There's No Business, Like Show Business...

Or in my case... there's no duty, like jury duty.

So to fulfill my civic duty, I returned to my homeland (AZ) and went to the Arizona Superior Court last Monday. Good times and strange people, but it started off fun...kind of like when you go to the airport and you have enough time before getting on the plane to just sit and people watch.

So there I was sitting and people watching and my name was called. No problem there... what are the odds of me getting picked to be on the jury anyway? Slim to none. So I got my juror number, got in line, and marched upstairs with 75 other crazies to a court room.

I was towards the front of the line, so I got to sit in the juror box. I felt pretty cool, and kind of sad for the other jurors as they filed in and had to take a seat on one of the hard benches at the back of the courtroom. Not many of us would get to sit in the juror box, so I was enjoying my moment there because I knew for sure it would be short-lived. Again, what are the odds of me getting picked to be on the jury right? (I do know the statistics of this... however, I'm going to spare us all of the detailed explanation that would demand).

We all sat and answered a bunch of questions. I raised my juror number a couple of times and then judge kicked out the first round of potential jurors. Yes! I wasn't kicked off yet. I was still good enough. At that point, I couldn't see a good reason for wanting to be kicked off on the very first round. That means that you're not even fit for this kind of thing right? Obviously, I was reverting back to the idea of trying out for a music group or sports team at school. My skill set was validated, but I didn't stop to think at that point about the fact that this wasn't really a team that I wanted to be on. I was too busy enjoying my cushy chair and what I thought to be 5 minutes of fame in the jury box.

Made it through round 2; and then  round 3 - the juror pool was getting smaller. And I started to get worried. But only for a second. There were still plenty of us out here and they only need a few of us.

Then the judge asked us to all go outside while they worked towards making the final selections.

Despite my little bit of worry, I was still fairly confident as I thought again, what are the odds of me getting picked to be on the jury?

We were summoned back into the court room by the bailiff (who is hilarious, but we'll save that for another post). I was demoted from my cushy chair and all of the potential jurors that remained had to sit on the hard benches now. The judge then informed us that the trial was of medium length. Which means, that the standard 3-5 days in court thing was out the window and this trial was 3-5 weeks!

Yikes! Get me out of here...I have things to do, people to see. I don't have time to sit on a jury for 3-5 weeks!

 I really started to worry, because my mind was running through the detailed explanation of the statistical outcome that I spared us all of earlier. Long story short on that one... I was in a bad spot and statistically, my odds of being picked to be on that jury were pretty dang good.

Then my number was called.

So now I'm on a jury. And Benj, is somewhat of a prisoner here in AZ, while I'm stuck in court all day. He was a saint for putting up with grad school, but now it's set in stone while he puts up with me being in court for this long...and this whole trip was supposed to be a short vacation. 

 Anyway, I can't talk about the case or the specifics or anything with anyone, because it's part of the "Admonition" (which is also fairly entertaining, and which I'll save for another post).

So my temporary employment is now with a:

However, the judge I see every day doesn't really look like this. Too bad. If he did... maybe I really would get that chance to be in show business.

Passports

We just put in our paperwork for 2 of these beauties - I needed my name changed and Benj needed a new one.

And "why," you ask, "do we need passports?"

Well, because we're going here:

To live in this:

 For 6 weeks. 

Just kidding on where we're staying. Although I'm sure it will be beautiful, I'm positive that it won't be quite that exotic or resort-like. But hey, Belize for 6 weeks. Sounds pretty good to me. Other MBAs are packing millions of moving boxes; moving to exotic parts of the country, like Ohio; and starting new jobs. I on the other hand am packing my bag and jumping on a plane to Belize for 6 weeks. Spreadsheets, marketing strategies, bottom lines... or sunshine, tans, and a humanitarian project. I'm taking the second, thank you!

A few years ago I went to Costa Rica with friends for a few weeks. It was a lot of fun, but I loved the newness of the experience, the people, the places, and so on, the most. That's probably what I'm most excited about this time too--it's an adventure, and I'm ready for a good one!

Of course, there will be some business. We have to have some reason to go and spend that long. As part of the humanitarian project, we're working on implementing a waste management system that is both good for the environment and affordable for the community. The main part of the project will be to implement the system, but we're also looking to convert it into a micro-franchise that the locals can sustain and use to not only benefit their standard of living, but they're pocket books as well. It's not millions of dollars by any means, but if we can help a few people and make life a little better then we'll count it as a success. 

Benj really has the coolest and most important job in the project too. He's working on the business side of it with me, but he's also the microbiologist that will help in building the system and then testing the affluence that comes from the system for harmful bacteria and diseases. With his work, we'll be able to help those that use the system,how to safely take care of it, protect their environment, and keep themselves healthy. He's such a smart guy... but that's what you get when you marry a microbiologist/biochemist right? 

So, here's to looking forward to 6 weeks of fun. 6 weeks of work. And 6 weeks of helping others, learning about a new culture, living in a new part of the world, and exploring all that's out there.