What just happened?

Well . . . I'm done.  I finished my last paper of my law school career today.  It is finished.  I thought that I would be really happy and giddy; I know my friend was.  I am just wasted and disillusioned though.  I'm hoping that in a couple days it will sink in that I'm finished and I will be able to feel the pleasure of accomplishment and completion. 

Reasons for a dearth of blog posts.

For those of you who still have faith that I'm going to update my blog, all I can say is sorry.  I'll fill you in on why I haven't.  I haven't had time.  On the weekend before thanksgiving, we packed up all our staff out of our Moscow apartment and moved it to Emmett.  (side note: My grandma moved out of the doublewide next door to my parents, and into a retirement home.  My parents purchased the double wide home from her, so now we are going to stay there while I study for the bar and look for a job.)  We got it all moved down there and moved into the doublewide.  Then on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving I had to come back to the dreaded Moscow in order to work on things that needed done, like my final mock trial.  So I didn't even get to have Thanksgiving with my family.

Now I'm in Moscow still.  Classes have started back up.  This is the last week of classes.  Finals begin next week and I am in for the ride of my life.  Luckily one of my finals is this week.  My final mock trial.  So not all 18 credits are during finals.  Its still going to be difficult, but when its all over, I get to go home and never come back.  Yay!

After finals are over in 3 weeks.  I am going to drive down to California where my family will be waiting for me.  Then on December 29th, I begin studying for the bar examination.  The single most important test of my life.  If I pass it, I get my license to practice law and get to look for a job.  If I don't, I have to do it all over again.  So wish me luck!  I'm going to need it.

Followers?

I found a cool new feature when I was looking at my friends blog.  It's called "followers."  You can set up a deal on you blog so people can easily follow your blog.  I set it up on mine, so by my follower. :)

Stock up!

If any of you who read this blog have ever considering buying a semi-automatic rifle, or what the anti-gunners call an "assault rifle", then now is the time.  I hear people saying they are going to buy one "if Obama wins".  HELLO PEOPLE!  It's not a matter of "if".  He is going to win.  Buy it now while the prices are still relatively low.  Once Obama is elected the price of these guns is going to sky rocket.

Now if you have not considered buying one of these, then that's a whole other matter.  You should consider buying one.  If you have food storage, but don't have one of these to defend it with, then your in a precarious position.  I wish I had about 5 more of these.

Law School Craziness

Okay, while I don't have any pressing news, I also don't want anyone to think that I've given up on updating this blog.  I have been very busy with law school.  It really sucks taking 20 credits in law school.  I think I am staying afloat though. 

I think I've managed to clear all the hurdles that the law school administration puts in your path while trying to graduate early.  They really don't like it when you try to graduate early, I think because that means they don't get to drain those last tuition dollars out of you on your way out.

I printed off all the papers to apply for the bar exam in february.  I had to kill a tree just to print off all the application papers.  I haven't got there yet, but I think they are going to ask for my first born.  

This week was Soren's birthday.  If you want to see pics and all that then click on my wife's link off to the right.  He got a new red bike.  He was so excited.  I wanted to get him one those those battery powered power wheels vehicles, but Katy said that was way too much money.  I think he's just as happy with his bike though as he would have been with what I wanted to get him.  Little kids aren't picky.

Not much else has been going on.  Things are pretty boring around here when you are taking 20 credits.  I could tell you all about what's happening in my water law, wills trusts and estates, family law, trial skills, insurance law, conflicts of law, or critical legal studies classes, but I think that would bore you to no end.

Hopefully I'll make time for more fun things to write about on a later date.  Stay tuned 'til then.

Wife Tag

My wife had this post on her blog, I've modified it so that I can respond to the survey.

1.  What is her name?

Katy Anne Atkinson

2.  Who eats more?

Her.  I don't eat much.  I eat small portions.  But I drink a ton.  Mostly pop.

3.  Who said "I love you" first?

Who knows.  Katy is all frantic that she can't remember, but I'm glad we don't.  It's representative of our relationship.  We don't live a life full of check lists.  It wasn't like, well, I said I love her, got that checked off my list.  

4.  Who is taller?

I am.  I'm 6' 2", and Katy is 5' 11".  Our kids are going to be giants I'm afraid.

5.  Who is smarter?

Depends on what you mean by smart.  Some ways I'm smarter, other ways she is.

6.  Who is more sensitive?

She thinks she is since she cries.  I think this is an example of how little women know about men.  Nietzsche likened understanding a man (a male) to seeing the foam upon the surface of a deep dark body of water.  Underneath the foam there are things you will never see.

7.  Who does the laundry?

She does.  We still believe in gender roles. :)  Call us old fashion.

8.  Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

We switch it up.  Again, this is representative of our relationship.  We are quite spontaneous.  Things are always changing.

9.  Who pays the bills?

Katy does.  I hate dealing with money.

10.  Who cooks more?

Katy does of course.  Gender roles again.

11.  Who is more stubborn?

I'll admit to that one.

12.  Who is the first to admit that they are wrong?

Me.  It just so happens that I'm not wrong all that often.

13.  Who has more siblings?

Her.  By a long-shot.

14.  Who wears the pants in the family?

That should be clear by now I think.

15.  What do you like to do together?

Almost everything we do we do together.  We watch movies and television together.  For television we love 24, the Office, Heroes, etc.  We like to shoot guns.  We like to play Nintendo Wii.  Too many things to put all down here.

16.  Who eats more sweets?

Me.  No contest!  I probably need to cut back.

17.  Guilty Pleasures?

I'm not quite sure what this question is asking.

18.  How did you meet?

I met Katy while doing my duty. :)  I was her (and her roommates) home-teacher.  You better bet I didn't miss a Sunday.

19.  Who proposed?

Me of course.  Gender roles.

20.  What is her best features?

She has beautiful green eyes.  She has long legs.  And she is tall.  She is also pretty funny once you get to know her and get used to her humor.  Until then you'll think she hates your guts.

Bridging the Gap!

Well I really don't have much to say at the moment, but I feel like I need to bridge the gap in between my updates, besides I'm bored.  

I'm officially and technically over with my externship, but I've continued to work at the Prosecutor's Office because it's great experience, and they have me lined up for some jury trials. My first being July 23rd.

I'm prosecuting some old man who rented a car from a dealership, and never brought it back. When I tell it in summary everyone always say, "awww, I bet he was just senile and forgot to take it back."  No, trust me, this guy is as guilty as the day is long.  All of the information he gave the car dealership was conveniently false, and thus he couldn't be contacted or found.  The police finally caught him.  Plus, the guy has a rap sheet of thefts and frauds.  Now, I just hope the jury buys it.

I've decided to graduate early and I've been hustling to get things figured out in order to make it happen.  I have to apply late for graduation and pay a bunch of late fees (dang those communists), and I had to get special permission to take more than the maximum allowable credits, 20 instead of 18.  I'm going to have a very busy fall, but then I can take the bar in the winter and start working a whole semester early.  I think it will be worth the extra effort.  I am sick of school and just want to start making money and working on getting a house.

The kids have been crazy this week.  They have been sooooo naughty, you can't even leave them for 10 minutes alone or they will tear the place up where they stand.  I am currently sitting in the living room, right between their two rooms, typing this blog, and waiting for them both to quit crying, and quit trying to sneak out of their rooms, or in other words fall asleep.  Every few minutes I'll hear Soren start to sneak out of his room whimpering and I have to snap at him to get back in his room.  Ahh, the joys of being the father.

Well I guess my boredom pulled more creativity out of me than I had planned.  Hope you're all feeling well.  Don't forget to put a comment on my blog if you visit it.  It motivates me to write more. :)

D.C. Gun Ban Lifted

Can we give three cheers to the United States Supreme Court for its decision that the Washington D.C. gun ban is unconstitutional? Hip Hip Hurray! (Three Times of course) I've been waiting for months for this opinion to finally come down. It is a good day indeed.

Update:  When I originally wrote this post I hadn't read the actual opinion yet.  I still haven't (it's hundreds of pages long), but I've glanced at it and it was written by Scalia.  So, I was wrong in saying it was a good day; it was a GREAT day!

My first victories!

I finally won my first trials!  On Monday I had several trials scheduled and actually went through on two of them.  One was a Minor in Possession charge.  I was really glad I won that one because the kid was a real punk.  He hung himself by testifying in open court that he indeed did drink a beer on the night in question.  I had to try my hardest not to laugh out loud.  

The second trial was for speeding.  It was a close case, the defendant was trying to convince the judge that the police officer actually clocked a different car and then mistakenly identified the defendant's vehicle as the car.  I wasn't buying it, but the judge appeared to be seriously considering it, but in the end ruled in my favor.  So that was two wins in one day.  I was quite pleased.  Today I had another trial that was a no-brainer "Driving without Privileges" charge.  It took me like 5 minutes to win that one.  So my current tally is 3 and 1.  

Big Bad Prosecutor Lost. :(

The big bad prosecutor had his first trial a few days ago and lost.  It's okay though because the Chief Prosecutor pretty much knew it was a loser case since it was a Citizen complaint of speeding.  We try them anyway though since we feel like we need to give the citizen an outlet.  The good news is, I got to do a trial all by myself!

Big Bad Prosecutor.

I started my externship at the Gem County Prosecutor's Office today, and also learned that my application for my limited license was accepted.  So I am officially a limited licensed attorney.  It was a pretty good day for the most part.  I had to read lots of case files about a lot of things I'd rather not know, but its all part of the job I guess.  Tomorrow I get to spend all day in court which will be a lot more fun than sitting at a desk reading case files.  Other than that not a lot is going on here.  Its been hotter than a pistol outside.  I'm really feeling cheated out of spring.  Summer leaped on us from out of nowhere.  Whatever happened to "April Showers Bring May Flowers," and "In like a lamb out like a lion," and all that jazz?  

Back from our trip.

Well, we're back from our trip.  It was a lot of fun, but rather me go through the details, my wife has already written up a little summary.  So go check out her blog. :)

http://katyanneatkinson.blogspot.com/

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!

So I'm finally finished with finals.  My wife and I have left Moscow and headed north to Couer d'Alene.  One of Katy's friends is taking care of the kids, and we're celebrating our belated 5 year anniversary.  Next week we'll be heading to Emmett, where we'll spend the summer while I participate in an externship there for the Gem County Prosecutor's Office.  In other words, I get to put people in jail.  Yippie!  It feels so good to be done with school.

Finals! No fun!

Just to let everyone know, I probably won't be posting anything for the next three weeks.  I'm in the middle of finals so nothing exciting will be happening anyway.  We did just get back from California, if you want to see some pictures of the trip check out Katy's blog.  (the link is on the side of my page).  We'll be going on another trip after finals are over, I'll put a post up recounting all of the fun we had.  Come back then and check out my blog!

Update:  ONE FINAL LEFT!  TOMORROW AT 4:00 P.M. I AM A FREE MAN! (for a week at least)

The Atkinsons will be leaving for California today.  Katy's sister is being sealed to her husband in the Sacramento Temple.  I'll probably write a post when we get back with pictures and all.  Hope you're all well and in good spirits!

Shooting again.

You'd think that all I do is shoot.  Well, it is the only fun thing I get to do.  My wife and I went out with friends today and did a little shooting.  Here are some pictures.

Don't I have a cool wife?  Don't I have a cool gun?  I wish I could shoot it as well as she does.

I look so pale.  Its, the lighting, but I really do need to get some sun.

On another note, everyone needs to check out this game, its a lot of fun:  http://arcade.itch.com/games/random-defense/

However, I warn you now, it is very addicting.

Here are some more pictures Katy took while we were at the park.

Here is a new picture that Katy took of me today when we took the kids to the park.  She insisted that I pose by the "leaning tree."  She said it was a great leaning tree.  Guess we couldn't miss an opportunity to take a picture leaning against a leaning tree.  So here it is.  She sent it to me to post on my blog even.

Love

I haven't gotten many comments on my blog.  I'm quite sure people are reading it since people tell me they are.  So for this post I'm going to use my blog for the other purpose for which I started it, to talk about things I'm thinking about.  So please leave comments about what I post.  I would love the discussion.  If you are shy about sharing your thoughts and opinions, then just post anonymously.

I've been reading from a little from a book of Poems called "The Prophet."  It was written by Kahlil Gibran.  I really like it.  It starts out with an introduction about a prophet who is about to leave a city that he has spent a good amount of time in.  The people of the city are quite distressed by the thought of his leaving.  One prophetess by the name of Almitra and who seems to have been a disciple of the Prophet's speaks for the people and asks the prophet "all that has been shown you of that which is between birth and death."   He responds by asking them, "of what can I speak save of that which is even now moving your souls?"  Almitra then told him to "Speak to us of Love"  That leads to the first poem, which of course is a poem about just that.  The following is the text of the Poem.

Love

. . .

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.

And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.

He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free you from your husks.

He grinds you to whiteness.

He kneads you until you are pliant;

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. 

I really don't even know where I would start with a poem so loaded as this one.  Each line could be devoted to a blog post.  I especially like the portion of the poem that speaks of Love transforming us into "the sacred bread for God's sacred feast."  The thought of being husked, ground into bits, and kneaded until we are "pliant," doesn't sound like terms we would usually associate with a Love poem, but isn't this exactly what Love does to us?  Who would ask to go through such a thing?  Well, the sad shame is, most want all the pleasure and none of the pain, and naively believe that they can have all the pleasure without the pain.  This expectation may be a factor in the epidemic divorce rates today.  (A discussion for another day.  I'm convinced there are many other serious factors playing into this)

That leads to my next favorite part of the poem, the type of people I described above live in fear of love.  The prophet says that if in your fear you seek only the pleasure and peace of love, then  "it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor."  So essentially he counsels the people to either live every aspect of love, and if you can't, then don't live any of it.  You can then "laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears."  Those who cannot overcome their fear will never experience life in its fullest.  A sad lot, but probably not as sad as someone who tries to enjoy all of the pleasures of love and avoid all the pain.  

I really like this poem and I could go on, but I've probably talked on so long now that most of you will probably not read it all.  I hope some of you will think about it and comment on it.  I really want to know what others think about the poem.  If its a successful post, then I'll probably do the second poem on marriage.  Again, if your shy about sharing your thoughts, but like to share them nonetheless, then go ahead and post anonymously.  Hope to hear from some of you.

Fun, Fun on the range.

I woke up early this morning and went out shooting with my friends Amanda and Dinko.  Amanda had never been shooting before so it was a lot of fun to see her go from frightened out of her wits to just nominally nervous.  I was going to post pictures of the event, but Amanda refuses to allow me to post pictures of her shooting.  I'm going to continue to harass her until she lets me, but for now I'll just put this one pick of Dinko shooting his shotgun.  I'll put one of Amanda later after I get my way. ;)

Well I haven't written in a while, mostly because things have been pretty uneventful.  I have a final exam in one of my classes this coming Friday.  I should be pretty prepared for it since I already took a state administered exam on the same subject matter, but I'm going to have to work pretty hard to get caught back up with it.

I've solidified my position with the Gem County Prosecutor.  I'll be working in Emmett this summer for the Gem County Prosecutor's Office.  They are actually going to let me convict criminals and all that fun stuff.  I can't wait!  (*as the theme song from cops plays in my head)  Now I have to apply for a limited license to practice law.  Seems like the tasks are never ending.

Kaydence and Soren are a little sick right now.  We decided to keep them home from church today since we don't want to give all the other little kids in church runny noses and nasty coughs.  Katy went to church, but I stayed home.  That's why I have a chance to write on my blog.

Kaydence and I went with my friend Dinko to Lewiston yesterday to go gun shopping.  He was looking for a new shotgun so that he can go turkey hunting this fall, he got a really good deal on one at a pawn shop.  Kaydence likes going with me, but she can be such a handful.  She was pretty good for the most part, but sometimes she forgets to be good.  I can tell you one thing, taking care of one kid is MORE than twice as easy as taking care of the two together.  Its as if they feed off each other.  They get together and they get louder and louder, and rowdier and rowdier, and naughtier and naughtier.  But when they aren't around each other they can be little angels.  

Today they aren't so rowdy though because they don't feel good.  Kaydence fell asleep on the couch watching Smurfs, and Soren just lazed around until I finally put him in his bed for a nap.  

Well, Katy just walked in the door from church, and I'm out of things to say, so until next time.

Its late, and I should be in bed, so I can get up early and do my homework, but I can't help but sit down and mess around on the computer.

Last week was my spring break and I had a great time.  We started it out by dropping our kids off at the baby sitters for a couple hours and then my wife and I went shooting with my friend Dinko.  It was Katy's first time ever shooting and she was awesome!  She made me look bad though since I'm supposed to be the shooter in the family.  Here is a picture of her showing off her new found skills. (she says she looks like me though since she's wearing my jacket)

A couple days later we took off for Emmett and spent the rest of the break hanging out with my family.  Here is Kaydence sleeping in an awkward position on the way there.  Everyone in the car was sleeping.  Katy wasn't too impressed when she woke up and saw that I took a picture of Kaydence while driving. :)

We hung out with Lindsey and Derek most of the time and played wii.  One day we went to the YMCA and took the kids swimming in their big indoor swimming pool.  We also took Lindsey and Derek shooting.  Here are some pictures of that. (sorry for the quality of my photos, we didn't have our camera so I used my phone camera.)

Look at Derek, he's a natural.

Lindsey shot the AR-15 Amazingly well.

Well I could write more, but I'm terribly tired.  To make a long story short, I'm back at school now with all the stresses that go along with it.  Hope all of you are well.

New Link for Atkinson Photography

Hey everyone who may or does read my new blog.  I haven't written a new post in a while, but I'm going to I promise.  I the mean time my wife is starting a blog for her photography business/hobby.  The link is posted on the right side of my homepage.  Check it out.

Shall we try again?

Okay, so I'm going to try to write some more on my blog.  Apparently some people are actually reading it though I never told anyone I had a blog.  Maybe I should invite some people to check it out.

Things are hectic right now.  I have the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Exam coming up in just over a week.  Its an ethics exam that you have to pass before they will even consider allowing you to take the Bar Exam.  So I'm rushing to try to understand the class before I have to take the big exam.  On top of all that I have things coming due in all my other classes, so its been a lot like juggling.  

On the side I've been advocating for the right to carry a concealed firearm on campus.  There was a recent bill that went through the legislature which was supposed to strip any supposed authority from the university to regulate firearms.  However, the legislature wussed out like it always does, and so the gun rights advocates have to start all over again.  We're looking for other ways of getting the job done.

In other news, Soren busted his chin open this week.  As the story goes (from the mouth of Kaydence of course) she was chasing Soren and Soren tripped and nailed his chin on the coffee table.  The first thing she said when I saw her after the incident was "Soren did it himself."  And when the doctor asked her what happened she told him, "I didn't do it."  I have a sneaking suspicion that she may have given him a little push.  We thought he may have to get stitches, but the doctor just put some super glue stuff in the cut and a band aid on his chin.

Kaydence got away this week as well.  While Mama was folding the laundry, she decided that she was going to the manager's office and get a sucker.  Katy found her in the lounge enjoying her lollipop.  I thought we had her broke of that running away thing.

I got a new phone this week.  Its one of those PDA/Smartphone devices.  Its really cool.  Though not as cool as an iPhone.  Dang you Verizon!

Anways, thats all thats happening this week.  If I can muster the motivation, I'll keep you all posted and informed next week.

Updated:  I just added a funny picture of Soren for fun.

Wow, I have nothing to talk about.

I really have nothing important to say, but I just felt like starting a blog.  I have no idea what I'm going to use this blog for, but I have a hunch that I'll use it to just talk about random things.  Welcome to my blog!