*That* Guy

After a couple days of political and religious commentary, I thought I would go back to my usual postings on nothing truly relevant. It was rare I posted much on either subject in my old blog, let alone post two days in a row AND use those subjects.

So I strive to be THAT GUY. Being THAT GUY is not always a good thing (like a "look at *that guy*" [and a bunch of explicative or explicative substitutes for those with kids] who cuts you off on the highway, has his car music so loud it hurts your ears in your car with the windows up, has crap hanging off the car after a car wreck he didn't fix, who has duct tape on the mirrors, etc.). Here, I want to be THAT GUY in a fun context.

While I do not personally know the man, the guy pictured above is Mike Haile from Champaign's Lite Rock 97.5 Radio Station. He runs contests each weekday morning on music trivia, and I find it quite fun while we drop the kids off at school and head to work. You can only win every 30 days, and on most months, I win a couple days after my time to NOT wain has passed. I also recognize several consistent winners such as myself. There's Parkland's Admissions Colonal, Mike, who is a neat guy. There's Steve, my old boss at my old workplace who is a *case*, and the main reason at least a half a dozen people left that place, and others I know. It is a fun ritual.

When I call Mike and am actually trying to win, and can tell he needs to be about his business, I usually don't belabor the point and try and be self-described clever. But if I call and he already has a winner, (it's neat he will still entertain calls before the answer is given out and let you guess and tell you if you got it or not, and provides the correct answer if not). sometimes I try to be funny. Self-described funny, mind you.

The first time I made him laugh out loud was unintentional. I got the wrong answer for a question they already had a winner for. I was actually confident my guess was correct, but I had forgotten about another album the group had done. I just said, "I am shocked by the monkey of Peter Gabriel that I did not get that." His hearty laughter made me want to make him laugh again. That way, I could be THAT GUY. The clown that makes him laugh, and when he hangs up, he might think, oh, it was THAT GUY again. No worries, Mike - neither a stalker or taking this too seriously. Just having some light fun here.

I made him laugh a few times, and got a few noticable guffaws from him. The last one involved a question on Faith Hill. I listen to a wide array of music. All except Maynard Thumbtwanger country (bonus points to anyone who gets the ref), and rap/sexist hip-hop. So The question was along the lines of, name one of her one-word albums after he listed all of her other one-word albums. Ruthie and I had no clue. So I called up later than usual, in trying to be THAT GUY, but he didn't actually have a winner yet. My answer for the remaining Faith Hill one-word album title? I offered "Crap", acknowledging I had no clue. He guffawed loudly, and indicated, in gentle words, he also was not a fan of Faith Hill. Ruthie, at that moment, pondered, "I wonder if the title is Faith?" So I offered it up as a random guess and it was actually correct. I gave her credit and he used her name on the air. I want to be THAT GUY.

On a slight tangent, people who know me know my sight is awful, and because I have Choroideremia (Google it if interested), you never know how long the practical vision will last. It sometimes stabilizes for years on end. Well, a couple weeks ago, it took a nose-dive, and to be quick, I could now claim for disability (which I will not do until I am forced to). I have been told by my wife (and a few others) I should go into radio, because they like my voice. I don't necessarily get that, though when I go monotone, people can find it soothing. It took me aback the first time Ruthie leaned close in bed and asked me to talk to her so she could get to sleep, but I get that now. I picture a Brian Counter Death Drive show, running 1am to 5am, where my monotone voice lulls people and truckers to sleep on the highway at high speeds.

I have no training whatsoever, but the idea is appealing, especially since my eyes are truly going out now. I am great at games, and have enough music trivia in my head to run fun contests for years. I'd love to start an All-Contest radio station, but obviously don't have the capitol to start. Any takers for THAT GUY radio, WGEK? (GEEK RADIO) Call me.