Gwada 1st day

I really do not know why I stressed so much about my trip. I guess I really wanted to come home. It's my nephew Lorenzo's birthday today. It's my sister's on the 5th. The kids are on Holidays from school and my sister took a week off. It is the perfect setting for me. I get to maximize the time spent with them all.
I only really started to plan my trip last Friday. I had an idea of how I would get here but had not looked up the loads until then. I spent hours looking at all possible options to get me here and back to San Diego. On Friday, flights looked really good and I was happy. Saturday when I woke up and checked, things had changed dramatically. I went into panick mode. I did not want to waste days trying to get on a flight.
It was very frustrating because I had different tools to plan my trip and each of them had a different story. Our website from work gave weird info as the same flight listed in different itinireries came up with different loads for the same day. Did not seem very reliable. I then checked each airline's own website and looked up the seats still available for sale and got some numbers which on Friday make me feel good. On Saturday those numbers were not good anymore. Then when I called the airline to get listed on the flight, again I got not very reassuring words from the agent. I went to the airport in the afternoon to pay for my tickets. As Henry put it, it does sound that if I am buying tickets I am getting on the plane right? Wrong! We buy discounted tickets that allow us to get on any flight with the same routing. For example for my LAX-MIA ticket on American, I can get on any of their flights going to MIA at any time on any day, granted there are seats. I bought a bunch of different routing for my way back to give me as many options as possible.
Norman and Henry came to pick me up and drove me to the airport. I still had to buy my tickets on Air France (the most important) for the flights to and from Guadeloupe. I got those and the boys drop me at the commuter teminal. I checked in at the American Eagle counter and the agent (a very nice lady) told me that "tonight is a great night to travel since the plane is not full". She gave me my seat right away (they usually give out stand-by seats after boarding has started) and told me that the flight from LAX to MIA looked good too!!!! What? A couple hours ago the agent on the phone gave a completely different answer. I felt a big weight lifted from my schoulders. The flight from SAN to LAX was not even half full. The flight from LAX to MIA was fuller but there were still empty seats and I ended up in a row of 3 with just another lady. The flight was uneventful. I was tired but it was hard to sleep with my back bothering me and the tight space. We landed in MIA and after recuparating my checked bag I run to the Air France counter. I had not been able to list myself on the flight the day before and sometimes the agents can be very temperamental and uncooperative. Not the case today. The lady was very nice and even offered me a window exit which gives a few extra inches. She too gave me my seat right away. Another unsual fact. I proceeded in the concourse and waited for boarding. I had a whole row to myself. The plane was maybe 1/3 full on the first leg to Port au Prince, in Haiti. After a one hour stop over, the new passengers came on. A little fuller than before but not more than 1/2 for this leg to Pointe A Pitre. We landed in Guadeloupe right on time. My sister was waiting for me and of course the first stop was my mom's place. We then drove to my sister's where we stayed for a while before going to my brother's where we spent the evening. We had dinner together while listening to music and being goofy. We got back to my siter's around 10pm. It had been a looooong day for me.

Vacations-Vacances

My bags are almost done. I am leaving tonight for Guadeloupe and will be gone for 2 weeks. I will enjoy the sun and the beach for YOU because that's the kind of person I am!!!

Les valises sont presque pretes. Je pars ce soir pour la Guadeloupe et je serais absent pendant 2 semaines. Je profiterai beaucoup du soleil et de la plage; pour VOUS bien sur!!!

From TV to the real thing

I had received my summons for Jury duty about a month ago. For the following weeks I debated whether to go or not. I really wanted to go but having my vacations just one week later scared me a little. At United, we bid for our vacations a year in advance and there is no rescheduling. If for any reason you cannot go on your vacations, then they are lost. I had heard that most trials lasted between 3 to seven days, but there is always the possibility of the "good" one that will last for weeks or even months. In the end, I decided not to stress about it and to go.
I woke up at 6am to get ready and left the house at 6:45. I drove to the trolley station at Mission Valley. Parking downtown is either impossible or very expensive. The trolley is just very convenient. I wish I could take it more often. The last time I rode it was when we sang the National Anthem at Petco Park for a Padres game in July of 07. Norman takes it as often as possible to go to work. Unfortunately for me it does not really help. I rarely go downtown.
Anyway, on a chilly morning I arrived at the Hall of Justice on Broadway Avenue. I had to be there at 7:45 but I was a little early. I past through security and entered the Juror Lounge where some people sat already. I took my paperwork and went to sit. I started to read the booklet about the elections that I had received in the mail but had not had time to look through. I wanted to learn more about all the propositions that we have to vote for in November. Well, like the ads on TV, for or against each one of them, after reading the arguments from each side, I still did not know which way to sway. Some were easy, like Prop 8 wanting to amend the Constitution, another banning alcohol on all beaches, another preventing animal to be kept is spaces so tight they can barely move. Others were mostly economic and impossible for me to decipher. Some truth is probably in both sides. One's vote has to do with personal beliefs and opinions but unless your involved in each case it is difficult to make a knowledgeable decision.
Back to the Juror Lounge. They start orientation. The room is filled now with hundreds of people. After a video, a judge gives us a brief overview of how the day will go. A clerk takes over and tell us how to fill in our paperwork. After that you sit and wait. They start calling people for whom they add questions or concerns and then finally at about 9 call groups to report to different Department (Court rooms). There are 70 court rooms I believe. San Diego is the 3rd largest Court in the nation after Los Angeles and Chicago. They call my name and I am to report to Department 27. There are between 50 and 60 of us. A clerk makes sure that everyone called is present and then after a little while she comes with the list of the first 21 jurors selected. I am not part of them. We enter and take our seats. The 12 main jurors plus 3 alternates in the Jurors box; 6 more sit in the front row. The rest of us seat wherever. All the parties are already in the room. The judge, the attorneys, the defendants, the clerk, the court reporter, and the bailiffs. The room is about 50x50 with bright ceiling lights. Definitely not as glamorous as TV. Behind the judge there is the Seal of the State of CA, a US flag and a Lady Justice statue. The judge today is Judge Bernard E. Revak. He tells us about the case and the procedures. This is a criminal case with 2 defendants. Each have a lawyer. The District Attorney will have to show that the accused are guilty on 10 counts including drug possession and child abuse.
The 21 jurors introduce themselves and are then questioned by the D.A. and the attorneys to gauge their ability to be fair and impartial in the case. This process takes quite some time. 1 juror is excused by the D.A. and 1 by the attorneys. It's lunch break.
We come back one hour later and continue where we left off. The D.A. excuses 2 more jurors and the attorneys altogether excuse 5 more. New jurors are called in to fill in the empty spots. They introduce themselves and are also questioned by both parties. The judge, the D.A. and the attorneys then deliberate in a corner of the chamber. When we continue, the D.A. excuses 5 more jurors, and the attorneys 4. I wondered at first why they had put so many of us in one court room, but when I see the pace at which we are being excused, I u now understand why. A few new jurors are called, but then the judge calls for a 15 minutes break.
Upon our return, the rest of the jurors are called. The judge excuses 2 jurors who because of work and/or personal reasons, would have a hard time being available for the 4 days this trial is expected to last. Introductions and questioning of the new jurors. 1 is excused by the D.A. and the attorneys excuse 5 more. Even with all those jurors gone, we finally have our main panel of 12. They are sworn in right away. 2 alternates are called to join the one already there. Introductions. The attorneys and the D.A. approach the bench to talk to the judge who then excuses one of the alternates. Questioning of the remaining ones. The D.A. excuses one of them, but the attorneys pass. 2 more jurors are called. Introductions, then questioning which leads to one being excused by the D.A. The attorneys again pass. We finally have our 3 alternates. They are sworn in. The rest of us (about 10) are excused and thanked for our services.
It's about 4pm. The day is almost over. I walk to the trolley station reminiscing on the hours passed in the court room. I am glad I had decided to go. I actually wish I had been called to serve on the jury. Maybe next year. In the meantime I will just continue to enjoy my shows on TV.

Love is love

I just finished reading "Sex and the Single Savior" by Dale B. Martin. The book talks about gender and sexuality in Biblical interpretation. The author covers different interpretations, including sometimes his own, about some of the most famous passages in the Bible which address sex and specifically homosexuality. There are many important passages but one of my favorite is the following: "...Any interpretation of Scripture that hurts people, oppresses people, or destroy people, cannot be the right interpretation, no matter how traditional, historical, or exegetically respectable. There can be no debate about the fact that the Church's stand on homosexuality has caused oppression, loneliness, self-hatred, violence, sickness, and suicide for millions of people. If the Church wishes to continue with its traditional interpretation it must demonstrate, not just claim, that it is more loving to condemn homosexuality than to affirm homosexuals. Can the Church show that same-sex loving relationships damage those involved in them? Can the Church give compelling reasons to believe that it really would be better for all lesbian and gay Christians to live alone, without the joy of intimate touch, without hearing a lover's voice when they go to sleep or awake? Is it really better for lesbian and gay teenagers to despise themselves and endlessly pray that their very personalities be reconstructed so that they may experience romance like their straight friends? ...All appeal to "what the Bible says" are ideological and problematic...The texts don't speak...Texts do not interpret themselves; they must be interpreted by human beings...Even using the same methods of historical research, biblical scholars are able to offer widely divergent, even mutually contradictory, readings of the same text.
(So) rather than expecting the answer to come from a particular method of reading the Bible...we (need to) ask the question that must be asked: What is the loving thing to do?"

Vacations part 2-Vacances 2eme partie

Family Cruise 08-Aug 9 / Croisiere en Famille 08-9 Aout
Quick tour of Basseterre. Florian turns 8. Visite de Basseterre. Florian a 8 ans.


Family Cruise 08-Aug 8 / Croisiere en Famille 08-8 Aout
Tour of Antigua. Beautiful views and beaches. Visite d'Antigue. Tres beaux paysages et plages.


Family Cruise 08-Aug 7 / Croisiere en Famille 08-7 Aout
Saint-Lucia. Short excursion in town. Afternoon on the ship Saint-Lucie. Courte excursion en ville. Apres-midi sur le navire.


Family Cruise 08-Aug 6 / Croisiere en Famille 08-6 Aout
Short excursion in Barbados. Beautiful beaches with clear waters. Courte excursion a la Barbade. Belles plages avec des eaux transparentes.