January is nearly over, so how’s about a little trivia update? Even if it’s not really the weekend?

So far this month me and my trivia team Miskatonic University Fighting Cephalopods have lived up to our name, putting up our virtual “dukes” and entering a few live pub trivia battles in two different trivia leagues. We’re on a mission to just win bar prizes, not dominate the overall standings of any bar or attempt to qualify for tournaments. I like to describe us as “semi retired” in that regard!

I used to be much, much more competitive with bar and league standings, barhop points, etc. But it wasn’t just me – I’ll never forget a team we were competing against in barhop confronting us (well, me) after learning we’d moved ahead of them in the final week about 13 years ago or so:

“What did you do to play SIX times in a week – play on a Sunday?”

Me: “Well, yeah!”

Those were the days 😂

I gave up on using “barhop” for getting to tournaments even before Sporcle Live stopped allowing teams to advance this way. Why? Mainly because I felt It was more meaningful for my team to “earn” its way to a tournament. Somebody said to me about this:

“You’re a ‘rubber meets the road’ kind of gal, aren’t you?”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that! But looking back, yes, so much yes to that… 😉

Don’t get me wrong I know that PLENTY of “barhop” teams are good enough to make it through a semifinal game with no problem. Others? Not so much. Talent levels definitely differ among the teams.

Enough about all of that! Let’s focus on the “now,” shall we?

So far we’ve played five trivia games this month. This includes one My Trivia Live game at McShane’s Pub (rest in peace owner Sean McShane on his recent passing 😔) and in the Sporcle Events Globe League we played one game at the YpsiAlehouse and three games at the Corner Brewery. We’ve won four first place prizes, one second place prize and one third place prize.

We’re trying to stick to a routine of only playing once per week (occasionally more if my schedule allows). I usually work Sundays, so when I had a rare Sunday off on January 12, we played at the Alehouse and by some strange madness, we wound up with a first place sweep!

This week, we “had” planned to return to McShane’s Pub, but recent events put those plans on the back burner 🤮 I started feeling under the weather at work last Thursday, and it blossomed into what seemed to be a semi-severe case of flu (I did not test for COVID). Fever, chills, upper respiratory congestion, sore throat, cough. I had to miss three days of work! I mostly isolated at home or masked up if I had to go out.

I’m feeling better now, but…no rest for the wicked? My poor husband seems to have caught it, so no trivia game for us tonight! We’ll try doing a virtual game Wednesday if we can find any players, otherwise our next trivia game will have to wait. Life happens, as people say…

I went out to pick up some “supplies” for my husband today, since that’s the sort of awesome wife that I am 😉 I must have needed some fresh air, because I drove with one of my windows partially down!

I can just hear my mom scolding me – “What are you trying to do – get sick again, sweetie?”

Looking ahead to February, expect us to make a cautious return to McShane’s. I say “cautious ” because of those two teams accusing of cheating (still smh over that one). I will say it again – Nope – we didn’t cheat! Yes, we were the only team getting the final question correct, but that was all Kim’s awesomeness and 100 percent of the credit goes to her.

I’ll have a chat with that host before we play at her show again. I want rules about bathroom breaks to be made as clear as healthy urine should be! I mean, what do we need to do – give our phones to the host during the final question? And if we do that, shouldn’t everyone have to do that too? Fair’s fair, right?

We also plan to play at a “new to us” trivia spot in the second week of February. No, I’m not saying which one! But any number of things could sabotage those plans, as has happened the past two times I’ve attempted to go out for trivia games on my birthday! Super Bowls, smart phone fails, weather calamities, blah blah blah.

Que sera, sera…