Every good duo has its share of rivalries that somehow knit the couple closer together. There was Simon and Garfunkel who battled through the ages trying to write better lyrics than the other. Bert and Ernie struggled against the other to maintain the position as “Lord of Bubbles” during their bath times. Sonic and Knuckles nearly died in their race to be the worst mascot. As far as I know, being tethered to a rival is the only real way to experience life.
Christa and I are no different from those other famous duos, and thus we are spurred to adventure and submerge ourselves in new battles week after week. Heck, I wouldn’t be writing this post right now if I wasn’t trying to out-post Christa. Since the inception of our dating career I can’t remember a time we weren’t competing in one way or another. Let me list for you some of our earlier battles and who the primary champion was.
She just isn't a good eater
- Eating contest (hot dogs, waffles, primanti’s, etc.) – Dan
- Tennis (I should note that Christa was the No. 1 Seed at our High School) – Dan
- Swinging (Height and endurance, mostly) – Dan
- Settlers of Catan – Wash
- Pumpkin carving – Wash
- Uno (careful, that’s an iTunes link)(via the iPhone, which I HIGHLY recommend) – Christa (user name Buscemi)
- Words with Friends (iPhone) – Christa, who has a degree in English (Have you heard her speak? She’s awfully fluent). She cheats and spells words that I swear are forged in the depths of hell.
Most recently we’ve been contesting one another on the ping-pong table which will end as soon as one of us begins to get much better than the other.
These battles usually end up with one of us grumpy and the other consoling them to no end. “It’s okay, you’ll get better with time. I just got lucky with starting with four ‘Draw Four’ cards.”
I’m thankful that my I can have these small rivalries with Christa because it only serves to resolve our relationship and force each of us to scour the city looking for new venues and competitions to win at. I mean, how can any of these competitions possibly end our relationship? All those other famous duos worked out just fine, right?
I didn’t know heterosexual couples could compete in the same division.
Shhh, John. I don’t think Dan’s figured out yet that I’m not a man.
I am very disappointed you did not win the eating contests X. We have had a lot of training over the years!