It looks like a few more local Stump! trivia spots will be opening in the Ann Arbor, MI area soon. Including the very first spot that me and my team turned into a regular haunt.

Here are the local spots offering live trivia soon:

Haymaker, 7:30 p.m. beginning Wednesday, September 15; Blom Meadworks, 7 p.m. beginning Thursday, September 16; Sticks/Aubree’s, beginning Thursday, September 16 and Arbor Brewing Company Microbrewery, beginning 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6.

My team used to play fairly regularly in two of these spots – ABC Microbrewery (aka Corner Brewery), and Sticks.

That being said, me trying to summon people to play in a live trivia setting indoors is still largely TBD. It’s far more likely that my husband and I may – one day – venture out to play a live trivia game as a duo. But even that isn’t too likely to happen anytime soon – mainly because my trivia “pardner” had become far too fond of the virtual games! No annoying music, silence while trying to come up with answers, no having to wander up to a bar and wait in line for drinks, having your own bathroom nearby, yada yada.

But there is more to the story with our team. My husband and I did go out for one live trivia game back in early July, and it was apparent that neither of us – especially me – was ready for that yet. During the course of the game, I was basically on edge. I was nervous about having to get up and hand in answer slips – waiting for others to go up there first to do it – I felt we were sitting too close to a large noisy team and just wasn’t comfortable at all being there. Also, it didn’t help that earlier in the afternoon we had to walk in pouring rain to pick up a car that was being repaired – and not even allowed a spot to sit in the waiting room at the shop. We thought going out to the bar for a change would possibly help our moods, but that was not the case…

It all came to a head at the end of the game when a player on a team, who happens to play regularly with another player (whom I detest), came over to me to…basically brag about having a perfect game that night. With a fist bump. I was NOT ready for that, I didn’t like having my personal space invaded (the plague heightened my social anxieties immensely), and my husband wasn’t at the table with me. I reacted poorly and said something to this person that I shouldn’t have said – but still, as I reflect upon the experience, I’m still not sorry that I said it. I thought it was poor sportsmanship to boast about a perfect game with people whom are not only NOT your friends but also your longtime trivia rivals. Also, this person was far too familiar and way too touchy feely for a plague ridden environment (has everyone forgot about social distancing)? I’m not saying that there is any real excuse for me to have done what I did, all I’m saying is that there were extenuating circumstances exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve always been an introverted person and it took decades for me to get over my shyness (I used to hide when people came to the house). So…a pandemic that brought with it stay at home orders, isolation, estrangement from friends/family and everything else set me back socially, to say the least. But I’m alive, I haven’t lost any friends or family close to me so…perspective?

This player and his regular trivia partner happen to play in a LOT of different local spots. So if me and my husband happen to go out to play any live shows, we’ll do our best to avoid the ones that they tend to frequent. I honestly don’t care if I ever see either of those folks ever again. The last thing I want to do is issue an apology that isn’t sincere. Because it won’t be. As I said, I meant exactly what I said. Does that make me a bad person? Possibly!

If so, I’ll live with it…

Virtual game tonight. Recap posted in the next couple of days. If I remember to save my notes! 🙂