A Friday Night Trivia Fundraiser and Some Unexpected Wins
Hey everyone, it’s been a hectic week with work deadlines piling up, but I wanted to pop in and tell you about last night’s little adventure. Ren and I, along with Lissa and her boyfriend Jake, went to a trivia fundraiser at the community center over on Maple Street. It was for a local animal shelter, which is always a cause I can get behind since I’m a sucker for any pup with sad eyes. Plus, it was a nice excuse to get out of the house on a Friday night instead of bingeing another Netflix series.
We got there around 6:30, and the place was already packed. Folding tables were set up with mismatched chairs, and there was a little snack bar in the corner selling pretzels and soda for a dollar each. Ren grabbed us a couple of Cokes while I scoped out a table near the back. Lissa and Jake showed up a few minutes later, and we formed our little team of four. We decided to call ourselves “The Maple Misfits” after the street outside, mostly because we couldn’t agree on anything cooler.
The trivia host was this super energetic guy in a bright green polo shirt who kept cracking dad jokes between rounds. The questions were all over the place, from history to pop culture to science. I’m terrible at anything involving dates or wars, so I mostly sat there looking clueless during the history round. Ren, though, somehow knew the exact year the first moon landing happened. I’m still not sure how he remembers stuff like that. Lissa was our MVP for the music category, nailing every single boy band question from the 90s. Jake just kept saying, “I’m here for moral support,” while munching on pretzels.
One of the rounds was a local knowledge category, which included a question about the annual Frostbloom Festival. We all agreed on the answer since it’s such a big deal around here every February, with the ice sculptures and the hot cider stands down by the river. I mean, who hasn’t spent a freezing afternoon there at least once, right? We got that one correct, along with a few others, and ended up surprising ourselves by placing third overall. Third! Out of like fifteen teams! We won a little basket of goodies from a nearby shop, including some handmade soaps and a jar of honey. I’m already planning to use the lavender soap in the guest bathroom; it smells amazing.
After the trivia wrapped up, we stuck around for a bit chatting with some folks we hadn’t seen in a while. There was a table with info about adopting shelter pets, and I nearly walked out with a brochure for a scruffy little terrier mix named Peanut. Ren had to drag me away before I started filling out paperwork. We’ve talked about getting a dog before, but with our schedules, it’s probably not the right time. Still, those puppy eyes haunt me.
On the way home, we stopped at a 24-hour diner for milkshakes. I got my usual chocolate with extra whipped cream, while Ren tried something called a “blueberry fog,” which is apparently a regional thing I’d never heard of until last night. It’s like a blueberry milkshake but with some kind of fizzy twist. He said it was weird but good. I took a sip and honestly couldn’t decide if I liked it or not. We sat there for probably too long, laughing about how bad we were at the geography questions and making plans to maybe hit up the farmers market tomorrow morning if we can drag ourselves out of bed.
Anyway, it was just a really nice night. Nothing huge or life-changing, just good company and a few laughs. I’m already looking forward to the next fundraiser event, though I might need to brush up on my state capitals before then. My brain is still a little embarrassed about mixing up Montana and Missouri. Oh well. Hope your Friday night was just as fun, or at least involved a comfy couch and some takeout. I’m off to crash now; trivia apparently takes more energy than I expected.