match up

i am highly competitive.  i don't think you'd see evidence of this until you choose to play a game with me.  and the intensity increases when you pair me up with someone who is just as competitive (ahem, insert 'husband' here).

several years ago, hubbie taught me the card game, 500 rummy.  i got the hang of it fairly quickly and realized that i had a knack for playing.  soon, we were battling it out nearly every night, sometimes on weekends staying up late to crown a winner.

then one day, i lost my winning streak.  sure, i had lost some here and there, but i'm talking about not being able to recover after a dozen, maybe 2-dozen losses.  it was bad.  and to make matters worse, i'm a sore loser.  as a result of this, i imposed a ban on the game for over a year.  i defiantly refused to play, at risk of losing yet another game.

we've only recently picked it up again, but i don't play with the same passion i did before the 500 rummy curse.

here's another example: the nose game.  my husband invented a game when he was little that he would play with his sister.  the rules are simple: the game starts when either party touches the other person's nose with his/her finger.  then the players go back and forth, trying to be the "last" person to touch the other's nose.  there is no time limit, so the game never ends.  the only way to pause the game is to not retaliate for 7 years.  yes, 7 years!  so you can see why the game is instantly addictive and ultimately annoying.

over the years, i saw my husband and sis-in-law playing the game, but felt relieved that i was never pulled into it.  but then a couple days ago, i made a grand mistake: i tapped my husband's nose.  i did it as a playful gesture and for no reason at all, but according to him, this started the dreaded game.

so over the past 2 days, i've been struggling with trying to stop playing, but the thought of 7 years of not tapping his nose is hard to bear.  i've already resigned to covering my nose with my hands or shirt, shielding my face with a pillow before bed, and being ready to escape whenever he's in close proximity to me.  it's alittle (or alot) insane, i know.  but i just can't help it!

and it's so not fun.  really.  wanna bet?