I'm a Dumbledork

When it comes to Harry Potter, I'm pretty much a nerd. In the summer of 2000, when J.K. Rowling's fourth installment in the Harry Potter Series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was published, I became fascinated with Harry's adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The series was recommended to me by a friend, and I pretty much laughed it off as fairytales and nonsense. My job for that summer, however, was incredibly boring. I proceeded to read all four novels in two weeks, and my inner geek inside was at an all-time high. Until now, that is.

I am a competitive person, a fact not lost on me. But recently I've thought about exactly how and in what context I am competitive and came up with some interesting, but troubling, conclusions.

Competition with and against others is what most people think of when they hear someone described as competitive. In that sense, I certainly fit the bill. Whether it is Thanksgiving football, Risk with my friends, disc golf against my buddy Reilly, tennis, soccer, racquetball, the Callan Cup, or the fantasy football league I run, if the result is a loss I am, in varying degrees, disappointed, frustrated and angry. But never at my competitor, only at myself. And those contests are staged engagements - prearranged face-offs pitting two or more opponents, all equally aware that the goal is to win. A competition that is willingly entered into by all parties, and for all intents and purposes, a healthy one. But what happens when that competitive spirit begins to invade subconsciously into other benign parts of your life?

A Harsh Reality

I don't watch a lot of television. My leisure time is short, and to be honest, most of what is on is complete garbage. Programming these days is flooded with reality television that, in fact, is far from reality. While I can't really get a handle on why viewers choose to watch shows like The Hills or Denise Richards: It's Complicated, my guess is that they do so to escape their own realities. Personally, the lack of intelligent, thought-provoking television, I feel, is making our country dumber by the day.

The DVR has become my best friend in regards to television, recording my favorite shows when I can't watch them at their regularly scheduled times (which I don't even know, by the way). The Phillies are really the only thing I make room for in my day, but it's summer, and my schedule has really calmed down. And they play almost everyday, so it's easy to remember.