Portland, Oregon: My day ended-up being all discombobulated. I dropped my phone Sunday night. The screen shattered into a zillion glass shards. I tried to get it repaired/replaced at the AT&T store yesterday, after saying goodbye to Lenny. Even with an insurance policy in place, they make it extremely difficult to repair a phone! (I tell you, the time I simply went to a shady kiosk in a shady mall in Indio, and had it replaced was far easier and cheaper.) Options yesterday included 1) buying a new phone for $700, 2) AT&T overnighting a refurbished replacement phone to me - for hundreds of dollars - or 3) having a tech come to our house to replace the screen for $89, were the best options. Why did I even purchase insurance??? I went for the next-day screen replacement and was waiting for the tech this morning when he called saying he was not coming because he did not have a replacement screen for an iPhone 7... and would not for several weeks. Really? The most popular phone in America? Couldn't you have told me this when I placed the work order yesterday?
You all know how I get upset about inefficiency!
Breakfast: pears, nectarines, Italian prunes, blueberries & granola
There went my morning. I started calling around and found the crew hired by AT&T to replace screens on the iPhone 7 were not the only ones lacking inventory. Finally, I found a company who could replace the screen on my phone this afternoon, so spent my afternoon waiting for the switch-out... shopping at a nearby Crate & Barrel - phoneless! - while the work was completed... by a guy who had the passcode to my phone. The waiting-around shopping-time cost me even more money, but I am pretty sure Leo and Lucy need plastic Halloween dinner plates. So cute!
Mission Accomplished. But why the big hurry to have a working mobile phone? I have to report for jury duty tomorrow. 7:30a. Truly an inhumane hour, especially when I have a 40 minute drive to the courthouse.
I served on a jury (for a month) over 25 years ago and it still gives me cold sweats and the creeps. Bad cop v good cop v domestic abuse (wife beating) v marital infidelity v cover-ups - and this was all in the same trial. I don't even want to know people are so horrid, and I certainly hope I was not considered one of their "peers" in the American "jury of your peers" justice scenario. Another especially disheartening aspect of my experience was the main concern of my fellow peered jurors: If we stayed after 5p, they would bring us take-out Chinese food. Free.
Have you served on a jury? What happened? Please report in the comment section below. And please report yours was an enjoyable experience and mine was a one-time-freak-show.
At least dinner was simple, easy and required no judiciousness. Black Bean Tacos - a can of rinsed/drained black beans, sautéed with a little onion, garlic and jalapeno and dusted with salt, cumin, coriander and chili powder - served in warmed corn tortillas. Toppings included shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, cilantro leaves and (purchased) guacamole.
I serve this quite often. No recipe required and no need to change/substitute anything to make it vegan. Cheese is not usually included in this meal at our house.
Black beans tacos are a very easy and inexpensive meal. Very filling as well.
Until my next update, I remain, your not-excited-about-tomorrow correspondent.