One thousand gifts challenge, week 6

86. Hunger Games premiere (at midnight) — yes, that was a couple weeks ago, but I forgot to put it on the list

87. Being with family (immediate and extended) for Easter — and my aunt looking great and feeling well enough to be with us and eat!

88. Finding an old gift card that still has money on it

89. The home button working (somewhat consistently) on my iPhone

90. Stephen sweetly cleaning out my iPhone and case after I mentioned that it still had colored powder in it from the Color Run

91. OH! Being able to eat sweets/sugar/desserts again because the 40 day fast is over!

92. Part of Poplar Pike/Park being repaved in Memphis — a lovely unexpected surprise

93. Homemade food (thanks for cooking, Mom)

94. Pineapple (Mom send me home to Kennesaw with a whole one — yum)

95. Good discussion at last week's Bible study, even with a small turn out

96. Being reminded that good discussion and "success" isn't dependent upon the number of students at Bible study

97. Summer conference filling up quickly — so glad to see students excited about a week of fellowship and teaching

98. Mindless TV. Sometimes you just need to turn your brain off for a bit.

99. Not having to get my windshield replaced (I have a couple new cracks in it — but no new windshield yet)

100. Jerry's Sno Cones in Memphis with my brother and cousins

101. Being home with my family this past weekend

102. My campus minister graciously encouraging me to read my Bible this past week

103. The tankini that I needed being on sale at Target (hello summer conference!)

104. Friends and family who are good listeners and graciously put up with me

105. Gas not being $4/gallon yet

106. Pash getting to enjoy Scotland and England this week with our cousin Mary Ellen

107. My mom doing incredibly sweet things for me this past weekend — like just being at home and sitting with me and doing my laundry (even washing my dirty Color Run shoes!)

108. My dad doing incredibly sweet things for me this past weekend — like filling up my tank with gas and making sure I had enough oil in my car

109. Beautiful photography — like these wonderful photos from Annalissa and Rob's wedding (http://www.sullyclemmer.com/2012/04/mississippi-wedding-annalissa-rob/)

110. Coming home to Kennesaw today to find a package and kind note from Adam's dear parents. They have no idea, but it was exactly what I needed.

111. Safety in traveling home to Memphis for Easter (and traveling back to Kennesaw)

112. My iPod — helps keep me company on long car trips

113. Podcasts and sermons — I listened to Brian Habig, Nathan Tircuit, & Brian Sorgenfrei this weekend thanks to iTunes/iPod/technology. Wonderful.

114. Smiling at my reflection in the mirror when I see the stray strands of pink in my hair left over from the Color Run (although to be completely honest, I'm a little ready for it to go away)

115. Chocolate

116. Being home at Riveroaks for Easter and Good Friday services

One thousand gifts challenge, weeks 4 & 5

Well, I had it going for three weeks in a row ... oh well.

65. More amazing weather. It really does seem like spring (well, summer) is here to stay. I hate cold weather, so this makes me incredibly happy.

66. Kennesaw RUF started ministry team interest meetings, and we've got students coming! Praise Jesus.

67. Being reminded of the basics of RUF/thankful for what it stands for.

66. Kennesaw's SABAC (Student Activities & Budget Advisory Committee) awarded RUF money so that we can scholarship students for RUF summer conference! (How amazing is that?! I've never heard of a school that does this.) We had one of our students go present to the committee and tell them about summer conference, why we go, what we learn, why it's good to take students, how it builds community, etc., and then we were awarded money.) This money greatly enables RUF to take more students and offer a reduced price to an awesome conference. We currently have 19 students signed up (and 2 more have said they're coming — they just have to register). I'm amazed and super excited.

67. On that note, it's less than 40 days until summer conference. Get me to the beach.

Our logo/t-shirt design for this year. I like it.

68. My grandmother celebrated another birthday this month! I am so thankful for her kindness, graciousness, and caring spirit.

69. Safety for our students over their spring break. Yes, it was a couple of weeks ago, and yeah, we had not one but two students end up with broken ankles (separate trips, separate incidents!), but it made me realize how fortunate we are to have all of them return back safely to Kennesaw.

70. Kiefer Sutherland being back on TV. (Is that shallow? Oh well. Anyone else watching Touch? I'm intrigued. And Jack Bauer is the man.)

71. Celebrating lots of birthdays this past month — not just my grandmother, but several of my students AND my boyfriend!

72. Traveling mercies to Birmingham (with bad weather), then to Jackson, then back to Birmingham, then back to Kennesaw — all in one weekend.

73. The reason I did all that traveling — to be part of one of my dear roommate's wedding! Two of my favorite people got married and I was incredibly blessed to be part of their wedding. Rob and Annalissa, it was a joy to be with y'all and to celebrate the Lord bringing y'all together.

The four of us lived together at State our senior year. I love y'all dearly!

74. Seeing and catching up with lots of dear friends at the wedding. Y'all are an incredible encouragement and blessing to me, and I miss y'all!

75. Having a free place to stay in Jackson — thanks Amy!

76. Being back in Mississippi for a bit. (It's not home, and I don't want to move back, but I do miss it and enjoy visiting.)

77. Stephen getting interviews/applications in with several companies. (Add him to your prayer list for jobs please!)

Team RUF Runners ready for the Atlanta Color Run: Jessie, Mallory, Lexi, me, Chelsea, Anna, Jen, & Kayla.

78. Getting to run in the Atlanta Color Run with some of Bible study girls and Jen! SO FUN. Memphis and Nashville friends — y'all gotta do the ones there in October. (And side note, those of who know me should realize that me agreeing to do a 5K is huge. Granted, I didn't get to run the whole thing due to lots of walkers/it being super crowded/strollers/a super narrow path for running, etc., but I found myself wanting to run more of it! What? Who am I?!) On another note — I'm still trying to wash the pink and blue out of my hair (six washes and it's still there!), so please forgive the random color streaks in my hair.

Jen, Kayla, me, Lexi, and Anna after the race!

79. The Lord watching over my aunt who had surgery to remove cancer this weekend. (Add her to prayer list too, please.)

80. Catching up with a couple of people via phone this week. (Thank y'all for bearing with me and my terrible phone skills.)

81. Spicy salsa (like "clear out your sinus cavities" spicy). Hit the spot this week.

82. Baking (Specifically this week, baking a cake for birthdays. Don't you love how it makes the house smell so good? Mmm.)

83. The fact that my fast from sweets/desserts is almost over. I'm so tempted to cave. I've forgotten what chocolate tastes like.

84. The apartment pool area staying open — as you can see from the photo, we can't swim in it yet (not that I'm big on that anyway), but catching the sunshine rays and getting some much-needed vitamin D? Yes please.

No water = they do not want us swimming yet

85. My not-so-little Honda Passport hit 189,000 miles today. Thankful that it's still running and doing well.

One thousand gifts

Three weeks in a row — woohoo!

44. My parents celebrated 29 years of marriage this week. I don't think I have to say anything else — that's pretty impressive. I'm thankful for them and for the godly example that they've been.

45. Veggies at the school cafeteria that aren't soaked in salt

46. Strawberries AND blueberries on sale this week at Kroger (side note: blueberries were my favorite snack as a kid. Mom used to stick a big bowl on them on the kitchen table and I'd finish them off — but oddly enough, I named my favorite doll "Strawberry," not "Blueberry")

47. Aloe (I got sunburned last week!)

48. Daffodils blooming on campus

50. Trees, flowers, grass, etc. blooming everywhere

51. Allergy medicine to help with all that blooming (today's pollen count is over 9,000! yuck!)

52. Ladies Bible study — the insight, encouragement, and fellowship it provides for me

53. A lit and safe pathway at the park for early evening runs

54. Grace (and a little bit of wisdom) in listening and participating in some hard conversations

55. Growing relationships with my girls

56. Not just knowing but seeing God at work in the lives of students

57. Hymns — thankful for them for lots of reasons, but here's two thoughts: 1. Glad I grew up in a church and a family where we sang them all the time 2. Glad my church, family, voice teacher, and choir teachers taught me the importance of memorizing the words — which all came back to me this weekend while singing a baby to sleep!

58. A long hike with good conversations, fellowship, and rain (and safety during the last two miles where we hiked back on the road to our car!)

59. The marriage conference at Midway Pres last weekend

60. Home cooked food at that conference — it's been a big fruit, oatmeal, cafeteria food, and cereal week, so it was especially exciting to get good food

61. The book of Deuteronomy — it's part of the RUF Bible reading program this month, and Chris is preaching through the Ten Commandments this semester. I haven't read it in a while ... and it's nice to be "rediscovering" it.

62. Finding a knee brace for my 90 year-old knees — and I can run (pretty well) while wearing it!

63. Red Gatorade (the not so sugary kind. I forgot the actual name)

64. Lots of glorious sunshine last week and this week

One Thousand Gifts Challenge, week 2

The One Thousand Gifts challenge continues:

21. My supporters. I got to send out newsletters this past week, and it's a joy and blessing to be able to thank God for each one of them as I fold, sign, and seal their letters. Words cannot express how incredibly grateful I am for each one of them.

22. Sharpie pens. My fav. I always keep a couple on hand, and I used them a lot this week for newsletter duty.

23. Friends who are kind enough to proofread my personal statement (for grad school) on super short notice and give me good feedback. (Thanks, Kyle, April, and Hannah!)

24. My alma mater — for many reason, but here's one unique one: Mississippi State plants a tree for every student (and faculty member) who dies before they finish school/while working at school. (They get permission from the family to do so, but the university pays for it and puts a plaque up under the tree.) I always thought that was really special, and it just adds to the beauty of the campus. Last week, my journalism adviser posted a photo of the one they planted for my friend Adam. It will look absolutely gorgeous in the fall.

The tree looks a little scrawny without leaves, so here's the plaque.

25. Yogurt. Yep, that simple.

26. Good conversations with friends — specifically Rebekah, Katy, April, & Amy in the last two weeks.

27. Being able to share a former struggle/hardship with someone (and trusting that part of the reason the Lord put me through it is to help and share with others).

28. Spring break. Being able to take a break.

29. Seeing Stephen for a whole weekend.

Final UT home game this season — and they won!

30. Traveling mercies while driving to Knoxville. The weather was pretty nasty, and I missed all of it.

31. Stephen fixing the messed up screws on my MacBook. (They weren't put in properly after I had my battery replaced, and it had been bothering me for months.)

32. A great church service in Knoxville last Sunday with a challenging message on forgiveness.

33. New brakes for my car, and the Goodyear guys who looked out for me and my safety.

34. RUF for doing such a wonderful job of loving its employees and taking great care of us. They have really displayed the love and character of Christ to me, and are incredibly patient and gracious.

35. Pandora while I work, cook, clean, and study.

36. Reading the chain e-mails in my intern class and seeing how the Lord is blessing our crew with jobs, entering seminary, marriages, and a call to a third year of the internship.

37. On that note, especially thankful for my crew of third year RUF interns. There's going to be a good number of us, and I'm really excited about serving with them for another year.

38. This sweet kid:

Don't worry — she's not mine.

39. The Gospel Coalition, specifically, its wonderful website with blogs, resources, and much more.

40. Having my parents and sister in town for a weekend, getting to hang out, eat, and explore.

41. Finding another ticket to The Color Run 5K so that Jen can join us.

42. The promise of 80 degree weather this week.

43. Sandals/flipflops — and being able to wear them again!

One thousand gifts challenge

So if you haven't read One Thousand Gifts, you really should. It's a NY Times Bestseller, an Amazon bestseller, and USA Today bestseller — but most importantly, the author is a Christian woman who clearly really loves Jesus and is committed to sharing joy, despite life's hardships. (And this book isn't all lovey-dovey — she's gone through some REALLY hard things in her life.) She has a great blog, and she's issued a challenge to her readers to list their blessings via blog once a week — totaling 1,000 for the year.

Obviously, I'm a little behind on the challenge (but apparently, you can start whenever, so I'm not really that behind) ... but better late than never, right? She has these great little banners that you're supposed to put on your site, but I can't get the image to show up on my blog — oh well. So, 1,000 blessings in a year means listing 20 per week ... wish me luck! Here's the list for this past two weeks:

1. Thankful for the ministry of NightLight Atlanta (and many other groups) working to end human trafficking in Atlanta, & glad I get to partner with them in a 40 Day Fast (I gave up sugar/sweets and fried food!)
2. Three of the Kennesaw RUF ladies are joining me in that fast — it is much easier to fast knowing that others are keeping you accountable!
3. Glad to be writing again — freelancing at World on Campus a little bit
4. The Green at Kennesaw's campus. We had an absolutely gorgeous day last week, and it brought hundreds of students outside to play.
5. Sweet friends who call and text to say hi
6. A precious note from Adam's sweet mom
7. Lots of blessings to write about in my spring RUF newsletter
8. E-mails from the office reminding me that summer conference is just around the corner (doesn't the beach and sunshine and good teaching sound wonderful?)
9. Getting to share about RUF with my church here in Kennesaw
10. Running twice without my knees hurting
11. Running a couple of times with my knees hurting — thankful that I have knees that still allow me to be active!
12. Fruit being on sale at Kroger (especially since I've given up desserts)
13. Finding my favorite gloves that have been missing for two weeks
14. E-mail. It's just a great invention.
15. Reduced fat Cheeze-Its. (They're still not good for you, but I am thankful for their deliciousness.)
16. The fact that mold hasn't come back to our apartment (after a long saga of deep cleaning, cutting holes in the walls and ceilings, finding the leak/problem, putting in new drywall, and repainting)_
17. The fact that I live in a nice complex with great repairmen who did all the work listed above. It would have been really bad if I had to do all that on my own.
18. StrangeBrew coffee (and the fact that they ship so I can have it every morning)
19. A weekend away in Townsend with Stephen and his mom
20. Valentines from Jake & Cole, and my parents

Dear Reflector crew (and anyone else who saw my Facebook profile picture today)

Photo credit: CJ LeMaster

Today marks the second year that I'm without a dear friend and college coworker, Adam. If you saw my Facebook profile picture change to the Radiohead bear today, this letter (see below) will help explain why. (You can read what I've previously written about Adam here, or read April's two blog posts here, or read Hannah's blogpost here. You can also read the editorial Kyle wrote the week that everything happened here.)

Today, The Reflector crew is celebrating Adam in Starkville by reading Dr. Seuss's "Oh The Places You'll Go!" in their staff meeting. They're also eating cupcakes from the State Fountain Bakery. (April and I thought it wouldn't be a proper reading or celebration without some delicious bakery sweets.) Most of them are younger, so they never had the chance to know Adam. April and I crafted this letter to help them understand why they're celebrating. 

To my family and friends — I love y'all dearly and am so thankful for each one of you. The Lord has used y'all mightily in my life, and I am a better person for knowing each of you. 

Today is my personal reminder to love others well and love them out loud. Don't ever forget to tell each other how grateful and thankful you are for each other, and be quick to encourage one another. 

Dear Reflector crew,

            We hope today is a little bit of a celebration. (Hope the delivery helps y’all celebrate since we can’t be there in person to help!) After talking about it, we realized most of y’all never knew Adam, and that’s a shame. Adam was one of those people who you love to have in the office. He was a hard worker, and went above and beyond his job description to make our lives easier. He was great at his job, and continually looked to make The Reflector better. There were so many little things he did behind the scenes simply because he wanted us to be better — he saved us so many times by catching little embarrassing errors. He always wanted the finished product to be the very best we could do.

            Adam was a great friend. You know how y’all pull those crazy long hours and don’t get any decent food? (not to mention sleep, social time outside of the office, weekends off, etc.) Adam was quick to go grab Abner’s, Zaxby’s, etc. (in other words, good, off campus food) — and he did so night after night, and would even buy you food if you couldn’t pay him back right away.

            He was really thoughtful and looked out for us. During his final year at the paper, several of us on staff couldn’t drive to campus — we walked or carpooled with roommates every day. On late nights or rainy afternoons, Adam willingly took all of us to our houses and apartments. He wouldn’t hear of us walking home alone in the dark.

            Losing Adam was devastating. He was an incredible asset to our team, and brought lots of laughter, hard work, diligence and talent to our group. When we lost him, we lost a family member. But instead of dwelling on how hard it was to lose him, we’ve chosen to remember a dear friend who loved us well and encouraged us to do our best at work. While most of you never knew him, we hope you can get a glimpse of just how special he was. You would have loved to be on staff with him.

            We could go on and on about how great Adam was, but we would need a whole ream of paper from Ms. Denise. :) So please ask Hannah, Julia, or Mrs. McDavid for some of their stories — and listen to them. In honor of Adam, enjoy the reading (as Hannah will tell you, the book is courtesy of Adam’s sweet parents) and the bakery treats. (They were some of Adam’s favorites … but then again, he liked almost everything from the bakery!) Feel free to blare Radiohead in your car, dance to Lady Gaga, ride a Bully Bike through the office, change your InDesign language to Russian, wear a cheap plastic ring on your finger all day, steal Julia’s scarf and dress up with it, re-hide the “Sword of Truth” somewhere in the office, write each other funny notes on yellow Post-Its and paste them all over the Macs, go take random photos, fall out of your chair at the office, come up with hilarious headlines and cutlines, make a ReflectorCat house ad … you get the idea.

            Most importantly, remember to tell each other that you’re thankful for one another and be grateful you get to spend time with each other. Rally around each other and encourage one another. (And this doesn’t just apply to your coworkers. Tell your friends, your family, those who you care about and those who care about you.) Don’t let people forget that you love them and are thankful for them. We know it sounds cheesy, but we mean it — don’t regret never taking the time to tell someone how grateful and appreciative you are for them, and how much they mean to you.

            We’re thankful for y’all and love y’all. We hope you celebrate Adam, friendship, good work, laughter and memories today.

Love,

April (Editor in Chief, class of 2011) and 

 Aubra (Managing Editor, class of 2010)

Why I didn't pull a Liz Lemon for jury duty

"I don't really think it's fair for me to be on a jury because I can read thoughts."

- 30 Rock's Liz Lemon (Tina Fey)

Fair warning: this is a little long. Several of my friends and students asked me to blog about my experience, and I promised to do so. (Y'all should comment so that I actually believe you read my blog!)

Back in November, I blogged about getting a summons for jury duty. It wasn't my most favorite Memphis experience ever, but it wasn't awful. I was thankful to be able to "choose" my time slot (they give you a chance to sign up for certain weeks, and I got my second preference), and was thankful that I had a friend serving the same week as me.

In December, I decided it would be wise and way cheaper to use Megabus instead of driving myself to Memphis and spending $100+ on gas. I booked a round-trip ticket for $15.50. (That's right: Atlanta to Memphis, Memphis to Atlanta for $15.50. If you travel, you really should check them out — they're legit, not sketchy, and the buses are clean and have outlets & free WiFi.) I worked it out to park at my friend Erin's house for the week, and she was graciously going to take me to the bus stop (you can't park your car there). Mom would pick me up Monday night, and was going to let me drive her car all week. She would take me back to the bus stop on Saturday morning, and Rachael would pick me up in Atlanta that afternoon, then I'd head back to Kennesaw. Simple.

That Monday was MLK Day. I had RUF staff meeting that morning, and was on the interstate just before noon. Typically, it takes me about 30-40 minutes to get to the bus stop, and my bus was leaving at 1:30. Assuming I didn't hit major traffic, I was going to be fine. But after five months of living this close to Atlanta, I should have known — never ever ever assume you're not going to hit major traffic. Leave way earlier than you need to — not just 45 minutes.

At 12:40, I exited the interstate and had three miles to drive to get to Erin's. I sat in traffic for 20 minutes because I had to drive right by an MLK center, and it was clearly having a program or something. When I got to Erin's, it was 1 p.m. We parked my car and headed out. We only had to go 2.3 miles to get to the stop, and Google Maps said there wasn't any traffic.

(Sometimes, Google Maps lies. I'm sure it's an accident, but it still happens.)

Low and behold, downtown Atlanta was packed. There was an MLK 5K that day, which caused lots of streets to be blocked off. Since the 5K was there, the Occupy Atlanta movement (still going strong here) had been moved a bit, causing more streets to be blocked off. (And no, Google Maps was still not showing any blinking red lines on the traffic maps. I checked.)

Erin was awesome, and kept driving until we found a way to get to the bus stop. Only problem — it was now 1:28. I jumped out of her car and ran up the first attendant I saw: "Is this the bus to Memphis?" The woman looked at me like I was nuts. "Nope." She pointed way down the street. "That one was."

Fail. I could still see the bus as it drove down the street. Fail.

Erin drove me back to her house, and I promptly got back into my car and drove myself to Memphis. So much for saving money on gas. (Don't worry about me spending money — see the end of this post.)

I arrived in Memphis that evening with no problems — just tired and not super happy with myself for missing the bus. Oh well. It was nice to see my parents, eat home cooked food, and watch TV on the couch before going to bed.

The next morning, I had to report at 8:30. I got up at 6:45 (ouch), ate, and had pulled out of my driveway by 7:35 — a little later than I had planned, but still good to go. I knew where I was going, and I knew where I wanted to park.

According to the radio, there were not one, not two, but THREE major accidents within a span of four miles from my house. My little easy 30 minutes-tops-straight-shot down Poplar turned into a nightmare. It took me 30 minutes to go about four miles — but after that, it was smooth sailing.

Almost.

So I'm literally a block from the Justice Center. I can see the building, I can see the expensive parking areas — I'm sitting at a red light at Danny Thomas and Poplar, and it's 8:12. I've cut it a little close, but I'm totally going to make it.

And then the light turns green. And then I hit the gas. And then ... my car won't go.

I almost burst into tears. For those of you who don't know me well — I am not a crier. (If you've ever seen me cry, it's because: 1. You're family. 2. You've seen me at a funeral. 3. You're a former roommate. 4. You worked with me at The Reflector during the 2010 spring semester. 5. You're someone I really love and trust. 6. A combination of the previous five statements.)

What did I do? Exactly what any girl does when something goes wrong — called Mom, then called Dad. Hands shaking, hazard lights flashing, wordlessly apologizing to everyone at the intersection, eyes watering uncontrollably, voice shaking over the phone — Mom graciously agreed to come meet me, but told me to call Dad to ask what to do with the car.

It's 8:21 and all I can think is, "They're totally putting out a bench warrant for me. They're filing contempt of court, and there's going to be a warrant for my arrest." Ridiculous, huh? (In all honesty, yes, they do this, but not if you're 15 minutes late. Duh.)

I called the justice department's secretary and informed her that my car had died, but I would be there as soon as I possibly could. Then I had the presence of mind to turn my car off and try restarting it.

Praise Jesus — it started right up, and I promptly pulled into the closest (and most expensive) parking lot I could find. There was $5 parking around the corner, but I didn't care — my car had made it into a parking lot, and I was not going to risk it dying again just to save $7.

I jogged past 201 Poplar (that's the infamous jail/criminal courthouse for all you non-Memphians, and good gracious, it is a sight to behold on a Tuesday morning after a long holiday weekend!) and jumped straight into a room of 400 other jurors. Not a seat to be found — oh well, no worries. That's what I get for being late.

Side note and slight rant here — not one man offered to give me his seat. In all honesty, I didn't mind; I'm 24 years old, healthy, and perfectly able to stand. (Good thing — those of us who were late ended up standing for almost three hours!) The thing that killed me was that many women came in right after me, and they were all older than me. One woman was on oxygen — and still not one man offered her his seat. To every healthy guy I know: If I ever see you do this, I'm revoking every single one of your man cards and you will not get them back. Ever. I'm serious. I know chivalry is not dead. I just spent five days in New York and (on several occasions) watched men offer their seats to women on crowded subways. Seriously guys — be a gentleman and offer the woman your seat, especially if she's over age 50 and especially if she's on oxygen!

OK, back to the jury duty tale. After three hours of listening to the commissioner, the rules, a judge thanking us for serving, lots of dumb questions (never ceases to amaze me what people want to know), and a roll call that took 20 minutes (it was hilarious to see adults trying to re-master this elementary skill), they started calling us for juries.

Guess who got called in the last round for criminal court, circuit 9?

"Oh, it's a criminal case, but it's probably just something little," I remember thinking as I followed the deputy.

After getting escorting upstairs and waiting for 30 minutes, the woman next to let out a low gasp. "Do you know who that is?" she whispered, pointing to a lawyer who had just exited our courtroom.

"No ma'am — I'm guessing a well-known lawyer?"

She whispered a name, looked at my confused face, and said, "He was one of Mary Winkler's lawyers!"

Uh oh. I suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that this case I was about to serve on wasn't going to be something little. (And if you're not familiar with Mary Winkler, in a nutshell: she shot & killed her husband, served a little time, and now has her three children back with her. I never cite Wikipedia, but in this cases, just read the Wikipedia entry for further details. It made national news, but I knew about it mainly because of all the Memphis/local attention.)

Three hours later (they gave us two hours for lunch, and we had to wait another hour), the deputy announced to our group of 40 that 14 of us had been randomly selected by the computer as the first potential jurors (12 jurors, 2 alternates).

Guess who was juror #7?

My juror badge. It's now serving me as a bookmark.

I filed into the courtroom and took my seat in the jury box. Besides one young man sitting behind two lawyers (I figured he was the accused, and it turns out that he was), I looked like I was the only one in my twenties. I tried not to fidget under the bright spotlights and tried to be still in the wooden swivel chair as the judge began to talk to all of us. (But hey, I had been in a car for 6.5 hours the day before, then spent 3 hours standing that morning. I don't think I was very still. Oh well.)

His voice took a deeper turn as he said the charges were very serious.

I had joked with people about what I would do if I found out it was a murder trial. Personally, I think it would be hilarious to pull a Liz Lemon — minus the whole "everything you say is under oath, so don't lie because we'll send you to jail." Yeah. I was not about to do that ... but good grief, I did not want to get sequestered! (30 Rock fans — the full 30 second video of Tina Fey is here.)

The case wasn't murder. It was rape, which, as the judge said, "Rape is next worse thing to murder. In some cases, it might even be worse."

Yikes. This is not what I wanted for my first jury duty.

The judge talked to us for about 20 minutes, and then the prosecution got up and talked to us. The prosecution was two female lawyers from the state — persuasive, pretty, and poised. (Like my cheesy alliteration? I couldn't resist. It was all true. I love the classiness and poise of female lawyers — ignore my sweeping generalization.) Two men made up the defense — and yes, one of those lawyers is a well-known Memphian who was one of Mary Winkler's lawyers! (He wasn't the one who had walked out earlier, but they're partners in the same firm.) The men weren't quite as charming — in fact, it was really hard to hear the main one when he spoke to us, and he looked really tired.

The judge and both sides asked us questions for at least an hour. We were all required to give our names, our occupations, if we had a significant other (spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend), what our significant other's occupation was, and how long we had been together. Both sides took turns asking us questions — some personal like, "Have you ever been directly affected by a sexual crime?" and "Have you had any significant trauma in your life? If so, please elaborate" and some not as personal like, "So, Ms. Whitten, you work with college-aged girls? Does your job involve a lot of listening and meeting with girls?"

Yeah, after answering that question with a definitive "yes," I figured I was getting kicked off the jury. Excellent.

The deputy gave each side a slip of paper to write down names for preemptory challenges. (This means that both sides get the chance to kick of jurors without saying why.) It took the defense a while to decide, but the prosecution was quick. The judge read out five names — and mine wasn't one of them.

Rats.

Then it got quiet again, and those of us still left on the stand tried to figure out what was going on ... oh, both sides had another piece of paper ... so there's a round two.

Apparently the prosecution wrote a big "0" because they were finished in all of five seconds. The defense took forever. That's when my curious/journalist brain started going: I looked at those of us left and noticed that I was the only woman left on the jury who had said, "Yes, I have a boyfriend." Hmm. That made me think it was a boyfriend/girlfriend case. Three of the five kicked off admitted to knowing the "famous" defense lawyer and/or had a family member who he had represented. A fourth juror who said she was probably going to sympathize with the victim was kicked off. (That's one foolproof way to get yourself kicked off a trial!) The fifth juror seemed visibly tired and her job involved lab reports/tox screens at a hospital — though she said she never worked with rape kits.

Then the judge called out my name and another woman's name.

Yesssssssss!

The prosecution lawyers looked at the two of us sadly as we walked out (I think they thought we would have been sympathetic to their client) and whispered, "Sorry. Thanks, ladies."

We waited outside the courtroom, and the deputy came back outside. "Good news. Y'all are good to go home. See you in ten years and thanks for doing your civic duty."

As I walked back to my car (which started right up!), I should have found myself pretty irritated over the fact that I paid $15.50 for a bus I missed, spent $65 on gas (so far — that was just one-way), had my car die, pay $12 for parking and $7 for lunch in the rain (jurors only get paid $11/day in Memphis), stood for three hours because I was late, get assigned to criminal court, and then almost get placed on a rape trial. Instead, I found myself laughing at the craziness of all of it and thanking Jesus that my car had died in Memphis that day and not the day before in the middle of nowhere Alabama or Mississippi.

Thanks to my car woes, I stayed in Memphis for a few days getting it repaired. $495 later, it is running great! (It had been revving occasionally for months ... it doesn't do that anymore. Excellent.) And don't worry about the money for the repair and gas— my RUF account is healthy and has an emergency fund, so we are good to go. I will not be forced to eat ramen and crackers for the next month. (Have I mentioned RUF takes really good care of us? They do.)

Moral of this story? If you move states (or move somewhere else in your state), change your address, but also change your car tags and driver's license. If you don't, you are legally bound to show up for jury duty! (I didn't change mine because I'm trying to keep Tennessee residency — so yes, I totally deserved having to serve this time.)

There you have it — my jury duty epic novel. Here's to hoping I don't get summoned for federal court anytime soon.