The self-reflection-inducing Quoteboard

This one goes out to Travis...

OK, Travis is like the only other person I know that is a Weezer fan. So, on Friday night, I checked out the Official Weezer Message Board. The buzz on the board was about the first single of Weezer's yet unnamed 5th album. The song "Beverly Hills" is scheduled to start receiving airplay some time in March. The posters on that board speculated that the album will be released sometime around May.

Well, Saturday night, I get this thought. "I should tell Travis. He'd be interested to know that." So I visit his website in an attempt to find some way to contact him. His main site consists of a bunch of links to the blogs of his closest friends. But there's no good place for random visitors or regular friends (me) to post stuff. After hunting for a few minutes, I click on the Quoteboard.

At the time I was reading it, I thought that it was some of the funniest stuff I've read on the internet. Like the comment by his girlfriend Nicole about a Frozen Banana kit. I was in awe of the high caliber of the quotes that were on the Quoteboard.

After reading the entire thing, I wondered how I could get on the Quoteboard. Then I realized that I probably never have, and maybe never will, say anything good enough to put me up there. It's like trying to get into a professional sports hall of fame. Only the best of the best.

My sense of humor is, well, peculiar, to say the least. My problem is that I try to make obscure and arcane (note: I looked that word up in the dictionary to ensure I was using it properly) references to things I've seen on TV and movies (mostly Simpsons). Usually, I'm the only one who knows what the hell I'm talking about. So when someone actually bothers to listen to me (or just happens to hear me), they look at me like "huh?". And that's when they're being polite.

You're either funny or you're not. IMO, it's not really something you can learn. Comedy is mostly timing and observation. I'm pretty oblivious to what's going on around me half the time, and when I do think of something funny to say, it's usually 3 hours later when no one is around. And if they are, they're all "Dude, that was like 3 hours ago!"

Side tangent: I've been waiting for a few months to use a comeback or comment that I've been working on for a few months. Of course, I have to wait for someone to ask me, "How long did it take you to come up with that one?" or "How long have you been waiting to use that one?". Only then can I answer with an exact count of months, days, and hours.

I've always tried humor as a way to get people's attention. I want people to like me. Sad but true. I usually stick to sarcastic comments or self-deprivation to get laughs. I excel at getting people to laugh AT me, but I want them to laugh WITH me. Now, I have been told that I have a good sense of humor. And there are some people I can get to laugh on a consistent basis. But my comedic routine is nowhere near the high level of quality needed to get on the Travis Kroh Quoteboard.

I could spend the rest of my life (or at least the amount of time between now and a point in the future where it may become impractical to continue being friends with Travis) trying to come up with something that would appear on the Quoteboard. If I did, that would be pretty pathetic. Trying desperately to win the approval of a single human being. Like not having Travis post one of my funny comments would make my life incomplete. Like I'm trying to get him to like me.

But he already does. Travis has many friends. Some closer than others (and we're all like that). He's going to spend time with people I don't know or associate with. And we do hang out occasionally. I wish more often, 'cuz I think he's a really cool guy. He has many entertaining stories and anecdotes. I'm interested to hear about his feelings of the things he's interested in. (Does that make sense?) He knows Linux. I want to know Linux. He's a damn good coder. I wish I was as good as he was; I'd love to get some pointers from him someday. He likes Dave Matthews Band. And we both like Weezer.

I may never get on the Quoteboard. I shouldn't let that bother me. I should just be glad that he considers me a friend. And I am.