The Cth interview

Yesterday I woke up later than I had wanted, and made my way to the city and got there at about 9am. I saw DY while lining up for the scanners and she waved and asked me what I was doing there. I told her I had a job interview and was there to prepare.

I found a room on the lower ground floor and started preparing, only to realise the notes I had made the previous night I had left at home! Far out. Anyway, so I worked there for about an hour and a half, then went to the toilet and then went across the street to print my resume and stuff out.

I got to the office about 10 minutes early, and the receptionist didn't even seem like she knew they were holding interviews. After sitting down for a while a man came out from the doors behind me and led me to the interview room. There were three interviewers and one independent lady. I shook all their hands except hers because she was seated too far away.

Elizabeth was right on the money when she said that they didn't smile or anything to prevent the perception of bias and to appear neutral. Although I did detect a small smile from the female interviewer. I am sure I have seen her in court before.

Immediately the questions started. Four questions. The first was the difference between primae facie case and BRD. The second was what important legislation there were for Cth offences. The third was what I should do if a witness didn't come to court. The fourth was what I would do if a para-legal refused to do something I asked in a matter where there was also a senior lawyer.

I screwed up the first and mumbled some crap. I think I got the second right, although admitted that I didn't know why proccedings were held in this state, when in hindsight it was pretty fucking obvious - because they were arrested here! The third I basically kept saying it depended on why the witness wasn't available. The fourth I just said I'd do it myself, lol.

Although I didn't get a very good feeling about it, mainly because of their angry faces, I managed to find it funny as I walked on the street to the train station. I guess I felt relieved I had a backup job, but probably also because I had gone through a similar thing and expected the same. Just funny how they put on angry faces. I was so amused I went to get a cupcake to eat before boarding the train.

When I got back to the office, GS quietly asked me how I went, and said people asked him where I was but he just said it was a personal thing, although by then I didn't really care anymore. I told Rom Rom when we went for lunch with the French girl. I bumped into Bush and Shadi at lunch but only briefly spoke. I think we're seeing eachother a little too much.

After lunch we went to JB Hi-Fi to look for a present for Twish. We struggled a bit before I remembered that I saw a keytag before which could show slideshows of photos. I thought it was a bit small for a present for Rom Rom and I, and also because Twish had gotten me a tie so I asked Rom Rom if I could get the present myself, and she said yes. It was a pretty damn good idea. The French girl got one too.

After work I went to the shopping centre and bought 'Who Wants to be a Billionaire?', a book on James Packer. I had seen the documentary and thought it was interesting, so I got it. But $40 was a bit on the steep side.

As I was going down the levels of the shopping centre I bumped into Kylie, and we had a really frank and candid chat about our Cth interviews. She had hers the day before. She reckoned that she did pretty bad cause the guy kept repeating the question which made her feel stupid, but I re-assured her that he probably did it to see how she reacted under stress, and probably pushed her a bit because she was a good candidate. I think she bought it. We stood there talking for a while and it was a bit awkward when I introduced the topic of me moving for my new job. She later said she would've given anything for it, and would happily move there, and told me I would really like it at the DDP.

I read the book on the train a bit, and then decided to get something to eat at Macca's just so I could sit there to read. My mom called and asked if I wanted to go for a buffet, but I couldn't because I was full, so I said maybe next time. I stayed for a while reading the book, and was a little annoyed at the couple next to me making out like it was a hotel, because they were so noisy.

Today
Got to the train station and as I was walking through the dates, noticed a girl out of the corner of my eye going through the big gate for wheelchair access where you just had to show the ticket to the staff member. What stood out was that this girl stuck her leg out to keep the gate open, which was half funny/half unfeminine. I then looked at her as she walked past and realised it was Twish. I called out to her and we walked down the stairs together. She was going somewhere else so she caught another train.

I read a bit more of the book on the train, very interesting, but can't help but feel it was designed to draw sympathy for James Packer. When I got to the office almost immediately I went down to see the client as I hadn't seen him for the past two days. He wasn't upset or anything, and said he knew I'd visit him today. I told him about my new job, although not specifically the nature of it, and he was ok for me to leave before the verdict.

We talked for about 45 minutes and then I initiated my departure. I went back up to find GS chucking stuff out, and I felt bad so I started helping. I cleared most of the folders in his room.

GS had coffee with CJ, so I went with the French girl, Rom Rom and PL. The French girl just had an apple she brought, and I wondered whether I should've bought her a drink. I sat next to her at coffee and I asked her for tips about living with a flatmate, and she basically said it was important to communicate about cleaning duties and stuff, and that it was just horrible to live with people partying all the time, which kinda surprised me because I thought she was the partying type.

We talked a bit about cleaning our clothes, and she said she could teach me how to iron. I was not sure whether she was serious or joking, but it was kinda a cute idea.

We returned to the office where I started picking photos out to upload into the keytag for Twish, and then I went out to lunch with RB, GS, Rom Rom and the French girl to a Japanese restaurant that Kate likes to go frequent.

It was pretty interesting with RB and GS telling us some stories about past cases. They both know so much it's amazing. Sometimes when listening or thinking, I would stare at a spot on the table, and the French girl looked over and noticed a few times and asked what I was looking at, and at one point even asked why I was so quiet.

When we were getting up to leave, she dropped a photo out or something and Rom Rom asked "oh is that your boyfriend?" and she laughed and said it was her brother, far too young.

After lunch GS went to the bank, RB went back to the office, while Rom Rom, the French girl and I went for a coffee. I didn't actually have one myself because I didn't feel like one. The French girl offered to give me her portable wardrobe thing, and I wondered if it was because she liked me.

Could it be? Was it really working? Could this strategy of treating her like Twish, ala ignoring her, actually be the ideal challenge?

At the end of the day I got a ride off Rom Rom because she invited me and I felt rude turning her offer down again. Earlier, the French girl had received a phone call and then came over and asked me to tell Rom Rom that she would wait for her downstairs - half an hour before we were due to leave. I thought it was a bit weird, and she did look a bit sad.

When we got out of the building, she was there waiting for us, and we all walked to Rom Rom's car. I asked the French girl if anything was wrong and she said she didn't want to talk about it. I assumed it was a family matter.

She was pretty quiet in the car, and it was mainly just RB initiating conversation. I actually couldn't believe I was in the car with such a great lawyer, someone I admired from the back of the courtroom. That was actually one of the main reasons I accepted the ride, because I asked myself whether I would have this kind of chance again.

During the ride I wondered whether I should secretly try to cheer the French girl up. My idea was to type 'smile :)' on my phone and show it to her, but then didn't go ahead with it. When she sneezed, I looked at her until she looked and said "what?" and I just laughed. She did initiate conversation sometimes, asking me several times what was in my briefcase, saying it looked so serious, lol.

We all got dropped off at the same spot, and RB just crossed the road to his office. I walked a bit with the French girl to my bus stop and she finally confessed when I asked her where she was going. She said she was going to Twish's office to "have a fight" because Twish had called her to do something, and then started whinging about another occasion where Twish had made her wait for nothing. I told her not to be stressted by Twish, and I wondered whether Twish was deliberately making life hard for her because of me. Or am I giving myself too much credit?

I caught the bus home, and saw that Shuing had messaged me asking what I was doing. I knew he wanted to meet for dinner because that was what we had agreed on during the weekend, so we organised to meet in the city.

I caught a bus out and met him, and we walked to a restaurant in Chinatown. As we ate, we talked about a lot of things - about the girl he is currently pursuing, Twish and the French girl, Ele, and work. He thinks I should go for the French girl, and when I said that I thought she had a boyfriend overseas, he said it didn't matter and that's what girls who go overseas do. Hmmm.

I told him about how I was planning to just leave without telling Ele, and he said I should, to test her, and that her reaction would tell a lot. I considered it, and although it wasn't a bad idea, I decided to stick to my guns and just leave without notice. Nomad all the way.

After dinner we walked to Market City for an easyway drink where we sat for about another hour talking. We had a bit of a laugh when I told him Ele had difficulty spelling 'ugly', and when Linda was brought into the conversation I asked "do you reckon Linda knows how to spell 'ugly'?", lol.

After the drink I wanted to check out the arcade machines because my keytag had broken so I wanted to win a new one. It was that Stacker game, and it was pretty easy to win the keytag which was a minor prize. So anyway, I got to the stage of the minor prize and was selecting my keytag and pressed the button.

Nothing.

I thought it was stuffed and that I got screwed when I heard Shuing groan. I looked up and realised I had pressed the wrong button. I had pressed the button to continue onto the major prize!

So I had to keep going, and when I got to the last line I knew I'd miss because it was rigged. Everytime you get to that last line they fucking rig it. But for some reason this one seemed a bit more steady. I had more control of it with my eyes.

I pressed the button as I timed it.

I GOT IT!!!

I couldn't fucking believe it. I didn't know what to do. I hadn't even looked at the major prizes. Shuing just pointed to the iPod and I selected that. A guy watching with his girlfriend congratulated me as I reached down to pick it up.

Fucking hell, lol.

I was pretty happy. I mean, goddamn, I wanted the keytag but I got an iPod. I played again for the keytag and got it, lol.

Shuing wanted to grab a dog but missed on several attempts, and then I walked him to the train station. We had a bit of a talk there before parting, mainly about what we should do before I left because he was going to leave for holidays while I was gone.