![\"1923734_8772087394_8831_n\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2017\/02\/1923734_8772087394_8831_n-212x300.jpg\")
<\/strong>\nLocation:<\/strong> Renton, WA
\nJudge start date:<\/strong> April 8, 1997, according to my \u201csuitable for framing\u201d Judge certificate.
\nWhy did you become a Judge?<\/strong> When I started, rules where done store-by-store with their own banned and restricted lists. I wanted to have a consistent experience no matter where I went in town. That, and the groupies.
\nOccupation:<\/strong> Events Experience Designer
\n Favourite card:\u00a0<\/strong>Balance<\/a> (the irony!)
\nLeast favourite card:<\/strong> Humility<\/a>
\nFavourite format:<\/strong> 5-Color
\nCommander General:<\/strong> Numot, the Devastator<\/a>\u2014so very American
\nFavourite non-Magic Game:<\/strong> League of Legends<\/a> (current), Heroes of Might and Magic<\/a> (classic)
\nBest tournament result:<\/strong> Played in the last Pro Tour on \u201cThe Boat.\u201d That event made me the judge I am.
\nRandom fact about yourself:<\/strong> I celebrate the holidays every year with ribs flown in from Memphis, TN.<\/p>\n
Tell us your favourite Judge story. 1) \u201cEven when a player is wrong, they always deserve the chance to be heard.\u201d How did you get involved in Magic in the first place? How has being a Judge influenced your non-Magic life?<\/strong> What What is one tip you have for other Judges?<\/strong> <\/p>\n What\u2019s the best part about your local Magic community?<\/strong> What is your favourite non-Magic hobby? What is your favourite non-judging moment that happened with other Judges?<\/strong> What\u2019s the biggest rule-breaking play you\u2019ve ever made as a player?<\/strong> What has been your favourite Magic event that you\u2019ve judged? What positive aspects has the Judge Program contributed to your everyday life?<\/strong> If you could chat with one person, real or fictional, dead or alive, who would it be and why?<\/strong> What is the strangest card interaction you have seen in a tournament?<\/strong> What is your favorite \u201cafter event\u201d story?<\/strong> How do you have fun during events?<\/strong> A lot of what motivates me now is seeing events go smoothly, judges get better, and players have fun. So when I\u2019m not executing on a specific task, I look for ways to make any of those three things happen. Seeing a judge to better on calls late in the weekend after getting to talk to them early in the weekend about taking calls is fun to me.<\/p>\n If you were a Planeswalker, what would be your ultimate?<\/strong> Yep, it\u2019s that simple. \u201cDraw a card\u201d is my favorite mechanic\u2014it introduces a world of opportunity. +6 means my ultimate is actually making me stronger, not weaker. And what kind of ultimate adds loyalty instead\u00a0of removing it? The kind that puts a huge value on loyalty and that\u2019s willing to turn old ideas on their heads.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I have many favorite judge stories and their lengthy tangents. Probably the most important one is from an event where Antonino De Rosa came up to me after an appeal and explained that he knows nothing he could say would change the ruling but that he wanted to talk about it anyway. That one best summed up in two lessons:<\/p>\n
\nThat is a good reminder that players are people, and recognizing each other\u2019s humanity is part of being an exceptional judge.
\n2) \u201cIf someone says you\u2019re being a jerk, the first thing you should ask yourself is, \u2018Am I being a jerk?\u2019\u201d When we hear negative things, the impulse is to immediately justify or explain. Sometimes we just do or get things wrong. Respect the people in your events or your life that are willing to tell you what you get wrong\u2014that\u2019s the first step in getting better.
\n![\"CA](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2017\/02\/CA-Cardboard-Crack-1-300x217.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A girl named Stormy taught me to play at a diner in the middle of the night, and my best friend in college got hooked, too. He read stuff to be more competitive, and I read to understand the rules better.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t understand the question. What is a non-Magic<\/strong> life? I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to make Magic<\/strong> and gaming a central part of my life and do many awesome things. I have sacrificed a lot and endured a lot, but me, my life, Magic<\/strong>, and being a judge are basically indistinguishable at this point.<\/p>\n![\"Carter](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2017\/02\/Carter-L1-Cert-300x232.jpg\")
motivates you to continue being a Judge?<\/strong>
\nI am a judge. It\u2019s not what I do\u2014it\u2019s what I am. And the fact is that most of the very best people in my life are judges. Judges in the aggregate are some of the best people one can find almost anywhere.<\/p>\n
\nGo faster.<\/p>\n
\nThe genuine care we have for each other and willingness to work together for the benefit of individual members as needed.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Gaming of some sort\u2014always something gaming, though the specifics vary.<\/p>\n
\nActually, I have a favorite moment pending. Vicente Davis<\/a><\/span><\/span> knows what it is. In related news, be careful about handing your phone to Carter.<\/p>\n
\nFor a stretch of a few months while playing Commander, I kept tapping Maze of Ith<\/a> for mana. I blame Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n![\"95facebook95-165652897395\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2017\/02\/95facebook95-165652897395-300x200.jpg\")
<\/strong>Many favorites each for their own reasons. Either of the Modern Masters GPs in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\nI can be terribly shy. Judging gives me confidence. It\u2019s also taught me how to analyze, problem-solve, lead, follow, listen, and so on. My everyday life is better every day because judging has made me a better person.<\/p>\n
\nAbraham Lincoln. I thoroughly believe in how he brought together rivals and used their struggles to make the answers he came up with all the better for it. He also knows a thing or twenty about making hard choices and helping people commune with the angels of their better nature.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2017\/02\/1149013_10200972893658321_1711409019_n-225x300.jpg\")
What would you be doing now if Magic no longer existed?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019d likely wind up working in community development or event planning\u2014always trying to connect people to each other and what they love.<\/p>\n
\nDoes interacting with the environment count? A few years ago, I was playing in a 2HG Prerelease. Our opponents tried to block. I pointed out the card had flying. He lifted his non-flier up and said, \u201cFlying?\u201d I lifted ours up, \u201cFly\u2026ing.\u201d Higher the opponent went saying, \u201cFlyyyyying?\u201d At this point I flicked our flier straight up saying, \u201cFlying!\u201d (Btw: don\u2019t try this at home.) The weirdness is that the creature never came down. Somehow, the corner had gotten in the tiny ceiling tile gap such that the card and sleeve were dangling from the ceiling\u2026 Flying.<\/p>\n
\nYou do know what the first rule of \u201cafter events\u201d stories is, right?<\/p>\n
\nWell, I\u2019m me, so I pretty much hang out with myself.<\/p>\n
\n[+ 6] Draw a card.<\/p>\n
![\"419026_10151036209546541_587801456_n\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2017\/02\/419026_10151036209546541_587801456_n-300x199.jpeg\")
For actual event effectiveness? Seeing the beginning of the main event at GP Las Vegas 2013, despite all the doubters and setbacks. I had designed a floor plan with many features that were new and maximized every square foot of the available space. The event almost doubled the previous Magic event size record (a day after the Vegas Mini-Masters had broken the Magic<\/strong> record), and it set a new World Record for trading card events (previously held by a non-Magic<\/strong> event).<\/p>\n