did not speak much at all.  As we departed the elevator, Natalí glanced back at me curiously as though she didn’t quite know what to make of me.  I enjoy not fitting the typical white American girl mold. 

It appears that Brian is going to attempt to bring me on an official visit as his interpreter/paralegal so that we can talk to Alberto about who might make a good witness to what actually happened that night.  Brian says we need witnesses besides Caña that can attest to the fact that Alberto was not involved in the incident.  I returned to work and processed documents until my head was pounding more than a high school drum line.  I’m not sure how I managed to get through work as the pain kept growing and growing.  I was wearing my sunglasses in under an hour and had my ear buds in without any music on to block out sounds.  I ran out of the door as soon as 6 o’clock arrived and left to get my best girl.  When I arrived, I wasn’t going to say anything about the hearing since Gisela apparently forgot, but I’m a glutton for punishment.  I asked Gisela to talk to Anton about testifying in October, which started another tirade about what really happened that night and how corrupt our justice system is.  Someone save me from stubborn Mexican women because I am at the end of my tolerance.  Ashley started crying while Gisela was yammering and my head was throbbing so I left without so much as a hasta luego.  I made myself a note to apologize for that later.  Ashley slept through dinner again and went to bed at 8:30pm.  A mere 10 hours later I woke up a new person, thanking the inventor of Aleve with all my heart.

I should probably make an appointment with the psychiatrist and talk about the migraines; maybe she has an idea about getting rid of them without having to sleep for at least an hour.  I have until October 17th to get myself into a less rounded shape for court so let’s get to it!

“Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.”

Martin Luther King Jr

Ciao amiguis!

Interesting Spanish words/phrases from this post:

Taquería:                         Taco Shop

Una Mujer Amarga:          A bitter woman

Hasta Luego:                   Bye, See you later

Amiguis:                          Venezuelan slang for a preppy girl’s best friends (according to urban dictionary), a cute way of saying friend (amigo/amiga)