Civic Duty part II

I reported back for Jury Duty this morning at 10:30 (took the subway - so convenient)... they called roll at 11am and told us to report back at 1:30.

Really? we get there mid-morning, and then they tell us to come back 2.5 hours later? Not enough time to really go back to work and return.

So I took a stroll thru the Civic Center. I forgot my camera (again) but i found this website with pictures of all the things I saw today (publicartinla.com/civiccenter).

Moses (representing Mosaic Law), King John with the Magna Carta & Thomas Jefferson with the declaration of Independence.

I like the stylization/art deco quality to these statues.

Nice to walk by these interesting places - I'd never notice them while driving, but on foot, I looked up and contemplated them.


Now I'd have never discovered this park had I stuck to the streets. But I decided to cut through the "Mall" area and found a nice setting with such a crashing sound coming from this massive fountain. I just fell in love with the Mid-Century stylings of this Civic Center - very angular and flat - dramatic horizontal lines and a long low profile.

It must look spectacular in May & June as the fountain is surrounded by Agapanthus plants & Jacaranda trees - the place would be all abloom in blues and purples. (unless the agapanthus flowers are white - but they're usually blue). These pictures are definitely old - the trees and landscaping are much more mature now.

There was a starbucks down in that park so I had a coffee and tried to read a book... but I felt like calling my mama (in barcelona) - she didn't call me this weekend (hmpf!) so i called. I should call more often. I want to visit her again soon.

1pm rolls around & I head back to the courthouse. Hint - if the elevators going up to the 11th floor are totally packed, take the elevators that go from the 12th to the 19th floor, and get off at the 12th and descend 1 flight of stairs... much easier than climbing 11 flights like i did 2wice last week... i hate crowded elevators!!!

1:30 - roll call. They make us wait some more. 2pm - case dismissed. What a freaking waste of 2 days. I didn't even get to run my mouth off again and get dismissed by the prosecuting attorney! we were all dismissed... guess they settled or plea bargained. oh well... no more jury duty for another year.

I took a different route to get back to the subway station... via Temple. I saw this interesting mosaic mural - a topographic map of Los Angeles. This picture doesn't do it justice at all. The colors are much richer in real life.

It's good to take different routes - I used to park near the Disney hall, walk along 1st street then go up on Hill to Temple.

B-O-R-I-N-G!

Gotta cut thru the park, look at the public art. Soak in the different settings... This is what life is about... Experiencing as much as you can... and if you're forced to be somewhere you really don't want to be - explore... see why something like the Civic Center was built - why it looks the way it does - what purpose does it serve... Sure, I'd never say "I want to go to the Civic Center just to sit by the fountain"... But now that I know it's there, next time I get Jury Duty - I might go and take a coffee in the park.

Doing my Civic Duty

Jury duty time.

on 9/11

It was because of 9/11 that my family all decided to become U.S. citizens. I was born in Montreal, Canada & never really applied for citizenship even though I lived here in Los Angeles since the age of 1.

Or was it because of the 1st Bush election? I can't remember now what was the catalyst...

But with Citizenship comes the right to vote, & the duty to participate in Jury service.

1st time around - about 3 years ago, I hung around all day, and was dismissed in the end. No panel selected.

This time - no such luck. I was picked at about 2:30 pm. And even though I did raise my hand and ran my mouth off about stuff that i can't talk about just yet - I wasn't dismissed.

I had my camera in the car... I should have taken it with me on my lunch break - Jurors now park in the Disney Concert Hall... and I took a "self-guided" tour of the joint. I also walked through the mall of the court houses and saw this great fountain and some fabulous mid-century architecture.

Even though the courtroom was dark and dated looking - I really did take a liking to the wood paneling and the slender vertical lines near the ceiling in the interior of the courtroom... and the way it broke around the clock... Wish I could take a picture of that. I really liked that wall. They really crank the A/C super high in there. I was freezing. maybe that's to keep people like me from falling asleep.

I'll take my camera with me next monday so I can take shots of some of the stuff that caught my eye (to post herein).

correction

Lowered Expectations was a MadTV skit.

And speaking of Lowered Expectations in regards to dating... I have such low expectations about Jdate (yes i'm still occasionally logging on to see who'll message me)... I was surprised to actually meet 2 really decent guys... (the tally of those I deigned to meet in person: 5 absolute NOs, 1 meh, 2 Yes).

that being said, i realize that I just don't know what i want! I'm not sealing the deal with anyone lately... is it because i'm simply letting these men pass through my life? I think i've reached some sort of comfort level in my singlehood that i just don't know how to open up to anyone anymore...

And for some reason, I'm not feeling overly concerned about this... I'm getting scared that I should be worried. Hmmm - i'm scared that i should be worried about not being too concerned... That's a roundabout way of thinking if i've ever seen one.

Maybe it's not them after all... must be me. Oh well - maybe that handwriting analysis guy was right after all (from that earthday post back in april)

Hurray! and Doh!

Carrington got me 2 wonderful books for my birthday... one of which I've been wanting for ages... The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook (pictured right). I was so excited to start using it... and I was going to prepare for todays shopping - find a new recipe to try out that's especially perfect for what's in season NOW.

But Thursday night, I went to my friend Lisa's to cook dinner with her. Tuesday she had me over for shrimp with this amazing salsa & broccoli.

It was my turn to cook - but since my roommate always makes the most obnoxious gagging sounds & snide comments when I cook fish - I took it to Lisa's.

I took both the above book & my other favorite from Cooks Illustrated (pictured left) and forgot them at her place.

She left for Napa this weekend.

Sigh.

But we had the most amazing Halibut!

Halibut with Chunky Tomato Salsa

INGREDIENTS

1/2	pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, each tomato quartered (about 1 cup)
1/4	teaspoon table salt
1/4	teaspoon ground black pepper
2	medium shallots , minced (about 3 tablespoons)
2	tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
3	tablespoons lemon juice
6	tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Mix tomatoes with salt and pepper in medium mixing bowl; let stand until juicy and seasoned, about 10 minutes. Whisk shallots, basil, lemon juice, and oil in small mixing bowl; add to tomatoes and toss to combine. Pour vinaigrette over pieces of cooked fish and serve immediately.

I'd just prepared this meal for my boss - so I took some of the the extra salsa with me to Lisa's - along with some spinach to wilt with garlic. (the boss got baby potatoes with butter and chopped mint & a caprese salad)...

This recipe is a keeper - so easy! and the fish didn't leave any lingering smell at all. I bought a piece of wild caught halibut - about .6/lb - came to $13 - including the tomatoes & spinach, it came to about $20 total or $10 each. a bit of a splurge - but not breaking the bank. Healthy & light.

(must get book back asap!)

This Sunday at the Market

Tomatoes!

They're looking gorgeous - so colorful and flavorful even... and I generally don't like tomatoes... but how could I resist. I bought 3. I also got:
a rainbow assortment of radishes
3 zucchini ($9 for this & the above 2)
basil ($1)
mint ($1)
watercress ($1)
mixed baby greens ($3)
broccoli crowns (2@$1)
3 pounds of apples (I asked for 2 and he gave me the extra pound gratis) ($6)
golden & red raspberries ($6)
3 pink grapefruits ($2)
1 lb. each raw almonds & raw walnuts ($15.50 total)
dates ($4 - guilty pleasure)
a jar of strawberry jam ($6 - but soooo worth it)
and a basket of figs. ($1.50)

I returned 3 empty cartons of eggs to Tomas from Lily's farms & got a chicken ($13). I also returned an empty glass jar for jam to the people i'd gotten some apple jelly from - they gave me a quarter.

I also got a pound of Bison cubes to make Bison Fondue ($10). The recipe looked interesting... I bought them despite the fact that I cancelled what was to be another meeting of our 'Diner's Club'. I popped the bison into the freezer.

On tuesday I received a text from Michelangelo:

Whenever we convene the food society again i'm coming with you to the farmers market and we're going to eat buffalo steaks ok?

I told him Sunday was the next time I'd be free, and Linder's Bison is always there. So we set sunday as the day... I asked if it was just him or if Ara was joining... he went and invited Ara... ok - no problem.

Last night (saturday) I contacted him on AIM to find out what time he'll be meeting me at the market - that I'll be getting there around 9:30...

Mike - Why so early?
Sharon - because it's from 8 til 1:30, and i don't want to go when it's too hot or too crowded
M - but i'm entertaining tonight
S - um - we had plans to shop together - what time will you be up?
M - I invited Holly too.
(now i love holly to pieces - and she's always welcome, and she always appreciates my cooking - wonderful guest)
S - At what point was I to find out about this? That's it - deal's off... I'm not shopping alone and then cooking and setting up for dinner for 4 all by my self.

I've been underemployed for too long - and I go to the effort of carefully selecting fresh, organic, seasonal, locally and hopefully ethically/sustainably grown foods... but I can't foot the bill and feed 3 other people when all they bring is a $10 bottle of wine or a box of eggo waffles.

That was $80 of groceries! not that all those items will go into one meal... but if I'd gotten 2 pounds of bison (enough for 4) that would have been about $20.

I'm over it. I was going through my cranky/blue moment - and now i'm just taking it in stride... i've mellowed... and i'm just dismissing the whole hassle of Mike... he can be so obnoxious... i should know better... i've known him for over 10 years now... washing my hands of his silliness effective immediately... and it's in print!

So much for "Lowered Expectations"...

Remember that skit from Saturday Night Live - from ages ago? it was a play on the old dating service "Great Expectations"... anywhoo - in the skit, the dating pool was from the not-so-choice candidates...

well, my friend Megan & I came up with a theory about "lowered expectations"... in the workplace.

Ever notice how the slacker gets so much praise when he/she actually decides to put in some sort of effort?

Yet the person who goes in everyday and gives 100% gets slammed if he/she has an "off" day?

I've always had a strong work ethic. I do what needs to be done. And I do it well. I give 90-100% most of the time.

But what always burned me up was the way the slacker - who bummed around and got by doing just 50% - would all of a sudden give a little extra - like 75% - Bonus Time! If I ever gave as little as 50% to 75%, I'd get chewed up and spit out.

So this is how it works... the slacker is all of a sudden doing the boss/company a favor by performing, and everyone is suddenly thrilled. whereas the hard worker is just taken for granted until the one day when he/she doesn't meet the standards - and it's time for a lecture or a meeting.

I have one job where I get the job done in a timely manner. If I ever show up on time, my boss is stunned. I work for her every wednesday - sometimes I show up at 12, sometimes at 12:15. My original start time was supposed to be 11am. But she knows - I get the tasks completed - so what does it matter what time I show up? Unless there's a specific reason why I'm needed at a certain time, I just show up whenever. I don't plan it that way... it just turns out like that.

I have another job where I work there once a week. Again - there's no set time... just 5 hours or so - as long as it takes for me to get the tasks completed. I work independently. we communicate via email or texts most of the time. She also knows I am not a morning person - and that if she ever sees me before 9 am (let alone 10) - hell must be freezing over.

Here's the problem: I just started a new job. I'm very very thankful for it, and I want to do a great job. However, there are 2 people in the company that I've worked with before. They know my work ethic and how I'm hard-working, blah, blah blah.

But they've been singing the praises of ME and telling the boss how awesome I am and how I'm the best and that he must hire me...

Way to set the bar so high.

How can I even meet those HIGH expectations? Now I'm gonna start a new job where if i ever make a mistake - the boss is gonna be thinking "dude - they told me you were the best - what's up with this?" So I have to start out of the gate performing exceptionally - where's room for improvement?

Doctor goes Green by going Pink

If you are of the male gender, you may want to skip this post...

... Finally went to the gyno today for my annual exam. apologies to anyone i may have spoken to earlier due to my testiness due to my anxiety over going to the doctor.

When i was escorted to the room, i was told to put on the gown and drape the sheet over my lap.

They were cloth!

and they were pink!

no paper gowns or paper sheets... less garbage, but it does create a different set of expenses - water usage for laundry and detergents... but this is less garbage, indeed.

very nice touch. i commented to him how i appreciated his eco-friendly change. we almost spent more time discussing the earth than we did with my exam/health. but i was happy to see him again. much better than the planned parenthood doctors who don't speak english and just grab their swabs and escort you out.