So I started this child abuse case on Tuesday. We closed today, and the jury started deliberating at about 3:15 p.m.. Then at 4:15 I talked to the clerk, and she was like, "Don't go anywhere, the jury said they just needed five more minutes." So I was happy, because an hour is a good deliberation time. But then the clerk called me back at 4:25 and said they had to send the jury home, because they couldn't decide on a verdict.
Now I'm going nuts. I keep replaying my closing statement in my head and wondering what I should have done differently. The fact that it's a child abuse case makes it even more depressing.
All my other cases, the jurors took between one to three hours, so I'm not used to an overnight wait. And I don't like having my thoughts dwell on child abuse. Ugh.
It was very special. They had in on the beach at Waimanalo Bay. Captain Howie presided. It was just Becky, Carol, Becky's parents, Carol's brother and his wife, Becky's friend Gina, Brian, and me. I don't have a ton of photos, because I only brought my iPhone, not our camera. But here's Becky and Carol with Cpt. Howie to the right. Carol's brother is on the left. They're looking at their commitment ceremony certificate.
Anyway, it was beautiful. Congratulations, Beckle! :)
I think our house has gotten warmer without the trees. The sun beating down on the house makes it hotter than before when we had four trees shading us. Brian doesn't think so, though.
I'm in the middle of a trial and when I get home from work, I try to relax as best I can. So yesterday, I bought a book. Bringing Down the House, the inspiration for the movie 21. The movie didn't get good reviews. But the book is interesting. I'm fascinated by the concept of casino workers overlooking these MIT students as card counters, because the students don't fit the stereotype. We really do live our lives based on perception instead of reality, sometimes.
Here you can see Kokohead as you look Leeward toward land from the trail:
As you hike around the hill, the noise of traffic disappears. You look out east over the ocean. The water is a gorgeous blue.
The area is a monsoon ecology, with heavy rain during part of the year that allows a lot of grassy vegetation to grow. Then for the rest of the year, it's dry. All the grass dies. There is some cactus.
Here is a view of the lighthouse from above:
From the top of the hill, you can look Leeward and see the cliffs over Waimanalo. Our friends are getting married in Waimanalo in a few weeks.
I had no idea how this photo would turn out. But it turned out quite well. You can see two little off-shore islands. I like how they're nesting. You can also see the parking area at the bottom of the hill.
Here is a photo I took as we were going back down. You can see the paved trail. Apparently the military made the road out of concrete and lava rock. Then, when the area became a park, they paved over the road and it became a trail.
Here is Brian taking a shortcut down the hill. At various places on the hill, there are old military installations. Bunkers, storage sheds, and other random buildings made of concrete. Oahu is funny that way. You'll be in the middle of the jungle, and then suddenly come across an abandoned military building. Good for conspiracy theorists.
Ah, I slept really well last night. We should go for hikes more often.
Ah, we've gone an entire day without eating at a restaurant. Feels good. I imagine my parents are back to cooking, too.
Ah. Long day. I took a few days off last week when my parents were in town. Then I went back to work today after the long Memorial Day weekend. Thick stack of paperwork piled on my chair, lots of new files. I worked hard all day to catch up. Now I can finally relax. I just want to be left alone in quiet. But the dogs and the husband need walking. So soon I shall rush out the door.
Yay, I'm posting on a Wednesday for the first time in like five weeks. I don't know why I never post in the middle of the week. Guess there's just more to talk about on the weekend.
Brian is dealing with Blue Cross medical insurance. They sent us a letter saying that they owe us money. We have no clue what for. I almost wonder whether it might be a scam. But it's the kind of billing issue that seems pleasant.
There was this one time we got a letter from the IRS saying that there was a law firm that wanted to contact us to give us money. We thought, yeah, right. But it actually turned out to be true. Brian's work had negotiated certain benefits from an insurance provider, and the provider had overcharged the workers. We got money back. So sometimes those scammy letters are real.
Parents flew in today from the mainland. B and I took them out to eat, then dropped them back off at their hotel to sleep. Silly five hour time difference. Plus my mother stayed up all night Monday night packing. Here's wishing them happy sleep.
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List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to.
1. Silent Shout by The Knife
2. Love in the Year 3000 by The B-52s
3. One Week by Barenaked Ladies
4. Dizz Nee Land by Dada
5. I Got a Man by Positive K
6. The Way I Are by Timbaland
7. Disko Boy by Shantel
My friend Rob got in to law school! I'm so happy for him. I was telling a mutual acquaintance that Rob really deserved to get into law school. Then I corrected myself and said Rob really deserves to be happy... nobody really deserves law school per se. :)
I spent all day today working on one case. That is highly unusual in my job. Prosecutors have tons of cases, and we work on different ones all the time. But this one case is set for re-sentencing, and the judge wanted a memo. I had to research facts and law. The memo took a long time. The rough draft is done and sitting on my desk. I'll go in tomorrow and revise it. You know how you can't revise your writing right after you write it, right? :p
Huluhulu is licking Tertullian. Huluhulu is a regular Cat Wash. We should charge the neighborhood strays.
I wanted to go to a movie tonight, but Brian is still working. He wants to get his one project finished. Too bad. Maybe on the weekend. My parents are visiting next week. Maybe I can get them to go to all the movies that Brian won't go to.
It's somewhat less voggy today. I hope the ash clears by the time my parents get here. They are undoubtedly looking for a little sun. The vog really traps in the humidity. It's warm.
Unfortunately two of our trees are gone. Brian had tree guys chop them down, because the trees were growing onto our roof and making a mess. I'll miss the trees. I'll miss the shade. We don't have AC in our house. We haven't really needed it, in part because of all the shade from our trees. Now with the trees gone, I hope it doesn't get too warm.
Thorbjorn is staring at me. She is jealous of the grape popsicle I just ate. Speaking of cold food, Ben and Jerry's is now selling oatmeal cookie ice cream. Yum, it's good. :) They used to sell it at the B&J store in Ward Center, but then they stopped. Now at least we can get it in pints at the grocery store.
Well, the weather guy just said the vog should go away. I hope so. It is bothering a lot of people's breathing. I'm not sensitive to it at all. Don't know why.
Incidentally, May Day is Lei Day here in Hawai`i. Folks at Kapiolani Park got together and went for the Guiness Book of World Records longest lei. They think they did it, but it will take a few weeks for the official result. Why is that, anyway? I mean, either the lei was long enough, or it wasn't. Why does it take weeks to figure out if their lei was longer than the last longest one? Maybe some Heisenberg uncertainty flower power principle.
We are always losing drinking glasses. Brian drinks so much water, I think he wears out the glasses. Anyway, Brian just bought four new plastic glasses from the grocery store. Thorbjorn has already managed to eat one. Brian says that's OK, though, because Thorbjorn ate the orange one, and that one was the worst color. Personally I think the avocado green one I'm drinking out of right now is the worst color. But I grew up with a lot of avocado green in our kitchen, so I don't think avocado green is anything special. Orange, on the other hand, seems cheery to me.
I need a new black sweater. Somehow, I pulled a thread in my current sweater, and when I wasn't watching, the pull turned into a run. There is a long hole in my current sweater. Which is too bad. I like this sweater. It has three quarter length sleeves, so I don't have to roll them up all the time when I'm writing or typing.
I have gotten addicted to the Tudors, the Showtime cable show. I download episodes from iTunes. The current season isn't out yet. Man, the show is melodramatic and not very good. Don't know why I'm so addicted.
OK, something smells like grilled cheese. Thorbjorn ate our cheese slicer. I don't think I'd ever owned a cheese slicer before Brian bought ours a month or so ago. And we didn't own it for very long, either.
