Friday Five

1. What do you try to stay away from? People who do nothing but complain -- or can't even do it in a funny manner -- and opportunities to drink too much in public.

2. Are you clumsy or graceful? Yes, but usually graceful. I've had dance, gymnastics, martials arts training over my life, and I'm aware, in some sense, of my physicalness. This is a very good thing, btw, for INTJ children, she said cryptically. (I'll unpack that: Myers-Briggs temperment typing, which is only as useful as you let it be, breaks people's temperaments into a combination of four factors. I'm an "INTJ", and one of the characteristics of the INTJ is often a disconnect from the body and what could be called over-cerebralization of the self. Yet, corporal punishment of an INTJ generally creates a profound sense of violation. It's like we don't think of our bodies, and yet, if you touch us improperly, we're deeply wounded by it. I think it's b/c we tend to lump our whole bodies in with our brains, so a touch is a touch to a thought, and that's the violation, even if all you meant to do is swat your kid on the behind.) So, dance training, etc., forced a connection between my natural-INTJ "me" and my body, and I think that was a good thing. I try to pay close attention to the messages my body is sending as a result.

3. What is it too late for? Fixing the past. You can only fix the future. I hate that.

4. What/who was your first love? Our huskies, when I was a kid.

5. Friday fill in (I believe that ____ will _____):

I believe that the truth will out.

Death By Moot Court - It'll Never Be A Book By Agatha Christie, But There You Have It

(Maybe I should write murder mysteries featuring a fiesty law professor or something. Hmmmm.)

But it was worth it, yeah. Personalized coaching on oral advocacy skills for almost 2 months? Are you kidding? That alone makes it worth it.

We passed the preliminary rounds and made it into the top 1/3rd. (About 35 teams got cut right there.) I'm really happy we made it to the quarterfinals (that's the next rounds after prelim), and of course I wish we'd made it to the semis (only 9 teams -- oo!). That would have been cool.

So, I'm a mix of disappointed, naturally, with a good dollop of pride that we made it as far as we did. Next year's team better make it farther!

And I'm very, very, very tired right now. Holy cow, I'm tired. And, being me, replaying every answer I gave during my last argument and wishing I could go back and do it all "perfect" this time. Of course, there's no such thing, either going back, or "perfect".

It's interesting, in a sense, oral argument reminds me of something a friend of mine and I were talking about in Japanese culture (we've both studied the language and been there -- me once, she several times for business), that is, the appreciation for the ephemeral event. Oral argument is like that, as are other forms of theater. Yes, I wrote "other forms of theater". It certainly is. Who and where, and all of your preparations come down to an interaction with an audience, the judge(s), at a single point in time. It's transitory, and the two arguments I had on Thursday, and the one on Friday for the q-finals, will never be repeated, even if we had the same people in that room all over again. The moment passes, and a new moment would be shaped instead.

In the end, you're left with a memory to appreciate, after fireworks have exploded in the sky, or an exquisitely displayed meal has been consumed, or an oral argument is complete, and you are changed as you make it, and as you experience it.

Art, baby. Art.

This artiste is tired. But pleased, overall.