Judgiversary

I'm sitting alone in a hotel room in Mexico City. My roommates already left for the early shift. I'm munching on a granola bar from my backpack and pecking away at my computer, lamenting the fact that I didn't pre-prepare an awesome Judgiversary post. But that wouldn't be me. This blog is about celebrating my journey as a Magic judge in its rawest form, so preprinted sentiments would not be authentic enough for my tastes. Instead, I'll tell you the truth . .  .

I'm tired. My body aches all over and the headache has been with me for almost 2 weeks now. My shoulders and back are sore, I've lost feeling in one toe and am missing a toenail from another. My hair is dingy, my lips are cracked and I think this frog-voice my be permanent. When I get up in the morning, the limp from the plantar fasciitis takes longer and longer to subside. But more than my physical ills, I'm mentally exhausted. All the writing, traveling, networking, and learning new things each take their toll. I miss my family. My husband and 3 kids are at home without me. I'm alone in a foreign country where I'll see nothing but the inside of a hotel and convention center.

One year ago today I passed my L1. 

One year.

One crazy, exhausting, amazing, unbelievable year.

Many stories from that year are recorded my this blog: passing the L1, working my first event, passing the L2, organizing my first judge conference, my first team lead. Stories of the people, places, and experiences that have shaped me as a judge, and as a person. 

Some stories are not recorded. They are just too numerous to write. Some are reviews or exemplars. Some are too personal and too painful to share publicly. Some are still in the editing process. But those stories matter too. Each experience has shaped me and I will never be the same.

Five weeks ago I embarked on my most ambitious schedule yet. I judged an SCG Open where I had my first team lead, spoke at a mini conference 5 hours from my home, floor judged GP Orlando, ran registration for GP San Antonio, and judged GP Mexico City - on 5 consecutive weekends. In between I struggled to keep up with my personal and family obligations, hosted judges in my home, worked on our upcoming regional judge conference, wrote and edited blog posts for both my personal blog and for The Feedback Loop, and studied for an L3P.

While I wouldn't actually recommend this particular schedule, I also wouldn't change it. Each of these weekends offered me unique opportunities and steps I need to take to meet my personal goals in the judge program. From team leading for the first time to my first international event, my growth as a judge has taken off during this period. I'm excited to use my Spanish to help players and to work for a new TO. I'm gaining confidence in everything from my ability to translate Magic cards to my ability to ride a bus. (Yes, public transportation terrifies me.)

One of the most important things I've learned from judging is that you get out what you put in. I've chosen to invest myself in the program, and it has in turn invested in me. The time and effort I have chosen to spend have resulted in opportunities that I have opted to take. The cycle continues with me continually improving and learning and the program continuing to build me up.

I'm going to take a minute to thank a few people who have chosen to invest in me:

Jessica Livingston for our long talk last night after a hot chocolate date. Your insights keep me on track and your friendship means the world to me.

David Hibbs for stepping up to be our RC as well as an amazing mentor and friend. You took a chance on me and you continue to accept me despite my flaws and support my goals in the judge program.

Riki Hayashi for believing in me. When I first approached you, I had no idea what your reaction would be, but you accepted the feedback I offered and have invested in me and given me additional opportunities. 

John Carter for mentoring me. Words cannot express what your friendship and advice has meant to me this year. We met on my first weekend as a judge and you saw something in me that was worth developing. You are a demanding teacher, but I respect the high standards you hold for me and I'll continue striving to improve.

Sara Mox for listening to me. When I was lost in a complicated situation and didn't know where to turn, you took the time to help me sort out my convoluted thoughts and pointed me in the right direction. I'm still a judge today because of you.

Jeff Zandi, Dawna Havnar, Joe Sapp, Jim Shuman, James Anderson, Kyle Knudson, Sean Catanese, Antonio Zanutto, Ben Quasnitschka you guys each were a part of my GP Albuquerque weekend and my first weekend as a judge. Those early insights shape the judge I have become. Thanks for being a part of the train wreck that was my introduction to the fabulous world of judge travel.

My family. My mom serves as our babysitter. She's always there to help out when travel plans are crazy, tournaments run long, and the migraines hit after an event. While I'm not always good at expressing it, I appreciate my mom more that I can describe. She has loved and supported me and my family through this crazy journey with a smile on her face and enough energy to keep up with all the moving pieces.

Brian Leonard. My amazing husband has stepped up and supported my dreams in a way I never even imagined. When I told him my lofty judge goals, he said, "We'll make it happen." Despite working full time and being a college student, he spends his weekends taking care of 3 preschoolers so that I can travel the world in my judge blacks. He's always there to listen to my rantings, proofread my blog posts, work at my judge conferences, floor judge for me, and tell me when I'm wrong. His integrity, honesty, and unfailing love have made my journey possible. 

To wrap things up, last June at GP Columbus, my team lead Adena Chernosky asked us about our judge goals. One of mine was to judge a GP in Latin America. Well . . . . check! Take that one off the list! 

I still have many things I want to accomplish as a judge, so I'd better go hop in the shower because my shift starts in 2 hours. I can't imagine a better way to spend my first Judgiversary than on the floor.

Judging with Your Spouse: Role Reversal

Prologue: This is a sequel to Judging with Your Spouse: A tournament report of sorts.

On October 29, my husband and I returned to the store where we first judged together. In April, we joined forces for his first time to Head Judge and my first PPTQ at all. This time we brought a lot more experience to the table (my 6th PPTQ to HJ), but it served as our first opportunity to swap roles.

We arrived early, just as before, greeted the now familiar staff, and checked the play area setup. I rounded up my husband Brian and our other floor judge, Vasilios Vetter. Brian has been mentoring Vasi and he's a regular at this store. While a second floor judge was not necessary, it provided an excellent mentoring opportunity. I always begin my events with a judge meeting, no matter how small the staff because it sets the expectations and tone for the day. I delivered my usual spiel including how to handle backups and appeals, tardiness times, and task assignments. Since Vasi covered deckcheks for me at a previous event, I assigned him to handle paper and put Brian on deckchecks. I spent a bit of time detailing my specific goals and expectations for each of them before releasing them to greet players while I conferred with the scorekeeper.

My HJ announcement to begin the event felt rehearsed and automatic, a sharp contrast from my previous experiences which had included butterflies and bumblings. Both of my floor judges preformed their respective duties with minimal guidance and I actually seemed superfluous for much of the day. Of course the day wouldn't be complete without a few interesting scenarios giving me some new stories to share.

At one point Brian picked up decks to check after the players had cut one another's decks. While that does not invalidate the deck check, it constitutes a better practice to swoop before the opponent has touched a deck to ensure that the order of the cards has not been manipulated in any way. I pointed out to Brian his suboptimal execution and that interaction constituted my first time correcting him on the floor. He started to argue with me, but then listened to what I had to say, and I could feel our working relationship evolving.

At the end of the first round, Brian called time by informing the only match still playing that the time had ended and directing them to begin turns. I explained to him that I preferred my judges to call time loudly to the entire room, even if only 1 match remains. Letting the other players hear that announcement cues the rest of them to wrap up their eating, finish games they are playing for fun, and get ready to move to the pairings board. That little heads up can save a few minutes as well as smoothing out the transition between rounds. I realize that I can be a devil for details, but it also demonstrated my emerging style as a Head Judge - little details can add value in big ways.

During round 2 I took a call at a table while Brian and Vasi checked decks. I concluded the call, which was the players asking me to help them resolve a stack with at least six things on it as they activated abilities and responded throughout the resolution. Then, Brian approached to let me know that he had issued a Game Loss for a Deck/Decklist Problem during his deck check. The penalty, a straightforward 59 cards registered, hadn't required any investigation. Although I had asked to be informed of GLs, Brian made the call to not interrupt me while with the players and handled the GL himself. He made the correct decision and I let him know that I appreciated both his handling the situation and moving the event along and his communication with me afterwards.

On a later call, he answered a player's question about a spell, but by pointing out that it had an Escalate option, he inadvertently gave away information to the opponent. Afterwards he immediately told me that he messed up and should have taken the question away from the table. I could see his embarrassment for making the mistake, but he quickly resolved to speak more carefully next time. Seeing him improve as a judge right before my eyes offered me a rare look into another judge's development.

My most memorable call occurred at a table where I watched a match. The adjacent match then asked me about a situation where a player wanted to activate a creature's ability in response to casting a spell that required sacrificing a creature. He planned to activate, then sac so that he would get both the ability and the spell. I explained that he could not do this since the sacrifice of the creature constituted part of the spell's cost and therefore the creature would not be around after that spell went on the stack, so he could no longer activate its ability. Both players expressed understanding of the situation. Then the opponent queried, "Isn't that a penalty?" I responded that is wasn't and play resumed. I especially did not want to penalize a player whose opponent seemed to be angling for a penalty to gain an advantage. While overall, the GRV would not have had much effect, I didn't want a player telling me how to handle a call.

Brian had been watching and told me that it should have been a penalty because the player had already done it. I stated that it wasn't because the player was asking about it and had not yet taken the action. After talking with him more, I realized that I had misunderstood the player and that he had in fact already activated the ability when I was called, but had reversed his actions before I observed the board state. After the match ended, I sought out each player and explained my mistake and clarified that it should have been a penalty. Both players graciously accepted the information and the nonactive player seemed especially appreciative.

The remainder of the day passed without incident. Players played, we judged, and the TO provided yummy sandwiches for lunch. With two competent floor judges, I had time to pull Vasi aside for a chat about state-based actions. I enjoyed the opportunity to do some mentoring and develop my own skills as well. The Top 8 moved quickly with no issues, and we finished with a debrief meeting.  In the past I've received lots of positive feedback from my floor judges about the value in taking the time to talk after the event, so it's a step I never omit. Even at the end of a long day, the chance to provide closure and honest feedback seems to be invaluable.

On the way home, Brian and I conversed about the fact that we could see each other's mistakes and learn and grow together as judges. We can encourage one another as we mature, but we also each follow our own paths within the judge program. By allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with one another we can share not only the details of various calls or techniques, but also the feelings that come with them. It adds a new dimension to both our marriage and our judge careers when the two overlap.

By His Side

We've been married for 5 years.  FIVE YEARS! I'd say 5 long years, but really, they have flown by so fast that if he hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have known it was that long.


We met playing World of Warcraft online.  (If you are not familiar, it's a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG.)  I was the leader of a large, competitive raiding guild.  He was a player looking for a new guild home.  Three years of playing together later, he was the Raid Leader (a very prestigious role) in the guild and we worked together to run the group, along with the help of some exceptional officers (Penimus). I attended an unrelated conference in his city . . . and he asked me on a date.  He ended up moving to Texas to be with me.  We took a 3 week tour to drive around the country and stay with many of our raiders (Blizzazed). He proposed at Blizzcon in 2010 in front of some of our raiders (Paz).

Then, we retired from WoW and settled down to start a family.  Those were some good years in terms of our lives - we had 2 kids, bought a beautiful home, he found a great job and started working on a degree, etc.  But they were some tough years in terms of our relationship with each other.  The strains of daily life, kids, mortgage payments, college, etc. took their toll.  We drifted apart even while living together.  We shared common goals and both strove to meet them.  We both did our parts to make life work, but it was work.  Somehow, we lost the 'spark.'

Two years ago, some of Brian's friends invited us to play Magic: the gathering, a trading card game.  Brian took to it immediately and before long was attending (and winning) tournaments.  I was a bit slower to come around.  I tried to be supportive, but I think I only succeeded in being mildly resentful, and jealous.  He went to play every Friday night, and some weekend days too, leaving me alone.  It wouldn't have been as bad, but with work and school I barely saw him anyway.  I began to hate the game.

One day Brian and I talked.  More accurately, he called me out.  He reminded me that we met playing a game.  He was a gamer when I met him, and so was I.  He proposed at a gaming conference. Many of our best memories were from our gaming days.  Wow! (ok, pun intended)  That hit me pretty hard.  He was right.  And I changed.  I stopped giving him a hard time about playing and became much more supportive.

One Friday night, I went to watch him play.  It was fun.  Enough fun that I gave the game another try.  It still took almost a year of intermittent play for me to come around, but last May I played in a huge competitive tournament with him in Las Vegas, and my spark ignited.  After that trip I couldn't wait to play again.  The passion for the game began to consume me as I learned the rules, tried new decks, and attended every Friday night that I could get a babysitter. Now don't get me wrong, there were frustrations: complicated rules, lack of babysitting, expensive entry fees, and I am still not allowed in the group chat due to my gender.  But overall, the good outweighed the bad, and excepting the time I took off when our third child was born, I've played weekly since.

Which brings us to our 5 year anniversary, and our anniversary trip - to a Magic Grand Prix of course!  My wonderful mother agreed to keep all 3 kids for the weekend, so we entered the tournament.  We decided to cut costs by joining forces with some friends, so we and 3 guys rode together and shared a room.  Now if you are imagining a 4 hour car ride filled with beef jerky and fart jokes, you're right on the money. We piled into a decent sized hotel room where Brian and I were able to pay extra for the "bed spots" and all dumped our bags to head for the convention center.  After playing Magic until 9pm, we headed out for our anniversary dinner. I had originally hoped for sushi, but by that late was dying for pizza.  Brian managed to find a fantastic local dive-y place 12 blocks from the hotel, so after a brisk hike, we squished into this hole-in-the-wall and managed to order some food.  It was well worth it as the pizza was amazing!  And yes, for my anniversary dinner, I ordered pizza and beers and served them to table full of guys.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Saturday and Sunday we played a lot of Magic, and I overheard a lot of guys talking about their wives being mad at them for playing, or discussing what they had to do to get their wives to let them come.  It made me sad that these men had to beg, bribe, or sneak to enjoy a hobby.  Saturday night we piled into a too small Uber for a night of fajitas and margaritas, and had a blast.  Sunday morning came early, but we all survived the day.  As I drove home that night, with a carload of sleeping guys, it hit me . . . when we are gaming together we are sharing a passion, not just a purpose.

I'm so lucky to be married to a man that not only invites me to join him, but encourages me to pursue my own interests as well.  As with WoW, we each play our own way and do our own thing, but sometimes a mid-round shoulder rub, or holding hands in the registration line is a nice bonus too! So after some trial and error and a 3 year gaming drought, I realized that I where I most want to be is playing by his side.