I just spent two weeks serving on a jury in a civil trial.
That’s another story for another day (maybe), but what I'm willing to tell you is
the contents of my purse during the two weeks. Nothing outside the ordinary,
but there were different uses for some of my handbag staples.
My bag – kate spade new york, Kensington. I’m pretty sure
it’s a discontinued design because I got it on markdown at Dillards about two
weeks ago. So far I’m loving it, but I’m having trouble making it stand up when
I have my planner and two books inside. I guess that’s just not what it’s made
for.
A blanket scarf (similar) – v necessary. The courthouse was pretty
cold, which was understandable with all the suits the lawyers wear and the
robes the judges wear. I have a couple of these Gap scarves which I used more
often as a blanket than as a scarf over these two weeks.
Clockwise (ish) starting with…
My planner – I take my planner most places, but now that I’m
planning a baby shower for a close friend, it never leaves my side. This kate
spade one is one of my favorite planners I’ve ever had, and I’ve been known to
buy three planners for the same year.
My emergency kit – toothbrush, toothpaste, hairspray,
contact solution, bandages, hair ties, emergency cash, and all those other things you
don’t think you’ll need until you actually need them. And boy did I need them
these two weeks.
My wallet – I just got this Fossil wallet last week, so I
haven’t fully formed an opinion on it. It’s pretty, slim, sturdy, and holds my
things, so I’m currently satisfied.
Peppermint wrappers – on the first day of the trial, the
stenographer brought us a bucket of soft peppermints, and it got refilled every
day. Sometimes (read: most of the time) we (the jurors) ate them just to break
up the monotony.
Ibuprofen – lawyers have a unique way of inducing headaches,
so this was a necessity for several of us.
Water bottle – I usually use a reusable bottle, but the
courthouse has rules about what kind of bottle you can bring in and none of
mine complied.
Keys – standard
Books and headphones – we had a surprising amount of
downtime (in the form of recesses) while exhibits were being moved around and
other things happened that the jury was not needed for, and I spent most of
that time reading. I made my way through The Hound of the Baskervilles, a Sherlock Holmes classic, and a quarter of Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.
Pens – something I always carry with me, which is good
because the pens they gave us to take notes with were slightly dried out.
Notebook – again, I’m planning a baby shower and with
everything going on, if I don’t put a thought down on paper, it’s bound to get
lost in all the trial information. This was also useful for brainstorming jury
duty-related blog posts in my downtime.
Lip gloss – I don’t wear lip gloss most days, but when
you’re sitting on an elevated platform in front of a lot of people, you may
want to put in a little more effort (or maybe not).
The barrette – is a funny story. On my second or third day,
I threw my hair up into this barrette without thinking about having to walk
through the metal detector to enter the courthouse. Naturally I set off the
detector, so they had to “wand” me. Later in the day I took my hair down and
threw the barrette in my bag so I wouldn’t have to go through the same thing
when I returned from lunch. I’ve since set off the metal detector about 5 times
without having any metal on my person. Shows how reliable the machine is.
I must say I’m glad to have the experience under my belt. It
was boring at times, and I had to miss two weeks of work, but I learned a lot
about the legal system, about people in my community, and about myself. Not to
mention, I’m exempt from jury duty for the next two years.
Have you ever had jury duty or any other tedious, extended
commitment? What were your handbag necessities at the time?
KB
