Research

I go to trivia every week. This week, we won! The team efforts were superb (we came up, after much internal debate, with both Shaun White and Whitney Houston), and it was the best round of trivia I had ever been to.

One does not have to study for trivia. It's kind of the thing that you pick up while watching stupid TV (Millionaire Matchmaker?!) or retained from APUSH (Aaron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton). And if you're lucky, the questions fall in your favor and you win!

However, early next month, some of my friends want to do a "Geeks Who Drink" trivia featuring the HBO hit Game of Thrones. Now, even though everybody and their mother watches Game of Thrones, I had never gotten that into it, mostly because it's the kind of show where people make frustratingly stupid decisions that affect things like who rules the (Seven) Kingdom(s). And UGH if everything could not have been solved if Ned Stark wasn't so blindly loyal. Anyway, because up until last week, I had never watched an episode, I decided to do some research on the matter, because, as far as I can tell, Geeks Who Drink trivia is intense. And...TV research is frustrating. I can usually retain much more information about TV than I can reading papers (in much finer detail), but when I'm actively researching a TV show, I can't do it. If I like a show, I'll gravitate towards it and marathon and remember everything. But, like I said somewhere in the last couple of posts, you can't be into everything. And GoT is not....my jam. I'm too angry at too many people for it to work convincingly for me. Even though I appreciate the artistry, I'm all about people's stories and people here make too many bad decisions for me to respect them. That's kinda how I felt during Downton Abbey when my favorite character, Mr. Bates, became just....frustrating. BATES. WHY YOU GOTTA DO THAT.

I'm currently about 3/4 of the way through season 1. Will I watch the rest? Probably. Blegh. Peer pressure.

Returning again

I got my wisdom tooth out two days ago. The fact that it's there is supposed to signify that I had become wise at some point in my nearly 21 years of existence, right?

I went back to high school yesterday. Every time I go back, I feel a little more removed from that part of my life. A little more jaded, maybe? Maybe Bowling for Soup was right. Maybe high school doesn't end, because on the outside, exist the same dramas and the same politicking and the same cool people who get everything they want while the rest of us are left scrambling for any indication that in 10 years time, the people we once knew will remember that one awesome thing that happened and forget all the bad hat days and all the mess-ups and fake-outs and bad decisions. But every time I go back, I realize that, like it or not, I have changed. I'm still neurotic and sentimental. I like getting A's on my homework and I don't like giving up when I know I can do better. I still use who and whom correctly when I'm speaking, and I'm still afraid of needles and dentists.

But occasionally, I put on lipstick now, and a little concealer, and it's really shouldn't be a surprise when I do. I paint my nails, and although I currently have on a rosy pink, I'm really more into extremely dark or bright colors. I wear dresses and belts and necklaces and boots. My jeans fit me correctly, and, holy crap, is that eyeliner? I don't have to pretend to be scandalized by people smoking pot outside my entryway, or by people who are way to young to be downing straight shots of tequila on a school night, or by people who wear dark lipstick and leather jackets. Because I'm not.

I don't care about who dates whom (or who sleeps with whom for that matter), unless you hurt one of my friends, in which case, I will punch you in the face. I don't care whether you're waiting until marriage or have 20 notches on your bedpost (just make sure I'm not the one moving into your room next year). It doesn't really matter to me what sordid details your personal life holds (like that time you caught chlamydia whilst skinny dipping...yeah...save that story for your next squeeze). And it really shouldn't matter to you what has or hasn't happened in my distant past.

[Sidebar: If you're getting married, or having babies, or got promoted, or have an altogether awesome story about that one time you climbed Everest, or need me to talk through anything/punch anyone/put you to bed with a bottle of water and an aspirin, I'm always here for a chat. Or, you know, to call a cab for your sorry bum.]

Maybe I can never quite outgrow that place, because make no mistake. I've had wonderful times there with wonderful people. But ultimately, I have moved on. I've made several decisions that make me very happy at the moment, and I have no regrets about the things I've done in high school. Just don't drudge back all the crap that I did back then, and we'll be perfectly fine.

Hearts and snuggles!
Angela