Me? Jury Duty? Oh Boy!

Yesterday I had my first experience of serving as a juror for the County of Ventura. Being a newbie to the whole judicial system, let's just say I was a tad bit nervous. I showed up to the Hall of Justice early so I could scope out a good seat, and right away I noticed that I was one of the youngest jurors there by far. My friends had assured me that judges usually don't pick young people for jury duty, so I was feeling a little better about my chances of not being picked. Hours went by and my name was not called so by the hour my nerves started to decease. However, my luck soon changed after lunch. At around 2 pm my name was called to go to Courtroom 23 on the second floor. Myself and about 50 other jurors headed to our juror destiny and before I know it I am seated in the back of a courtroom. The case that we would be chosen for was a case about a man who had been arrested for 2 DUI's. The judge said that it would be a short case, so that was a relief. After hearing about all the details of the case, 12 jurors were asked to the jury box and questioned. However, I didn't know that picking a jury was such a tedious job. One after one, jurors were being dismissed and my stomach started to tighten. After about 2 hours of excusing juror after juror, I heard the judge say "Ingrid Christianson" "Ingrid C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N-S-O-N" I jumped straight up and walked to the front of the courtroom. The judge asked me if I had any hardship or reason why I could not serve and I said......... What do you think I said?" Let's just say it was a little embarrassing?!