5-5 / Mock Trial
On Wednesday I left work at 4:30pm to go to that mock trial thing at the girls school near me. I was nervous because it'd be my first one. I also thought about how it was the same school that Gene and WY went to. If people knew, would that show I had any bias? Either in favour of or against? And how about the fact that I went to the public school which was looked down on by their boys' counterpart?
The rain had stopped and I hoped it would hold off. I went there in my coat and had my fitness first bag with me. I was surprised when I got there because the whole room was set up with parents and teachers. I was quickly greeted by the teacher who told me it was supposed to start at 4:30pm. She was pretty nice about it.
I didn't even have time to look around the room before I was told to go outside to formally walk in. As I was walking in, I couldn't believe it was already starting!
I looked up and saw the contestants. Six girls who were probably also nervous as fuck. It started like driving a new car. I sorta knew what to do but it felt new. Being the judge was very different. It was definitely a lot harder than I thought. For one, I had to really focus and concentrate, especially since they were reading and talking too fast, it was hard to take notes.
It also made me see myself through the eyes of a judge. You start forming opinions on their appearance, their demeanour, and how they respond. Sometimes you get distracted with irrelevant thoughts.
The main thing was that I had control. I controlled everything, from the pace, the structure of things, and of course, the rulings. It was very different to being at the whim of a judge. I realised I am not very vocal when it comes to control, so this was definitely a good thing for me.
I also thought about how judges were people, just like you and me. Looking at them from the bar, I always look at them on a pedestal. But sitting here made me realise that they must have their own idiosyncracies, which could range from being angry, to being not so smart, to being understanding.
I was yearning for a break just to catch up on my notes, so cherished every few minute gap when statements were exchanged. At the end, the pressure was on me as I had to write judgment and decide on the winner. During one break I heard a parent say I hadn't even given feedback. It stung me a bit, but watching Tommo the previous night, I was sure I had followed the same structure and wasn't supposed to give feedback until the very end.
When I added up the scores, I realised the girls school near me had won. I thought I had been giving out fairly equal scores, and the total was 265-242...it's for you to decide if that's "close" or not. I gave them feedback before announcing the winner. I told them a bit about myself and then said they were on par with the baristas I had in my trial. I heard some loud pleasant surprise noises and forgot how easy it was to make a child happy.
When I announced the winner, I took a quick look at the losing team and didn't like the look of disappointment on their face. I wish I didn't have to, but I guess that's how the world works. If I could do it again, I would've said beforehand "if you don't win tonight, please do not let that deter you from pursuing a career in law, everyone will win and lose cases".
I offered individual feedback if they wanted, and afterwards the girls from the winning team came up to me for it. I actually wasn't prepared - I saw Tommo do it and no one went to him for feedback, lol. I just made up some stuff, which turned out to be "things you could improve on" which I noticed during the mock trial.
I left with the teachers and walked home, thinking I could probably make it home by the time a bus arrived, and it would also save money as well.
I got changed for bball and headed out again. Lucky we had a late game tonight. I went out into the cold, feeling a little uncomfortable in my short shorts. I liked the uniform, but these shorts were a bit too short.
I figured I'd get there right on time, and the delayed trains didn't help. I ran a bit when I got off the train, and ended up being there about 10 minutes early.
We had everyone except Bo tonight, and it was an interesting game because we were playing that red Untouchables team which delicately sliced us up in the first meeting. I wanted revenge.
We got it, but I didn't like it. They only had four players. We got off to a good start with Any hitting some outside shots, and held an eight point lead for most of the first half. However, I wasn't happy with it, and told them the lead should be bigger since they only had four.
Maybe it's just me, but I found myself really hating number 14 on the other team. He was tall, young, and an extremely good shooter. Better than me. Maybe I was just jealous, but I found myself calling him a cunt on the bench. I felt like knocking him out.
I played about ten minutes in the first half, scoring two points. White Mike chucked a ball up ahead to me, and their chubby guy was the only one back in front of me. I slowed down and did a floater which went in. But most notably, I got a few deflections, especially one where I just randomly decided to mark up on the inbound passer. I jumped and hit the pass and caught it for a steal. Wow. Maybe my reflexes are starting to come back.
I didn't play the second half at all, although it wasn't planned. It was the same starting five, but the other team started catching up and I was wondering who I could take off and then decided maybe I should just sit. Part of me also thought we could hold on without me, so I didn't need to risk my knee.
I watched on as the other team slowly started catching up, and then watched as Nick got fouled out. Uh-oh. We only really won because we held onto the ball in the last three minutes or so, but winning by four against a team with four was NOT GOOD. Nick praised our defence but I think we need to work on it. They out-ran us so many times it wasn't funny.
But I guess, a win is a win. I wasn't happy taking it, but it felt good to be at the .500 level. The train ride was good because we were all positive after a win, although it got a bit quiet as Nick texted on his phone.
Any and I went to KFC as usual. He said the five cents was useless because he went to pay at Macca's with it and they didn't like it, lol. I told him about the coin machine at the bank near my office.
Thursday
Mary wasn't in the office on Thursday or Friday. I had a few questions, and went to ask Steve, but he was busy in a hearing. He was nice enough to say he'd answer it during lunch, but then I didn't want to burden him during lunch, and then he probably forgot about it on Friday. I felt a bit neglected.
Anyway, after work I went to the gym and then met with John and library guy for dinner. We went to that dumpling place behind KFC, same place Mary, Moira, Ogre, Sarah and I went to once. I got there first so had to sit at the table for about 20 minutes waiting for them. I could feel the pressure of the waitresses wanting me to order, eat, and get out. But I calmly sat there sipping my soy bean milk and playing on my phone.
It was good to see them when they finally arrived. We talked about work, John's married life, and library guy's upcoming wedding. Seriously, at this rate, I'm really going to be the last to get married.
In the middle of the dinner John suggested going to a massage place. I half jokingly said he was married, and he said "so what? That doesn't change anything". I always wondered beforehand if he'd keep doing it after he got married, but I guess I got my answer. Library guy, on the other hand, didn't seem too up to it. The other thing that surprised me was John saying he wanted a kid next year.
Anyway, after dinner is covered by my earlier post.
Friday
After work I went to the gym and then met up with Phil at KGV for some ball. I'm starting to get eager for the gym again because I really want to strengthen my knee, and I felt it helped during the first game when I went for a rebound, and this chunky guy bumped me in mid-air, causing me to use my right leg to stop the impact. Gee that could've been disastrous.
In the second game onwards that Dennis guy arrived. I wasn't sure if it was him at first, cause I thought he was whiter and wider, but afterwards I asked him, lol. He had his girlfriend play as well, and it made me wonder what I had to do to find a girl who played ball.
My focus wasn't to score and win games, rather, I wanted to focus on my defense, and especially blocking the shooter. I didn't care if we won games or not, but in the last game I started wanting to win just to finish things off. I even blocked that chunky guy's shot, which was my only block of the night.
Phil and I hung around a bit after most people had dispered. I taught him a bit of D with a drill, and then we played a shooting game.
When we parted, I went to buy a quater pounder because I was just so hungry, then I went into the office to change and go home. It was too cold, and earlier I had bought a pair of long red socks just to keep my legs warm. I figured it was also a possible colour combination given that our uniforms had red pinstripes.
The rain had stopped and I hoped it would hold off. I went there in my coat and had my fitness first bag with me. I was surprised when I got there because the whole room was set up with parents and teachers. I was quickly greeted by the teacher who told me it was supposed to start at 4:30pm. She was pretty nice about it.
I didn't even have time to look around the room before I was told to go outside to formally walk in. As I was walking in, I couldn't believe it was already starting!
I looked up and saw the contestants. Six girls who were probably also nervous as fuck. It started like driving a new car. I sorta knew what to do but it felt new. Being the judge was very different. It was definitely a lot harder than I thought. For one, I had to really focus and concentrate, especially since they were reading and talking too fast, it was hard to take notes.
It also made me see myself through the eyes of a judge. You start forming opinions on their appearance, their demeanour, and how they respond. Sometimes you get distracted with irrelevant thoughts.
The main thing was that I had control. I controlled everything, from the pace, the structure of things, and of course, the rulings. It was very different to being at the whim of a judge. I realised I am not very vocal when it comes to control, so this was definitely a good thing for me.
I also thought about how judges were people, just like you and me. Looking at them from the bar, I always look at them on a pedestal. But sitting here made me realise that they must have their own idiosyncracies, which could range from being angry, to being not so smart, to being understanding.
I was yearning for a break just to catch up on my notes, so cherished every few minute gap when statements were exchanged. At the end, the pressure was on me as I had to write judgment and decide on the winner. During one break I heard a parent say I hadn't even given feedback. It stung me a bit, but watching Tommo the previous night, I was sure I had followed the same structure and wasn't supposed to give feedback until the very end.
When I added up the scores, I realised the girls school near me had won. I thought I had been giving out fairly equal scores, and the total was 265-242...it's for you to decide if that's "close" or not. I gave them feedback before announcing the winner. I told them a bit about myself and then said they were on par with the baristas I had in my trial. I heard some loud pleasant surprise noises and forgot how easy it was to make a child happy.
When I announced the winner, I took a quick look at the losing team and didn't like the look of disappointment on their face. I wish I didn't have to, but I guess that's how the world works. If I could do it again, I would've said beforehand "if you don't win tonight, please do not let that deter you from pursuing a career in law, everyone will win and lose cases".
I offered individual feedback if they wanted, and afterwards the girls from the winning team came up to me for it. I actually wasn't prepared - I saw Tommo do it and no one went to him for feedback, lol. I just made up some stuff, which turned out to be "things you could improve on" which I noticed during the mock trial.
I left with the teachers and walked home, thinking I could probably make it home by the time a bus arrived, and it would also save money as well.
I got changed for bball and headed out again. Lucky we had a late game tonight. I went out into the cold, feeling a little uncomfortable in my short shorts. I liked the uniform, but these shorts were a bit too short.
I figured I'd get there right on time, and the delayed trains didn't help. I ran a bit when I got off the train, and ended up being there about 10 minutes early.
We had everyone except Bo tonight, and it was an interesting game because we were playing that red Untouchables team which delicately sliced us up in the first meeting. I wanted revenge.
We got it, but I didn't like it. They only had four players. We got off to a good start with Any hitting some outside shots, and held an eight point lead for most of the first half. However, I wasn't happy with it, and told them the lead should be bigger since they only had four.
Maybe it's just me, but I found myself really hating number 14 on the other team. He was tall, young, and an extremely good shooter. Better than me. Maybe I was just jealous, but I found myself calling him a cunt on the bench. I felt like knocking him out.
I played about ten minutes in the first half, scoring two points. White Mike chucked a ball up ahead to me, and their chubby guy was the only one back in front of me. I slowed down and did a floater which went in. But most notably, I got a few deflections, especially one where I just randomly decided to mark up on the inbound passer. I jumped and hit the pass and caught it for a steal. Wow. Maybe my reflexes are starting to come back.
I didn't play the second half at all, although it wasn't planned. It was the same starting five, but the other team started catching up and I was wondering who I could take off and then decided maybe I should just sit. Part of me also thought we could hold on without me, so I didn't need to risk my knee.
I watched on as the other team slowly started catching up, and then watched as Nick got fouled out. Uh-oh. We only really won because we held onto the ball in the last three minutes or so, but winning by four against a team with four was NOT GOOD. Nick praised our defence but I think we need to work on it. They out-ran us so many times it wasn't funny.
But I guess, a win is a win. I wasn't happy taking it, but it felt good to be at the .500 level. The train ride was good because we were all positive after a win, although it got a bit quiet as Nick texted on his phone.
Any and I went to KFC as usual. He said the five cents was useless because he went to pay at Macca's with it and they didn't like it, lol. I told him about the coin machine at the bank near my office.
Thursday
Mary wasn't in the office on Thursday or Friday. I had a few questions, and went to ask Steve, but he was busy in a hearing. He was nice enough to say he'd answer it during lunch, but then I didn't want to burden him during lunch, and then he probably forgot about it on Friday. I felt a bit neglected.
Anyway, after work I went to the gym and then met with John and library guy for dinner. We went to that dumpling place behind KFC, same place Mary, Moira, Ogre, Sarah and I went to once. I got there first so had to sit at the table for about 20 minutes waiting for them. I could feel the pressure of the waitresses wanting me to order, eat, and get out. But I calmly sat there sipping my soy bean milk and playing on my phone.
It was good to see them when they finally arrived. We talked about work, John's married life, and library guy's upcoming wedding. Seriously, at this rate, I'm really going to be the last to get married.
In the middle of the dinner John suggested going to a massage place. I half jokingly said he was married, and he said "so what? That doesn't change anything". I always wondered beforehand if he'd keep doing it after he got married, but I guess I got my answer. Library guy, on the other hand, didn't seem too up to it. The other thing that surprised me was John saying he wanted a kid next year.
Anyway, after dinner is covered by my earlier post.
Friday
After work I went to the gym and then met up with Phil at KGV for some ball. I'm starting to get eager for the gym again because I really want to strengthen my knee, and I felt it helped during the first game when I went for a rebound, and this chunky guy bumped me in mid-air, causing me to use my right leg to stop the impact. Gee that could've been disastrous.
In the second game onwards that Dennis guy arrived. I wasn't sure if it was him at first, cause I thought he was whiter and wider, but afterwards I asked him, lol. He had his girlfriend play as well, and it made me wonder what I had to do to find a girl who played ball.
My focus wasn't to score and win games, rather, I wanted to focus on my defense, and especially blocking the shooter. I didn't care if we won games or not, but in the last game I started wanting to win just to finish things off. I even blocked that chunky guy's shot, which was my only block of the night.
Phil and I hung around a bit after most people had dispered. I taught him a bit of D with a drill, and then we played a shooting game.
When we parted, I went to buy a quater pounder because I was just so hungry, then I went into the office to change and go home. It was too cold, and earlier I had bought a pair of long red socks just to keep my legs warm. I figured it was also a possible colour combination given that our uniforms had red pinstripes.
posted by toey | 21:15
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