Validation

I just had one of those moments that valid your entire existence. You know the ones I’m talking about. For example, I had gone through school as the guy who knew all of the presidents, all the way back to kindergarten. If there was any presidential trivia going on, everybody knew to ask me, because I was the 'presidents guy.' Then in senior year, our Academic Bowl added a Presidents category. They gave us a study packet, which I briefly looked at the first page, then ignored it, because I knew the presidents, dammit. Then the competition came, and the questions were really difficult. Then I realized they were straight out of the stupid study packet they gave us. At that point I realized that everybody in the competition who read that packet had a huge leg up on me. Still, when they announced the winners, I had taken first place, and by a fairly decent margin, too. And in that moment, it felt like my entire life had been validated, and there are few moments in life as satisfying as that.

So, my life validating moment of the day. I was playing this game Reversi in the library (honestly, what else would I be doing in the library?), which I play quite a bit. There’s 64 stones that get placed on a board, and the goal is to get more stones in your color, simply put. So you usually play right up until the end, but some people quit the game as soon as they realize they’re going to lose, thereby denying victory to their opponent. I can’t stand this, because the game is all strategy – if your opponent uses a superior strategy, at least pay them off. That way you can learn from it, learn how to avoid it. There’s also a little used feature where you can concede the game, and at least your opponent gets the victory. I don’t like this either, because if you’re going to lose, go down swinging is my theory.

Well, you can also see the nationality of the person you’re playing against, which makes it slightly more interesting. So today I played a few games, then played one against a French guy. Halfway into the game it became clear that I was going to win.

Sure enough, Frenchie surrendered.

Not as fulfilling as certain other moments in life, but this one still made me happy.