I miss my trivia blog

I live in a new state now and talk to a very limited number of people. This was true before quarantine and is more true now that we're in it. It was nice to be able to get my thoughts out through my trivia blog, but quarantine has cancelled trivia forever somehow. Back to blogspot I go!

I'll start small. I've been doing a bit of Facebook marketplace shopping because I have a new empty apartment and feel bad about buying new stuff after tossing so much perfectly good stuff. If I were still a linguistics grad student, I might write a thesis on language and emoji use in FB marketplace messages. There seems to be a whole system that people catch on to through use and necessity. The most common comment seems to be the thumbs up emoji. Simple and to the point.

Next, I am not a fan of Zoom or video chats in general. My style of communication relies heavily on quick wit and under-the-breath comments, neither of which translates to video chats. We all have to wait patiently for our turn and then be heard by a few. I'm never sure when or if my comments actually go through. It makes me feel dumb and useless in a conversation. I'll have to try the typed chat bits of these things if this is going to keep up much longer. Blech.

I'm not sure exactly what prompted this, but has everyone at one point been the queen of something he or she isn't involved in? Like how Eliza Minnelli was the queen of the gays. I feel as though I have been the queen of several small groups that I didn't feel like I belonged to, and it seems like a wonderful and necessary part of life, at least for me. Back in Newmarket, obviously I was the queen of trivia but not on anyone's team. They all had their friends on their teams, and then had me to rule from a distance. Yet I was still part of it, so still felt like somewhat friends with most of the regulars. Do we all get to be queen of something at some point in our lives? I hope so, for your sake.

Finally, I have some thoughts on Texas. First, the state flag is displayed at the same height as the US flag. I don't know why this immediately struck me, but it did. It's very odd to see and feels a bit scary, like we don't follow the same laws. Not a comforting feeling for a left-wing liberal such as myself. Second, I've heard some people say they like Texas because "the people are so friendly" but I'm not sure what they're referring to. My neighbors are not particularly open to telling me their names, my customers do not like to say "please," and I've been honked at for 30 seconds at one point for something that required maybe a short honk and a wave. What am I missing? A dick? Third, Christianity on full display caught me a little off guard at Easter. I'm used to a senator tweeting out a "happy Easter to those who celebrate" type thing, but the Texas Governor tweeted "He Is Risen" and that shit is strange. Why is it in broken English? I wrote on our work chalk board "Hoppy [sic] Easter and thoughtful Passover" and was immediately called out as Jewish. People here don't acknowledge other religions unless they are one? Surprisingly, that's new for me.