JOURNALS

Tuesday, another day of jury duty. I turned up at the court building, hoping it would be a quick in-and-out situation. Spoiler: it wasn't. The day dragged on, with me parked in the waiting room, just in case I was needed. I wasn't, of course. Sitting on those uncomfortable chairs was challenging — the laptop really doesn't balance well on your lap, despite the name.

I did manage to work a bit on the code for the zines, generating algorithms so the pages arrange correctly when folded. It was a nice little victory, especially since my creative juices haven't been flowing much with all this jury duty hanging over me. The thought of a semi-automatic zine collating system is pretty exciting, and it feels good to have made some progress there.

Being kind to myself mainly involved not pushing too hard. I just sat and let my thoughts wander. It wasn’t exactly relaxing, always feeling like I was about to be called up, but I got by. There was no sense of time to relax as you never knew when they'd need you. It's tough to unwind when you're constantly on alert.

There was a glimmer of creativity today. I didn't design any zine pages directly, but coding the system to arrange them was an unexpected delight. Turning something complex into a streamlined process was pretty rewarding. Definitely turned some stress into something constructive.

The day ended without any major changes — just more waiting and trying to find solace in small achievements. Reflecting on all the sitting around, I am grateful for the jury system, even if it's somewhat of a drag. Better to be a spare juror than to have to sit through the unpleasant details of a case.

Playing Diablo at the end of the day helped switch my brain off. The game's new pets addition is neat, a small joy to wrap up a long and boring day. Here’s hoping tomorrow brings a bit more action or, better yet, a swift end to my jury duty stint.