opposite hand bowling, and changing tires...

Yay! I finally get to blog! Blogspot, which is part of google, was having some sort of internal server issues this morning. But it appears to be back up!

Today would have been my grandmother’s 88th birthday. It’s hard to believe that she’s been gone for 5 years. She was a small (under 5 feet), round, very Italian lady, who was extremely good hearted, and cussed like a sailor. Nannie lived by the motto of “do as I say, not as I do!” hehehehe I do miss her! She was a survivor though. She only had a 6th grade education, as she was expected to stay home and help take care of the family, as she was one of the oldest girls. But she always enjoyed a good time – we call those her “Nancy” days. Her formal name is Annunciatta, but she went by Lucy. However, whenever she would meet boys, she’d tell them her name was Nancy, as her father would have a fit if they came around looking for her! I know she’s causing a ruckus in Heaven somewhere!

This weekend was a busy one, as it started on Saturday with an afternoon graduation party for my coworker. Unfortunately it was outside and the rain didn’t let up. I ended up being far muddier than I ever wanted to be, but it was a good time had by all. The band was pretty good, and I spent some of my time trying to talk my coworkers into dancing on the picnic tables. They didn’t fall for it, but it would have been one way to liven up the party. I have to keep the caterer in mind, as he normally does our work meetings, but he came on sight and did hotdogs, hamburgers, and chicken. I’m so very proud of her, as she worked full time and completed her accelerated bachelor’s degree at the same time. She’s already looking toward grad school, but we keep encouraging her to take a break, as she just started a new and very demanding job. But I think she likes to get out of the house.

After washing all the mud off, I went to meet up with some friends for my double date. I had a lot of fun! One really can’t go wrong with good food, good company, and bowling. I don’t know if I would formally call this a date, as it was more like 4 friends hanging out, but I think that’s normally how it is in the get-to-know you stage. Frankly, I don’t think he’s very interested in me, but I really couldn’t get a good read on him. But that doesn’t matter, I’m interested in meeting new people, and making friends as well, so that would work for me too. But he is a good hugger, so he gets bonus points for that!

We went out for Indian food, one of my favorites, then off to my favorite bar in the city – The Owl Bar. I like the atmosphere of the place, as it’s over 100 years old, with very high ceilings. It used to be a speakeasy, and the owl’s eyes would blink when the police were on their way. They have excellent food and decent beer, and I confirmed the fact that I don’t really like dirty martinis. I love olives, but I don’t like to drink olive juice… makes me shiver just thinking about it. Because we were all torn with what we wanted to do next, and really didn’t have any preferences, we went to Rock-n-Bowl. They started early, so we got 4 hours of bowling instead of the 3. Besides, with my average, I need all the practice I can get!

I tried a heavier ball, which is working much better for me. Hopefully I can pull off the same kind of game I played for my second one on Saturday night on Tuesday. But, I will gladly boast, that if there ever was a competition for “opposite hand bowling” I can take the lead easily! What started as a curiosity, as both Ryan and Heather are left handed, I tried to bowl with my left hand - which quickly led to a challenge to see who could win a game doing that – ME! It’s really about keeping your eye on the pins, but I couldn’t figure out how to duplicate my stance and my approach on my left side. My footing kept getting lost, and I couldn’t slide with my right… I like a challenge. I eventually stopped trying to stand/approach and would just hap-hazardly walk up to the line, and then roll the ball – which lead to my victory.

However, I have to give it to Heather, as she’s proven time and time again that she’s the best bowler! But the ladies took the victory Saturday night, as I think we scored higher points on all the games over the guys.

Unfortunately after making it back to Ryan’s, we had a tire to change. Ryan was the brave soul who crawled under Josh’s truck to get the spare, and did most of the dirty work. Heather and I were good flashlight holders, as there really isn’t much light out at 1am. But, overall, I had a lot of fun, and am looking forward to going out with them again.

I do have to mention something from the homily on Sunday at Mass. Fr. J talked about meaning what you say, and saying what you mean – the power of the spoken word. He also touched on the fact that you can’t expect something from someone, without being willing and able to give it yourself. That’s a good lesson to learn.