Bad Times

So it has been a bad couple of weeks!

First there is jury duty. I was selected for jury duty back in February and chose to defer until August. I was out of town doing an audit in Williamsport when they wanted me to serve back in February, so I filled out the forms to defer(as long as I could). I had never been called to jury duty and I was more than apprehensive. I don't handle new things well and I didn't know what to expect. I was hoping that I wouldn't get selected and would have to report to a new panel each day (I wanted to be obligated to miss work, but didn't want to have to make any real responsible decisions). That didn't happen. I found out immediately that it was a criminal trial week. There are only 11 criminal trial weeks per year and I was lucky enough to miss the civil weeks (if you can't sense it, that's sarcasm). I was selected to the first panel of 40 and sent directly into a courtroom where the defendant, prosecutor, DA, judge, and family of both parties were present (wasn't expecting all that). They went through some questions with us (do you know anyone involved, have you heard about the case, any biases, etc.). I was lucky number 25 of 40 and by the time they eliminated people that couldn't be on the jury and then the lawyers vetoed people they didn't want on the jury, enough people had been eliminated in front of me that I was the last person to be selected to the jury! I won't go into details, but it was a murder trial. The murder happened less than 2 miles from my house (on the other side of Paxton street is where Harrisburg turns bad, quickly). He was pleading self defense and the DA was asking for first degree murder. Again, I won't go into details, but I took this case very seriously and it took a mental toll on me. After this experience I just want to say that I think you should have to pass an IQ test and personality profile before having the right to sit in judgement of the facts of a case. I didn't agree with how others came to their conclusions, but ultimately we reached the same final decision of guilty of first degree murder. That is a mandatory life sentence unless the appeal turns something up. It's something I will never forget and something I don't want to ever have to do again!

Next, the car. Jeff and I are very decisive people. I, in particular, usually know what I want, what I like, and what I don't like. However, we are also very frugal and we evaluate financial decisions very carefully before even thinking about making a final decision. We have spent months pouring over car fact reports, test driving, and pricing different types of cars. We recently decided that I will be getting a fairly gas efficient crossover/SUV. We like Nissan Muranos and Pontiac Torrents (it took a long time to get there). I want less than 30,000 miles, leather, sunroof, I'm particular on color (white, silver, or champagne exterior and tan interior) and we want to get a good deal ($15K for Nissan or $13K Torrent). So last weekend, Jeff pulls it off. He finds a 2005 Nissan Murano, white with tan interior, 34,000 miles (close enough), leather, sunroof for only $15,000! Perfect, right? You would think that, but it was in Manhattan, NY. That is only a 3 hour drive, so Jeff makes sure it is there on Saturday afternoon and we decide to make the trip early Sunday and be there when they open. Here's the devastating part, we drive 3 hours and with our luck, it was sold on Saturday afternoon! They tried to make me look at other ones, but I'm not going to settle for more miles or a different color, etc. It was awful and now we are searching again! We are considering going to auctions now, because it's really hard to find cars that aren't over priced. When you know cars are out there for less, it is so hard to spend the extra money just to get one right now. I can wait till the right one comes along, but this process is testing my patience. There's a Torrent for sale for $15K at a dealership down the street, so maybe we can talk them down a little...we'll see. It's frustrating though. I hate how when everything is scaled up you start not to care. For example, when your buying a house, $10K over what you wanted to pay doesn't seem to matter all that much. Or when you buy a car $1K over what you wanted to pay doesn't seem to matter. I have to remember that money is money and if you know you can get a better deal, you should just be calm and wait it out. I hate the waiting game!

I finally did it! I have wanted a new light in the kitchen since the day we saw the house over two years ago. I just now went and bought it. Of course they have to special order it and it won't be in for a month (because that is the way life is going these days), but if I've already waited 2 years, I think I can wait one more month. The old light hangs so low that even I hit my head on it. I think they were planning for a larger, lower kitchen table, but I didn't think there was enough room for a larger table. It's one of the few things I don't like about the house, so I'm glad it will finally get fixed. Now let's just hope Jeff and I don't electrocute ourselves switching them out. I say that as a joke, but with our mechanical/electrical skills, that is a very plausible situation. I feel the need to tell my dad every time I successfully put a bookself together. We actually called him to tell him that we successfully changed a flat tire once too. There's just something about stuff like that. It makes me feel so acomplished!

So most people know that my brother has lyme disease. He is done with his antibiotic treatments, but has lingering neck and back pain. I guess it disturbs his everyday life. It's so touch and go with him and you never really know if you can plan something with him or not. I can't really say much about it because I don't know if I know the whole story or not. I hear so much from other people and hardly anything from Brandon himself. All I know is, it's tearing my mom apart for him to be where he is. When my mom is upset, that means my grandparents are upset too...it's the trickle down effect in my family. All I can say is, I hope he starts feeling better soon b/c life can't go on the way he's living. It has to be tough, but I'm hoping this next year will bring some type of solution...I just don't know what that solution could possibly be.

Unfortunately, Jeff did not pass his CFA level II exam. He was in the top 10% of people who did not pass. I know exactly what that feels like. As everyone knows, I'm done with my CPA exams now, but I did fail one of them the first time I took that section (Regulation-Tax/Law). A 75 is needed to pass a CPA exam and I received a 73! For everyone that has taken a professional exam, you know that one is different from the next. In many ways, it's the luck of the draw. You can only study as much as you can for as long as you can and hope that you focused on the areas that they decide to pull out of a hat for the test. It's a shame he didn't answer those 1 to 4 questions differently, but oh well. The CFA isn't required for any part of his job, so it's not like we were on a strict deadline to pass it. I'm confident that if Jeff was not traveling so much in the Spring, he would have passed. This year he will just have to start sooner and try to finish up earlier in order to have more time to review. I know he hates when people say "You'll pass, your smart," because I always hated that too. The truth is, nobody knows how hard these tests are unless you've been through it. They are hell and they take so much time away from your life. I am just trying to be a supportive wife and help in any way that I can (he aced accounting this time b/c we went over and over it....that's all I can do to specifically help him on the test). I'm sure Becky understands that when Jeff has to study, that means more work for me. I tried last year and I will try again to do all the house related responsibilities while he studies. Behind every good man is a strong woman. He makes no excuses and I make no excuses for him. It's a hard test and I'm proud of him for putting in as much time as he could. It's hard to keep going after defeat, so I'm happy he's going to tough it out and try again.

So it has been a tough couple of weeks. There are other situations that have been on our minds too. Our friends seem to all be going through some things lately and it's been a lot to think about. I don't even have to say much about my job b/c we all know how I've felt lately. Plus, I have my first fantasy football draft tomorrow night. What could be more important right? I'm very excited actually. I'll have a reason to watch every single game now. I'm trying my hardest to learn as much as I can. I've come a long way over the years (you can't be married to Jeff and not like football).

Sorry to bum everyone out, but I just had to document some of the hardest weeks over the past couple of years. When it rains it pours.