GTI, Park Boundary run, kiddie court

I bought a new car! Well, new for me anyway. It's an '05 GTI VR6. My fondness for Veedubs stems from childhood memories of road trips with 6 people and 2 dogs in a VW Rabbitt, watching/helping Dad replace the glow plugs or do other engine work, being able to hear the distinctive diesel rumble coming home from half a mile away, riding shotgun and being allowed to shift and steer on country roads while Mom worked only the pedals. We owned a number of Volkswagons growing up, and they were all good cars- practical, fun to drive, and economical to purchase, fuel, and maintain.

My new car falls only partially within that description: fun to drive? Oh yeah =). We're talking six speed manual, just over 200 ponies, and no turbo lag in a compact hatchback. Economical to purchase, fuel, and maintain? Not so much. Granted I got it for significantly less than blue book value. But it was still more than I've ever spent on anything, and it only took one trip to the VW service center to learn that with these new cars you can hardly do anything on them yourself, and the people who do work on them are anything but cheap. Everything's a trade off, I guess. I like the car, and the way I see it- a lawyer with no girlfriend oughta be able to afford a "poor man's BMW," right?

I added a Thule rack system with kayak haulers over the weekend.

Now I'll be able to throw 2 or 3 or 4 boats on the roof.

sorry about the blur. That's what happens with no-flash and no tripod. If you can't see it, the speedo goes all the way up to 160. I'm sensing a trip back to Death Valley to see how close to that the car can actually get. A few other luxurious features I'm still getting used to are heated seats and mirrors, speed sensitive volume on the stereo system, and leather. Love the leather!

Enough about the car. Whitewater still consumes as much time as I can manage to spare from work. Saturday I hit the Park Boundary run on the Kaweah river. Which means that I've now paddled all of the Kaweah from inside Sequoia National Park all the way to the terminus reservoir. I'm in the market for a second boat- one with more volume and stability as I progress to more challenging water. Plus with a second set of gear I'll be able to take out friends and family who have an interest in the sport.

This particular run has 15 rapids in half a mile. Boredom not likely!

"The Chute." Gateway run, Kaweah River. Right side up and looking good!

Not so good =). My stern is up out of the water in this picture because I'm bouncing off a rock with my head. Thank God for helmets!

Kayaking buddies Evan and Gene on Brush Creek. When I tried the same thing I somehow managed to fall into the crack we were portaging. Other than a bruised elbow, I was unhurt (much to the amazement of Evan and Gene).

Work is intense but rewarding. I won my second jury trial recently. Getting guilty verdicts on all counts was probably more satisfying because I lost my first trial. (No blog post about that because I was seriously bummed out for about a month =). I have one more week in my current assignment, and then I'm getting transferred to our Juvenile Division, which should prove interesting. Kiddie Court is serious biz- I'll be getting my first exposure to felonies of all types and degrees. Local gangs doing drive-by's often give the gun to a 16 or 17 yr old because they know the consequences if caught will be less severe for a juvie. Probably the biggest difference between juvenile and adult criminal law is that juvie proceedings are all confidential. No juries, no trials, no convictions- only "jurisdictional hearings" and "adjudications." California believes strongly in rehabilitating young offenders and giving them every chance to improve/succeed.

This pic pretty much sums up what I've been doing primarily the last few months.

In other news:
-Over four weekends in March I completed an 80 hour search and rescue academy put on by the sheriff's office. It's required in order to respond to out-of-county call outs. (With my current work schedule that's not likely to happen, but it was still good instruction and useful for local SAR ops too.)

-I've made some new friends at a new weekly Bible study.

-I'm still rejoicing with my brother in his miraculous answer to prayer. If you haven't heard the story, check it out on his blog at http://printscharmingphotography.com/blog/.

-I ran into a former client at the supermarket tonight. His case is still ongoing, and he wasn't happy when I told him I switched jobs.

-I haven't played Ultimate in a while and that makes me sad.

-I'm going to Oklahoma next month to visit family, and that makes me very happy.

-My 6 month LASIK checkup is coming up. I don't think I blogged about that. Long story short- I had the procedure done in October, my vision is much improved, and I love not having to wear contacts or glasses anymore.

All the stuff I can forget about, at least until I hit 40 and need reading glasses.

Shortly after the procedure. And in case you're wondering. No, it doesn't really hurt, but you are conscious, and they do use metal tools to pry your eyelids open way past normal, and they do stick powerful suction cups on your eyeballs...

-The springtime weather has been beautiful lately. Honestly, I haven't touched my thermostat in months.

On the drive to the Kaweah, the town of Three Rivers, and Sequoia National Park

A common springtime view in agricultural Tulare County.