Yesterday was a long day. Not because I did a lot, but because the day itself just seemed to stretch on forever. My day started at 4 a.m. when I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed, and tried to wake up enough to function. Then I went to wake up Karissa, only to discover she was already awake. Apparently, her nerves about jury duty had her up at 3 a.m. So we were both running on fumes before sunrise even happened.

The morning started off smoothly enough. Kel got up around 5:15 to drive us to the bus stop, and let me just say, she is absolutely not a morning person. But I’m happy that she drove us to the bus stop. The bus stop was only about three minutes away.

Karissa and I got on the bus, and it made a few more stops to pick up other sleepy-looking people who also appeared to be questioning their life choices that morning. We arrived in the city around 7 a.m. and walked about five minutes to the courthouse, only to discover it didn’t even open until 8. Nothing quite boosts morale like arriving somewhere early just to realize you still have an hour to kill.

Thankfully, there was a tiny coffee shop about a minute away, so we wandered over there to warm up. Karissa got a matcha lemonade while I ordered a London Fog. We both wanted breakfast, but the only food they had was pre-made burritos loaded with cheese. Karissa couldn’t eat them, and I felt bad eating one in front of her while she sat there burrito-less, so neither of us got food.

It was chilly outside, so we stayed at the coffee shop until around 8, then headed back to the courthouse. To get in, we had to go through a metal detector. I had to take off my belt and my watch, which was mildly irritating. There’s just something deeply inconvenient about trying to hold your pants up while simultaneously collecting your belongings from a security bin.

After security, we overheard some people discussing where the jury duty check-in was located, so Karissa asked them for directions. Between them and the signs, we eventually found where we needed to be. Karissa signed in and went into the jury room, while I found a nearby table and set up my laptop like some sort of courthouse office worker.

While Karissa was inside, Tommy and I were trying to figure out where we could eat lunch later. I couldn’t find many food options nearby, so Tommy searched Google and found a pizza place and a Chinese restaurant within walking distance. Meanwhile, I sat there until around 11 a.m., trying to study but mostly just people-watching and wondering why courthouse chairs are apparently designed to remove all comfort from the human body.

At 11, everyone came pouring out because the potential jurors got a thirty-minute break. Thirty minutes! Barely enough time to blink, let alone eat an actual meal. Karissa went back in at 11:30, and then about ten minutes later, she walked back out again. She wasn’t selected for the jury and was free to leave.

The relief on her face was immediate.

We packed up our stuff and walked to the nearby Chinese restaurant. There was a pizza place too, but Karissa was in the mood for Chinese food, and honestly, sweet and sour chicken sounded pretty good to me, too. We shared a plate because both of us are notorious for ordering too much food and then staring sadly at leftovers we know we won’t finish. The meal came with soup, an egg roll, and fried rice. I took the soup, Karissa claimed the egg roll, and together we defeated approximately 70% of the sweet and sour chicken before surrendering. Naturally, we also ate the fortune cookies because those are legally required.

After lunch, we wandered into a small indoor mall nearby. Calling it a mall might be a bit generous. It felt more like a hallway with ambition. There weren’t many stores, but it gave us somewhere warm to sit while we waited the next four hours for the bus home.

I spent most of the time reading The Castle of Llyr, and I’m about three-quarters of the way through it now. During the last hour, though, I started getting restless and anxious. Sitting around all day sounds relaxing in theory until you actually have to do it.

Around 4:25, we walked over to where the bus was supposed to pick us up. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. The bus never came.

To this day, I swear we were standing in the exact same spot where the bus dropped us off that morning. Although maybe I wasn’t. But by that point, I was doubting everything, including my own memory and possibly reality itself. I really should have taken a picture of the drop-off location earlier in the day. And I should have asked the driver if the drop-off location was where they pick us up.

I talked to Tommy, who had just gotten off work, and explained that we had apparently managed to miss the bus. Thankfully, he very graciously agreed to come rescue us. While we waited, it started raining, because of course it did. Thankfully, it only lasted about five minutes.

At that point, my phone was down to 4%, and my portable charger had completely died. But then I remembered my laptop still had a decent charge left, so there I was, standing outside, charging my phone from my laptop like some desperate survivalist trying to maintain communication with civilization.

Karissa and I were so relieved when we finally saw Tommy pull up. We immediately abandoned our bus adventure and went to a local restaurant for dinner instead. Karissa got a BLT, Tommy ordered a burrito, and I got a stuffed pancake because breakfast foods should not be limited to mornings. Breakfast for dinner just feels emotionally supportive somehow.

After that, we finally headed home and got back around 8:45 p.m. And because apparently the day still wasn’t over, I made Tommy’s lunch for work the next day before finally sitting down.

So yes, it was a very long day.

I’m hoping Karissa is done with jury selection now. She technically still has jury duty through June, but hopefully she won’t have to go back in. She was really relieved not to be selected. They told the group what the case involved, and she immediately felt like she would struggle to stay unbiased before even hearing evidence. I completely understand that, especially with serious cases.

I’m just happy to be home and back to studying today. I barely got any studying done yesterday. I tried while Karissa was in the jury room, but most of my mental energy was spent worrying about where we were going to eat and whether we were going to accidentally get stranded in the city forever. It was one of those days where focusing just wasn’t happening.

The plumber came by this morning to get the swamp cooler ready for warmer weather. We’ve mostly been in the 60s lately, so it’s not quite warm enough to actually turn it on yet, but the warmer days are definitely creeping closer. It’s nice knowing everything is ready for when the weather suddenly decides to skip spring and head straight into “surface of the sun” temperatures.

I have Everest with me again today. It was nice having a little break from watching her yesterday, though I still found myself worrying that she’d somehow escape while under Lexi and Alex’s supervision. Everest seems to treat “staying in the yard” more like a suggestion than a rule. Karissa is back to feeding the animals, too, which I’m sure she doesn’t mind one bit. I think she secretly enjoys her morning animal rounds.

For now, though, I should probably stop procrastinating and get started on studying.

I’ve been doing quizzes for the past few hours, studying threats and vulnerabilities. It’s honestly a little unsettling learning about all the different ways attackers can target computer systems and the lengths they’ll go to in order to gain access or exploit weaknesses. There are so many terms, attack types, and concepts to remember that sometimes they all start blending together in my head.

I keep finding myself looking up the same terms over and over until my brain finally decides to store the information permanently. I guess that’s just part of the learning process. Even though it can feel overwhelming at times, it’s also interesting to learn how these attacks work and how systems are protected against them.

I think I’m going to switch gears and read through my notes for a while now. My brain feels a little quizzed out after hours of testing myself.

I wanted a snack, but the only option was making popcorn on the stove, and I wasn’t in the mood for the effort. So, I settled for a coffee instead. At least that will curb my appetite until dinner. The kids have decided we’re having chicken nuggets and mac and cheese tonight, while Karissa has her dairy-free version. It’s definitely more calories than I feel like dealing with, so I’ll probably stick to small portions this evening. For now, I’m going to continue studying and enjoy my coffee.

Tommy has band practice tonight, and Kel should be home in a few hours. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do this evening. I can’t play Final Fantasy XIV because my computer refuses to turn on, which is disappointing. I may just spend the night watching videos and reading instead.