Losing isn't as fun as it is cracked up to be

I'm bitter.

For the third year in a row, I lost our family Oscar pool. For years, our family has been watching the Oscars together, and because gambling makes bloated award shows (and everything else) more fun, we started an annual pool. And I always won. And when I say won, I don't mean some pansy-assed, by the skin of your teeth, nail-biting till the end win. Oh no. I mean complete and total domination from the word go, where any semblance of the outcome being in doubt was obliterated without me even breaking a sweat, utter humiliation for the losers kind of win. It got to the point where we had to change the rules, because apparently me winning all the time isn't as fun for other people as it is me. And I'm such a good winner, who would never rub it in anyone's face, so I have no idea why that would be.

What do you mean the sarcasm detector is going haywire?

Anyhow, since the change in the rules, I've been much less successful. And I seem to have lost the killer instinct. Even when I know what will win, if I don't actually want the person/movie to win, I can't bring myself to cast my vote for it. Like this year, I knew that American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson was going to win, but having seen her performance and having seen the other performances, I just didn't want her to win. Not that she wasn't good, but I just couldn't in good conscience vote for her over Cate Blanchett. As far as I can tell, the Oscars are still given out for achievement in acting, not singing. I don't know if singing has an award ceremony - note: the Grammys don't count because they reward sales, not talent. See: Peas, The Black Eyed.

So, it doesn't look like I'll be changing this downward trend anytime soon. But on the bright side, my mom, who won the pool for the first time ever, left me a message rubbing her victory in. She's coming along nicely.