Jury duty. It Ain't the DMV...
. ...and neither is the DMV, for that matter.
When I moved to New York, I vaguely expected some of the horror stories to be true. Yes, some of them are. There really is a rather rank-smelling old fellow who badgers passers by for change outside of the deli. One often notes rats chasing garbage in the subway tunnels. And, yes, some parts of New York smell. Bad.
So far, however, my experiences with municipal government have been pleasant. Today I await the call to join a jury. I'm planted on a comfortable pleather chair, sipping a diet Pepsi (a can I bought for a dollah... ahem), and enjoying free wi-fi access. There is a computer lab in an adjoining room sporting 16 little Dell desktops with Internet access and there are public telephones, vending machines, and a clean bathroom. Sure, I can't visit any clients today and it's possible that I will be watching a trial or some other matter for an indefinite period of time. Right now, though, I'm just hanging out with my Mac people watching. Not bad for government work...and neither is the DMV, for that matter.