Top 5 Lessons I Learned At Jury Duty

I've never been called up for jury duty. I vote, I have a driver's license, and you know I would love to serve on a jury because it is our civic duty, but until Monday morning, I had never been part of the jury duty process. Here are a few secrets about jury duty and why I now understand why people hate it:

5. Jury duty is mind-numbingly slow. If you think going to court looks anything like 'Law and Order', think again. There is a lot of behind the scenes discussion between the lawyers on both sides of a legal situation, and that means potential jurors might have to wait until those talks are finished. Lawyers talk a lot. Be ready to wait.

4. Head out earlier than you think you should. Travel time from the station at Executive Center to the courthouse in downtown El Paso - eight minutes. Negotiating downtown traffic and winding my way up the courthouse parking structure - eleven minutes. Road construction, tons of fellow jurors, and people who have never been to downtown El Paso all contribute to the mess. Pack a lunch. You'll need it because.....

3. You might not be given a break for lunch. I got there at 9 a.m. and left at 2 p.m. No lunch. Hangry, anyone? Yes, me! There were people who had little baggies of snacks and bottles of water and by the end of my time there, I was ready to push them over to steal them!

2. Wear comfy clothes. Don't wear sweatsuits, but be sure you can comfortably walk all over downtown in your shoes, and not feel the back of your legs on the seats that zillions of other butts and legs have been sitting on.

1. Invest in hand sanitizer. I don't know why, but every chair I sat on had sticky arm rests. I went through an entire bottle and went home and washed my hands a hundred times before I stopped feeling slimed. I don't even want to entertain any thoughts about what the hell I was touching.

All in all, it was a good experience and I hope I get to do it again!