Mask requirements are starting to go bye-bye, thanks to Centers for Disease Control recommendations – although individual businesses will likely still require them. And I’ll have no problem masking up, because I’m not one of “those” people who has to argue about shit. There is no point, really.

All of that said, as of this blog posting, I’m three days away from “that” date. What is “that” date? Being two weeks past my second COVID-19 shot. Aside from making plans to visit parents and in-laws inside their homes – and getting a haircut (next Wednesday), I haven’t made any other plans yet to enjoy this newfound “freedom.”

It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment! My husband and I have really gotten used to outdoor drinking/dining. We’re the ones who show up in outdoor beer gardens with individual seat pads (homemade with foam covered in flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth fabric) and whatever clothing/gear we need to endure the elements (barring rain, we’re not that hard core). Over this past winter, hoodies, warm hats, snow boots, mittens and fleece-lined pants/leggings have gotten a lot of use! Heck, I even wore SNOW PANTS to the bar a couple of times! On the way, I joked, “It will be nice when I go out to the bar without having to dress like I’m in the Yukon.” When we had firepit time reserved at a favorite local bar, my husband got a LOT of use out of his “fire gloves” – which allow users to reach into fires to move logs (with caution of course).

Businesses also adjusted to outdoor dining/drinking by offering igloos, fire pits, gas fireplaces, propane heaters, etc. Some of them will probably still keep doing this – even as mask requirements drop. And that’s perfectly fine with me!

So…what about trivia – indoors? That is something we’ve just started talking about, but we’re likely not ready to dive into that head-first right away. And the likelihood of us playing as regularly – and as competitively as we once did is well, unlikely. I’m seeing maybe once or twice monthly games at spots familiar to us. I don’t want trivia to become a source of stress. I’ve had a lot of fun with the virtual games – seeing friends and family who live out of state – or practically out of state – and not having any real money on the line – or worries about whether or not we’ll qualify for tournaments. I would like to say that ship has sailed, since it’s been very positive for my mental health.

To the other teams out there playing who know us, rest assured – just because we might be retiring from “tournament trivia,” that doesn’t mean we will think twice about depriving y’all of a little prize money when we get lucky enough to do it! And because we’ve been playing so many virtual games over the past 14 months – we’re not THAT rusty! Though I’ll admit Emmy Awards will always be a category I don’t give two shits about – and I didn’t really follow the Academy Awards for this year – though I think Frances McDormand was in the movie that won? Or was nominated a couple of years ago? Ah, do I need to follow her career now?

Getting into actually writing questions down again will definitely be an adjustment! Copying and pasting text and taking photos of questions is pretty much how I do things these days. Wearing actual clothes instead of PJs or “house clothes” to trivia games will also be an adjustment!

As always, stay tuned with this blog for updates! But if we show up at your local trivia spot, don’t be surprised…