Don't Trivialize It

(Swiped photo from myscrapworks.com site)

When Lala, Scrap Trivia's Quiz Master asked me to join the Scrapmeet 3 Trivia contest, I didn't hesitate. I have always liked playing games like Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy and Cranium. Heck! I even tried my luck at Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Game KNB once. Besides, it's about time I put those times I spent reading scrapbook magazines and books to good use.

So I enlisted for the individual category and drafted Tin to partner with me in the team category amidst her protestations. I was confident she would make a good partner because a) she is a very good stamper and scrapbooker (if there are questions that had anything to do with techniques and actually doing something, she would be my secret weapon), 2) she also reads alot, with subscriptions to magazines I have never heard of, and 3) she was one of the smartest in our VIE class.

When they called the six individual category participants onto the stage, I set out to enjoy myself. It didn't matter whether I won or lost, the best part of any game is the playing. We were all given pens and paper where we could write our answers. Lala announced the official contest rules and the games began.

I remember the first question was filling in the missing letters: _ _ L_ _ _ E _ A _ _ _ N. I know we all correctly answered VALERIE SALMON to that one. Succeeding questions included, "What was the name of the first scrapping store?" Nobody got Keeping Memories Alive right. Lala also had GNILLEPS questions where you had to spell words backwards. That would have been more effective if we had to recite it on time pressure. Some of the contestants figured out early on that they could just write the word from right to left. So that was why they were fast and their Rs and Bs were also written backwards. I realized that too late and got stumped actually trying to spell backwards. Several multiple choice and true or false questions later and I lost track of time and the scores. I just answered what I can. As I'm sure the other contestants did.

I have to hand it over to Donna. She really knows her scrapping stuff. In the end, we had to have a tie-breaker between us. It was a really really close fight.

I don't know how long the game was but I was feeling tired and drained by then, and there was still the Team Category to go through. Good thing Tin was fresh and ready. To be honest, I let her answer most of the questions, discussing only when we weren't sure of the answer. There was a round of charades and that was really funny. I dare you to act out dry embossing. Tin and I got embossing (I have no idea how) but got stumped on dry. She kept gesturing to her hair and I kept shouting, hair embossing, embossing hair. All the while I was thinking what does hair have to do with scrapbooking, except when you can't manage an LO and you want to tear your hair off? She was hoping I would get the word "dry" from her blow-DRYing her hair. Hah! O di ba mahirap? I don't know how the others got Basic Grey Notch and Die Tool and Eyelet Setter. They must be psychics.

Cabbie and Mitch won the Team Category round by a matter of two points. If Tin and I had only remembered who the founder of Simple Scrapbooks was (I even reviewed Stacy Julian's book, how could I have missed that), Erin Lincoln as the web hostess of CK (I remembered too late), and answered Making Memories Precision Paper Trimmer instead of Memory Makers Precision Trimmer to "the paper trimmer with the self-sharpening blade" (we got confused about the similar sounding names - I even added an S to Tin's Memory Maker) we would have had a shot at the championship. And to think that we had to persuade Cabbie and Mitch to join the contest at all. Hmmm...not very strategic on my part. Tin and I should have taken to heart one of our AIM professors' favorite mantra - KILL THE COMPETITION. But I have to admit that has no room in scrapbooking. We are all just too nice.


I got a trophy and several goodies for joining the contest. Not bad at all for an hour's work. From left to right: 1) Case of button embellies from Memory Box. My name was the very first drawn in the raffle. I'm not sure that was lucky. Who invented the rule that the best raffle prizes should be saved for last? I know, I should be thankful I got a prize at all when many didn't get anything. 2) Green SEI 8 1/2 x 11 album - my prize for the individual category. 3) Marriage overlay (P50.00 from Memory Box). 4) Daisy D's Kit - prize for team category. Tin also has a set. Courtesy of Memory Lane. 5) Three 12x12 vellum sheets from Memory Box (P70.00) 6) 3bugsinarugs tags, actually Tin's prize which she shared with me. 7) My Scrap Trivia Champion Trophy which Tin suggests I put it right beside my DH's art awards. Maybe I'll add it to my resume. Right after Ms. Science Fair (19-kopong-kopong). Hahaha.

Thank you everyone, to all the other contestants, the audience, the organizers, and especially to the Pinayscrapbookers. Truth to tell, many of the questions in the contest, we have discussed in the e-group. O, Nita, special mention ka na naman - thanks for lending me your books and magazines.

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When I got home, DH was having dinner. I gingerly placed my Scrap Trivia Champion trophy on the table without saying a word. He peered at the words written on it, then he bowed his head in reverence (or so I thought), tears of joy came to his eyes (wish ko lang), his shoulders shook from trying to control his emotions. Then he burst out laughing. Hindi na nakapag-pigil! I laughed along with him. Our KiDS couldn't understand why we were lauging so hard, but they laughed along with us. Ahhh...another scrappable moment.

PS - my DH laughed, not because he thought my win was trivial. His first words to me were, "That still has nothing to do with actual scrapping..." He has been encouraging me to make layouts, you see. And he is right. In the end, it doesn't matter what you know. What matters is what you do.