Short updates

Wow, it's been a really long time since my last post.

Hmmm, so what's happened that's been significant in the last 2 years? This is going to be a bit jumbled.

I've now had 5 jury trials, 1 bench trial (where the judge ruled on the innocence or guilt of the defendant), researched a good number of varied topics, written and argued a bunch of motions (many of which were variations on a theme), and helped prepare an appellate brief (state court).

I've also been the victim of a felony robbery (it's actually a pretty funny story), and testified as a witness in the case.

Gotten a bit of an insider's view of the criminal justice system. And of city government. I had a bit more of an idealistic view of both, previously, and that's now been partially replaced with...realism? cynicism? pragmatism?

Paid off a sizable fraction of my loans, but still have a lot more to go. The monkey on my back. Still, I'm much better off financially than I was when I started this job.

Other things, some of which will last a bit longer: joining, getting involved in, and serving in my church in Bakersfield. Joining/helping to start a Bible study group (which hasn't been quite as connected to the previous sentence as you might think). Teaching Sunday school for the youth group (ranging from 7th grade to 12th). Friendships with coworkers (believers, nonbelievers, and nominals).

Seen two of my supervisors elevated from attorneys to judges of the Superior Court of California. And that has caused me to think more about what a judge is, and how you get to be a judge in our system.

Spiritually, I think I've grown a bit in some ways, or maybe toughened. But in too many other ways, I've stagnated or gone backwards, or just lost passion. It's one of the things I feared about working a job, and being in this stage of life.

Gotten a view of life in a small urban area. This is a hard thing to articulate, but I have a bit more of a feel of what it would be like to have lived here. Some of this is evident in how long term residents view those from LA or the Bay Area or such. There's a certain love/hate relationship there.