“Write about winning something.”

It was my birthday week and I was turning 40.  Again.  Actually I was turning 42, but it still felt like 40 and 41 had been lost to the pandemic.  My husband suggested a trip to this hole-in-the-wall comedy club where he and our friend, Tom, had participated in a bar trivia night a few weeks prior.

I love to laugh.  In fact, it’s one of the things in life that brings me the most joy.  I can also be a bit competitive although I don’t really mind losing at games.  When I was a child, that was a different case – but as an adult, my heart is truly filled by spending time together – having fun and laughing.  The outcome or conclusion is somewhat irrelevant. 

So Tim, Tom and I head to the comedy trivia night.  The bar is literally named “Nothing Fancy” and it’s this dingy, non-de-script spot on Dundas Street in Toronto.  The bar is long and thin.  Your shoes stick to the floor and there are limited options.  It’s not the typical gastropub we normally visit, with small plates and a wide selection of craft beers and signature cocktails.  There is 1 IPA, available in tall cans.  And I take it.

We head to the back room (behind a curtain).  An even smaller space, with some long counter-style tables and a few very small round tables.  The maximum capacity is maybe 20 people.  But immediately you feel connected to the others who are there.  Before long, the host hops up on the “stage” (which is inches from the people in front and only about 6 inches elevated from the sticky floor).  He’s got this long, curly, wild hair and it turns out, he is very funny – in a sort of self-deprecating, overly honest way.  But I love it. 

The style of the trivia is very free form and not classified by any formal categories or themes.  We’re handed a piece of ruled notebook paper and a pen, and asked to develop a team name (which can get you bonus points).  Essentially there are three rounds of questions.  You write down your answer and then trade papers at the end of each round to “score” another team, just like if you were back in elementary school.  And we get rolling.

The questions are random and sometimes hilarious.  We spend a lot of time laughing.  I have one shining moment when I immediately know the answer to a riddle: “Forward I am heavy but backwards I am not.”  As we trade papers, the host asks people to call out answers that may not be technically correct, but may still be worthy of some partial credit.  As it turns out, there is a lot of partial credit given (often in decimals that include .69) and it’s genuinely a wonderful time.

One of the questions involves the host humming a very short intro to a song, which the participants are asked to identify.  Tim actually nails that one, being a much better student of all things pop & rock music with a broad taste and eagerness to dig into bands who originated in Canada.

In the end, our team comes out on top.  We were the trivia Champions at Nothing Fancy, the week of March 31, 2022.  Our “prize” included 1 tallboy of the IPA each, and – of course, bragging rights.

(and for the record, the answer to the riddle is “ton”)