A Losing Night

Are You A Loser?, originally uploaded by splorp.

It was an evening of losses last night.

Our trivia team lost another hard fought battle at Casey's. Last week we were firmly in the lead but wagered badly on the final question we got right and landed in second. Last night was closer. We were tied for third but only five points behind the first place team. We were sure we had learned our lesson last week, but once again we wagered conservatively on the final question, which we again correctly answered. We still wouldn't have won had we bet the maximum 20 points, but we would have been in second. Instead we finished in a tie for third and lost the tiebreaker, so we didn't get a prize.

I'm more beat up about the loss last week because we should have won that. We were kicking ass last week. Last night was a satisfying defeat because most of the answers didn't come easy but we thought the questions out, and more often than not, we got it right. We earned those points. I screwed up on a question about tennis: "Who defeated Boris Becker in the 1988 and 1990 Wimbledon championship but lost to Becker in 1989?" My first instinct was "Stefan Edberg" but then I started doubting myself and wrote down "Mats Wilander." Aaarghh. Whatever. It was another strong showing, though, and I'm sure it's just a matter of time until we win the evening outright.

After trivia I was on a mission to get fried chicken from Bon Chon in Koreatown. Franklin Avenue wrote about it and as a fan of fried food I had to try it. I think I circled for half an hour and could not find parking. My bladder was just about full, so I decided to save the chicken for another night.

At home I settled in to watch "American Idol" on DVR. My pick, David Archuleta, lost in a landslide to David Cook. My DVR actually cut out just as Ryan was saying, "The winner is David..." Had I not already looked up who won, I would have been pissed. The finale itself was actually very satisfying. Cook may have won, but Michael Johns stole the show. He was great, especially his duet with Carly Smithson on "The Letter." He should have been the American Idol. Of all the contestants I think I'm more likely to buy a Michael Johns album.

To cap it off, I watched "Top Chef." I wasn't so much bummed that Dale was eliminated as I was that Lisa survived yet another round. What a sucky way to end an evening.