Hurrah!

[quizcustodiet]

Some of you may remember SJC A's inglorious exit from last year's Oxford Inter-Collegiate Quiz - a second round defeat to St. Peter's B team, playing with only three players. Who, to add insult to injury, then sent only a single representative to their quarter-final match.


Well, clearly I would like to avenge this embarrassment. I thought this was going to be problematic when the draw for our group included Jesus A (containing a certain Mr. Webb as well as a very good new member of the squad), Wycliffe B (thought to be of greater than average age for a student quiz team, which can be a tremendous advantage in quizzing) and the unknown St. Cross.

We're not out of the woods yet, but we've at least taken the first step - this evening we defeated Jesus A 320 to 155! Quite a good packet overall, but I think there's a query against one of the chemistry bonuses - as I've no idea which packet it was, I shall leave the details to ktroo85!


Outside of quizzing my life has been pretty quiet, mostly slogging away at lab work. I did manage to - by the skin of my teeth! - acquire a shiny new blue belt in Sul-Ki-Do. Other than that, I've been putting a lot of time into preparing for the Open University teaching. I even had an anxiety dream about it.


The dream opens with my walking into my lab as on a normal day. But this time, I've been preceded to my lab by a horde of Open students!

Cue panicked thoughts: "Did I tell everyone about the change of venue? Shit! I haven't done any preparation, I thought this was weeks away! Quick - let's do an icebreaker!"

Being in a panic, though, I forget the main point of icebreakers - that is, getting people involved - and decide that a lab tour would make a _fantastic_ icebreaker. Doh. I've started so I'll finish... Brrring! The phone.

My minion has deserted me, perhaps driven away by my incompetent ice-breaking, so there's no one but me to answer the phone. And it turns out to be another Open students, all but in tears over her life. Those of you who've known me longest will agree that 'counsellor' would be second only to interior decorator on a list of careers unsuitable for Ben, but Open is very keen on 'active listening' and 'non-directive counselling', so at least I've had some training and suggestions on it. You can do this, Ben. Take a deep breath. Say fuzzy things.

*crash*

With a simultaneity that's entirely dream-like, I'm simultaneously talking on the phone trying to be non-directive and active and stuff and observing the students in the lab as, bored, they begin to throw things. And break things, and screw up my nicely aligned optics, and meanwhile this poor woman sounds suicidal and all I can think of to say is 'I think everyone feels that they can't handle life now and again' and...

I wake in a cold sweat.

Comments

[bluestream.livejournal.com]

Congrats for the result, Ben. I wasn't quite sure what direction that match was likely to go. Who's in the SJC A team this year?

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's the same team as last year - Myself, Ed, Kim and Hugh. I know what you mean about the match: it's probably the most nervous I've been before a match since my first Varsity.

[radinden]

Oh, nice job. I'm getting the feeling it's going to be quite a high-scoring year again this year. If Katie was the mod, I know which packet it was, I know which chemistry bonus it was, and I know nahhhhhthing about the subject at all...!

Incidentally, did you ever expect to see a quiz match between Wycliffe B and St Cross?!

[prochainement.livejournal.com]

There's some interesting matches this year, having moderated Oriel A v Linacre A last night, I'm quite worried about Green v Linacre B since the committee decided Linacre B were actually better than Linacre A (who were really quite good).

[prochainement.livejournal.com]

p.s. just to add my congratulations

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

Thanks - good luck with the match against Linacre B!

[ktroo85.livejournal.com]

Eek, What were Oriel like? I'm suddenly getting nervous about being in a pool of four A teams.

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The query came from Edmund Dickinson of SJC, so you could e-mail him if you want a subject-matter expert's opinion.

The Wycliffe B/St Cross match was definitely never on my top ten most likely. Tragically, no disgraced Tory ministers this time around.

[ktroo85.livejournal.com]

I have an email from Edmund about the chemistry bonuses which I will forward.

[midnightmelody.livejournal.com]

*grins at the dream*

I declare undying love for the creative genius of your subconscious, which should be writing Radio 4 comedies.

(Prompted in part by thalassius's complaint that we have not had enough declarations of undying love recently. He's clearly getting soppy in his old age.)

[synergetic.livejournal.com]

That's a really interesting weird dream. Your subconscious sounds amazingly inventive.

P.S. Congrats on the result!

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

Having them throw things around my lab was quite inventive, admittedly. Otherwise, though, I think it genuinely did identify the two things that I'm most worried about - running a tutorial (that is, keeping 20 people entertained _and learning things_ for two hours!) and trying to be supportive counselly person. As someone reported to have the emotional range of a cauliflower, that's well outside my comfort zone.