I did manage to survive Jury Duty - even though I got selected for the Grand Jury Duty pool, had to go back on Wednesday and was super stressed. I managed to get excused by raising my hand “Does anyone here just really not want to do this.” I think many people were excited about the opportunity but I was excited for the opportunity to opt out. And it did lead to me having some realizations about my mental health and I’m planning to address that soon also.
In other news, the January vibes are not magically better than December of 2025 vibes and it feels like everyone is feeling that with me. But I’m trying to focus on what I can control - which involves swimming, weight lifting, music listening, book reading, food pantry donating and generally trying to be a good neighbor.
I added Saturdays to my swim schedule and the coach for that day is much more attentive to my form, so I look forward to making personal progress this semester. I feel lucky that I can swim well enough to participate in the class because I feel like I was made for the water. Signing up last year and actually forcing myself to go a few times was hard but beyond worth it and I need to remember that as a general life lesson.
I also registered for NetGalley as a way to find more interesting reads, so look for reviews of not-NYT-bestsellers (yet) here soon.
And with that I’ll leave you with this ever-appropriate MLK quote:
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” – Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964.