espetus

Yesterday I stayed at home most of the day: slept in, did laundry, cleaned the other half of the balcony, cleaned the bathtub, vacuumed. It was rather relaxing since usually when I'm doing chores it's as if I'm trying to cram them in just before going somewhere else that there isn't time.

Afterwards, went bowling where I got to play with some of the toddlers roaming around (one guy brings his daughter on a regular basis and another brought his granddaughter). The kids are quite friendly and in general will let most of the women there carry them. Though they have some reservations about some of the guys. We're all in the same section of the alley so people keep a general eye out for the kids when it's their parent's turn to bowl. We managed to win 4 games and remain in 1st place!

Today, the hubby decided to join me on vacation and took the day off. The morning I spent taking a cartful of stuff from the balcony to the reuse and recycle shelf in the garage: plastic trashcan, five cinderblocks, a wooden plank, a neglected jade plant, and bag full of dead leaves from the surviving plants. I'm not sure how we got all that stuff on the deck in the first place, the thing is only 20 sq feet or so. But so goes with the rest of my life of weeding, and refocusing.

In the afternoon we headed to Golden Gate Park and wandered around. Ate at the de Young cafe but didn't tour inside. We asked the security person at the museum if the metal had been the bright orange color. She said yes, and it will eventually turn into the green color like the Statue of Liberty. "I'm not sure how you design ugly, but they did." I'm not sure what to make of the building, but it was striking in terms of the angular design and the texture of the metal. It will take a bit longer before it reaches its green hue. But I do think it's a daring design in the way that it's ultimate look with really at the whim of the elements. It's very chameleon-like. The Academy of Sciences is still closed, but I'm looking forward to it opening as we could see the two domes of the rooftop gardens emerging. With the two museums across from each other it will really be a dynamic contrast in architecture.

Went instead to the Japanese Tea Garden and took pictures of all the flowers. Even with a bit of a crowd at the garden it was a serene place to walk with various alcoves shaded by large Japanese maples or bamboo. The cherry blossoms were gorgeous!

For dinner with went to Espetus, a Brazilian Rodizio style restaurant. All you can eat, but fancier with better service. A metal disk on your table rotates between green and red. They have a salad bar for starters, then when you switch it to green, they come by with long skewers of meat (and roasted pineapple with is wonderful!). Our friend told us they had 12 different dishes on the skewers but we only got through nine of them before we couldn't go any further. But it's hard to resist saying yes. The hubby kept saying he was done, then when the next new thing came, he had to have a taste. We decided we'll have to come back another time with more people to try the other dishes. High grade meats infused with wonderful flavors. And their cheesebread is so yummy! (cheese is just baked right in)

It's back to work on Monday. So I still have a couple more days to stay in vacation mode.

when the lanes were silent

While the 20-somethings start coming in around 10pm in large groups on an outing of their club or dorm floor, the leagues are full of bowling lifers. And while there are a few young folks (30-ish), most everyone is well into 40s and 50s and up. The day leagues are mostly seniors.

When we first started bowling I think we were treated with some skepticism, beginners who really weren't all that serious about competing, but then we stuck around for a winter league then a summer league and winter league again until we became some of the usuals, the leaguers. Many of them bowl twice a week. Alot of them have bowled some 20+, 30+ years. The bowling alley was their hang out place. You see and compete and play with the same people week after week. You wonder what happens to people when they miss a week or two.

This last week, Albany Bowl, lost 3 long time bowlers. One of them in our league. We had heard last week that his partner had found him collapsed and unconscious and that he was at the hospital in a coma. His partner had even come down to the alley last week to let us know what happened. Today we found out he passed away.

When we first played his team, we dreaded them. Fierce and quiet competitors that would quietly and quite deliberately put together a bone crushing game against you. While playing other teams were quite jovial, the silence was deafening with them. After a while, we found out that they were just the quiet types and well they didn't mean to look mean, particularly for him, that's just what his face looked like when it was neutral. The hubby was the first to figure out their funny bones and after that they were a fun team to play with. It was particularly interesting watching Oliver play his always very consistent games as he read the oil and its patterns.

At one point last year, his partner had fallen ill and we didn't see him for a while and didn't see her for quite some time but she returned this season. We had hoped it would have been the same for him.

There have been lots of studies about the number of relationships people have and how the younger generation doesn't join organizations or teams any more and where is out sense of community. And sure it's important to have the handful of really deep connections, but it's also important to have these tangential connections. Bowling league is one of those places where each week, you make your rounds and say hello to everyone, ask how they are doing life wise or bowling wise, compete against each other, and congratulate each other in the end. A few people have brought their grandchildren or children to play. They are small connections. These aren't people I write into my will necessarily, but for a few hours each week, there's a place to put things aside to have fun or be serious. For a few hours you are a community.

And so this evening we spent a moment of silence to honor and pray for those who passed away this week. There were still a few recreational bowlers still rolling balls down the lanes because they had no reason to pay attention to the announcer speaking to the league bowlers. For them the bowling alley, is just a place that could be any other place. But for us, once or twice a week, it's our space.

it's away

Actually a couple of things have set sail as of yesterday. We await their return in glorious form.

It's been a "you're in charge" kind of week. Nice that people have confidence in my decision making and ability to take care of things. Though it's nice to be "acting" for a short time period because it's also nice to hand it back. Kind of like for people who like kids but don't want to have kids. Yes it was fun, but please, take them back.

I'm subbing for bowling for the next few weeks and actually did pretty well averaging 157 a game. I'm consistent even though I'm not bowling every week. One of the other bowlers was impressed at how far I've progressed from the first time I touched a bowling ball. Hell I was happy to break 100 then. But now I have the ability to go on strike runs at the end of the game. I hit a turkey last night. Though I bowled decently well we only won 1 game. But last week the team lost all 4, so one is better than none.

This weekend is filled with 1 year old birthday parties. And perhaps some time to get back to a few personal projects.

improving

Tonight was the last night of summer league which meant sweeps night when all five of us got to play because it's for individual prizes now.

We didn't make it into tonight's prize money, but we did steal the very last spot to the tournament, so that's good for me!

Personally, my run to a 600 game held up to win highest handicap series for women, and surprise surprise, got me yet another "Most Improved" patch for women having upped my game another 15 pins. I'm not exactly sure how they calculate that, but it was fun to get. I was surprised to have won it. It brings the patch total to 7 and 2 pins. Yay!

This summer had some of the highest rolling men and women I'd seen. There were often murmurs of "sandbagging," the act of purposefully dropping your scores so your average stays low. It's hard to prove necessarily as it's easy to get a bad night. Often folks travel to another bowling alley during the summer than their regular winter league for a change of pace. But there's about 20 of us who just bowl at Albany.

I wonder if I can up my game again. This past year we went from never bowling to being contenders. I'm starting to understand the subtler control of the ball release and finding the pocket more and more, going on strike runs more often. Learning to adjust my game as we go along.

We'll have to miss the first week of winter league as we are all rather preoccupied with upcoming nuptials.

Jubilation!

Today was the last week of team play, which means it was position around where the 1st & 2nd teams play, then 3rd & 4th place teams, etc. The teams in the back lanes were all on the bubble. In Summer League, the top half of the teams get to go to a post season tournament called Jubilee, which consists of nearly 300 teams from all over Northern California. Last year, we won 10th place! No one expected us to go that far. I don't know how we do it, we just always find a way to win.

My first two games tonight sucked, but dad, dad was on a roll. He found out how we got patches and he decided he wanted a patch. First game he hit 180. Second game he went for broke and nailed a 206! Ended the series with a 501 which should be good for a patch and a pin!

We went in with a .500 record in 12th place so we were occupying the spot that the 7 other teams in the back lanes were vying for. The teams were just 4 games away from taking our spot, the last one that got them a ticket to the Jubilee tournament.

We lost the first game by 4 pins! We came back to win the 2nd game with dad blowing everyone out of the water. As each of the sets of lanes finished I would run to check the game spread. In my head, we've already won one, they can't catch up. In the third game, dad started getting fatigued, so it was time to put my game into action. I wasn't about to go an even 2-2. With a 98 in the 7th frame, I go on a 4 bagger run for a 187.

Coach looks at me and asks, "Where have you been all game?" I just look at him blankly, "What? I'm here when it counts!"

So, no, no 600 series this summer, but we got into Jubilee! We always find a way to win!

500

We went in .500 and came out of bowling .500. Position round next week to determine whether we get a "post-season" tournament bid. I'm still hanging on to a high women's handicap game award. I've got one more shot at a 600 series.

Dad played today after a few weeks off and came back strong. He has a lower average, but it's low enough to have a chance at gaining pins by going over his average. My average is 155 now, which makes it difficult to score way above each and every time. I did manage to find the lane in the first game and nail a 4 bagger (4 strikes in a row) and beat my "arch-nemesis" by two pins.

There's a guy S who has lots of "arch-enemies" that he constantly challenges each week, game by game. I decided to take up his challenge in winter league. At the time his average was 40 pins above mine, so he'd make a good rabbit to chase. Now, we're more even and he takes some, and I take some. I remember when we met him during summer league last year when we first started bowling. I thought he was kind of crazy. But we got to know him a bit, and he's just well passionate and competitive. I can't hate a man for that. Plus he's fun to mess with and joke around with. And while I enjoy beating him (once tonight with that come from behind 4 bagger), I also try to push him up when he's down.

We're thinking of taking a break this winter. We're not quite up to all the folks who bowl week in week out for years. But we now know we have a life long hobby.

I'm going to miss the folks and characters we've bowled with all year. They really are a good group of people: friendly, competitive, supportive. Well, one more week to go!

moving on up

We're smack dab in the low middle of the bowling pack with just 3 weeks to go. Fortunately we've been winning 3 out of 4 these past couple of weeks which means we should be climbing up. We just need to make the top 50% to get to the post league tournament. I think we can still make it. We're good at coming back.

Last night, also received my patch for 140 pins over series average, probably for that night I was shooting for 600. I haven't yet finished sewing all the other patches on my bowling jersey.

In any case, the hubby was fiending for donuts and specifically Krispy Kreme donuts. We learned from the other team that the lemon filled donuts, which were her favorite, are not available in Pinole, only in Union City. Not being lemon filled fans we proceeded to Pinole where they were closed! at 9:40p at night! humph. So we trekked to Union City where things are open 24 hrs like the Jollibee drive thru there. The red light wasn't on, but no matter. The glazed donuts had so much glaze they were white. Fortunately, the filled and cake donuts were nicely balanced.

159

It's the 3rd week of summer bowling so that means our averages are are now recalculated. Despite not doing so well last week, I still came out with a 161 average. Today I bowled a respectable 156 average which is essentially what I was bowling at the end of winter league.

We managed to win 3 games today against a team with a fellow who bowled two 200 games. Not bad.

Prosperity begets prosperity OR Lessons learned at the sushi restaurant

We started the first day of summer league today. There are only 4 people per team, so with dad, my sister, the hubby, and coach bowling, I'm going to play the pinch hitter role. The hubby decided to let the family bowl, while he went home in hot pursuit of his family tree lineage. The more people he finds, the more he feels empowered. Many of the people he is finding are in their 70s, and in the same urgency that he feels he needs to find them, they have a need to talk to him.

The league is playing on the opposite lanes from where we were during winter, and I always liked those lanes better. The next thing I know, I'm already shooting to set the standard for the high series women's score with a 206 (no open frames), 175, and a 190, totalling 571 which I believe is one of my highest series ever. I'm shooting to hit a 600 series this league season though I'm not sure what prize I'll give myself for that. We don't know how we did until the averages get plugged into the computer.

It was fun introducing Dad to the other bowlers. One guy, a rather boisterous funny fellow, has been teasing my sister into not getting married and that she should marry him instead. Another woman on the team says, "you're too old." And always with the quick reply, "I am, but not my money!" So we told him next week, he's going to have to bring like 10 pigs, a couple of goats, and half a dozen chicken for the dowry. Ooh, forgot to tell him about the 7 years of servitude to the family. We'll add that to the list next week.

So my 200 game brings us to Kansai, which I blogged about before as one of the best sushi restaurants in the bay area and now I can say why. Anyway, since Kansai opened about 8 months ago, we knew it was special and decided to make Kansai a reward if one of us hit a certain score. Something just out of reach of our abilities which, at the time was 200. So, if we hit 200, then for sure we could reward ourselves with Kansai.

Before we used to sit at the tables, but now that we've met the main chef, we sit at the bar. We just ask him what is fresh today and he just slices it up and hands it over. Often he just prepares something and hands it over without us asking him. Hands down, it's the kind of place that after you eat here, you just know sushi everywhere else will never be the same. Today the dishes included a couple of fish I didn't even know the name to, uni, halibut with basil, large clam, and tomago. He also handed over a special soy sauce that had a light but rich sweet roasted flavor in a light golden color which brought a delicate flavoring without overpowering the fish with kikkoman salt.

He was a sushi chef in one of the main hotels in Tokyo for four years and was previously in SF when the owner of Kansai tried his food and courted him to work here. (God Bless that woman!) After dinner, he explained how in the morning they get fish locally, and in the afternoon, they get the fish shipped directly from Japan. All fish is wild, nothing farmed. He even showed us the full color faxed pictures of the boxes of fish he had gotten this day.

He makes everything that morning from the miso soup, which should never be boiled, to slicing the fish, and folding the tomago (it takes 10 minutes and he uses cactus honey and citrus vinegar and cooks it in a pan over 10 years old). As he said, by the time it's lunch, he's full because he tasted everything. His teacher told him that he should always be the first one to taste. Why, he asks. Because if it's poison, better you dead than your customer!

Everything is handmade. He told us about the ingredients for the sushi rice, no msg, no refined sugars. Just about everything comes from Japan. He also told us his various techniques for his sauces from his unagi sauce (other restaurants cheat by using teriyaki sauce), to his spicy mayonnaise (that is light and yet explodes with flavor and heat). His tomago was dense, no air, a consistent bright yellow with a sweetness that bounced off the tongue.

Over and over again, he kept saying, it's the technique, it's the technique. The patrons of the restaurant have been hearing about him and they're coming from all over the east bay. Some of them drop by and if he's not here, they leave, because they know the chefs under him, while good, do not have his technique in creating new dishes to suit their palattes.

During dinner, we were discussing prosperity and what this kind of thinking means.

And then this happens. The chef hands me a small tall box with Japanese writing. "Here, a gift for you." he says, "300 year old soy sauce. Just one touch to your finger, all you need." We were delightfully surprised at his gift and honored by his generosity. He could only get five bottles, he handed us two. In a way, he seemed to sense that we would appreciate the quality of 300 year old soy sauce that are stored in large ceramic containers.

He told us the difference between other sushi places and real Japanese sushi restaurants. He says there are only about 10 real sushi chefs in the bay area. He explained how the temperature must remain consistent, how other places keep their fish for several days or use the frozen kind. But here, fish stays in the display for one day only, then is tossed or given away to the staff. When the owner brought him to this restaurant, he had one request, to maintain a high quality of food. You could see the displeasure in his face of owners who fret about the fish being tossed and equating it to "losing money". But he says, he knows when the busy days are and how much fish is needed each day, so he regulates how much fish he'll need each day so not too much goes to waste. In his mind, serving bad quality is like poisoning your customers, they don't come back.

The restaurant before them didn't do so well and we could quickly see it deteriorate in quality. He says that they are now making double what the previous restaurant was making. Good for us because we want them to be successful!

Now in one sense, he could be a bunch of BS, but the truth is in the taste. In the same way, that once we tasted really good wine, it instantly broadened our palattes because now you could really tell the difference from the bad, the mediocre, the pretty good and the great, when you taste the food and the fish they prepare here, you will taste that what he says is true.

Sushi, he says, is supposed to be very healthy, but what has been catered to the American taste is full of refined sugar and msg. You can eat alot at Kansai, and not feel weighted down. You can eat a little at Kansai, and feel completely satiated because of how the flavors permeate your mouth. You can taste his technique.

As we've been learning and understanding what makes a prosperous mindset, it's interesting how the quality of things in our lives increase. How spontaneously things are given to us without us asking (or maybe we did ask and we never knew it) and things we truly want and appreciate as opposed to recieving things we would have to get rid of anyway. The generosity of giving, and the humbleness of recieving. And truly believing you deserve quality, not for show, but because you appreciate the value of quality, the content it provides.

We hoped to take our cousin here for his birthday that just passed. Him and his wife have been wanting to go to Japan, but then they bought a house, and now they want to start a family, so well, actually going to Japan will have to wait. The chef mentioned that if there was a special occassion he could set up a kaiseki for us, but would need three days in advance.

A few days ago, I dreamed I was in London, and that I had a life where I could go back and forth from Europe on a whim. I tell Tuhan this, and he says, "It's not the travelling. You can get everything over there, here. It's the freedom." And yet, everything you've always desired has always been here. The challenge is seeing it and appreciating it for what it is. So if you can't go to Japan, Japan can come to you. And it does, at least sushi-wise, here at Kansai.

last place is the best!

Sweeps is when all the season awards go out as well as prizes for scoring high these last three games. The team stuff is done.

We entered sweeps week as a team on the very bottom, 10th out of 10 teams. But we each walked away with a prize! we might not have won as a team, but we find a way to win in some way! It was GREAT!

They don't give trophies anymore for the team finishes. They dole out the prize money based on the number of games each team won and each person participated in. So even in 10th place, a few of us walked away with about $100 each. That was guaranteed.

We finished bowling and the hubby was like, "should we go now?" and I'm like, no, we have to wait for the envelopes.

My sister and I scored high handicap series and high game scratch awards, respectively.

Here's the pin for my 222:


And and and...I also got the award I had set my sights on way back in September, the Most Improved Women's Average, I went from a 122 to a 139, 17 pins! That's huge! 17 pins is a good spare every game! I'm really proud of this award and I can't wait to find a place to sew it on my jersey!



Another member of our team won the high scratch series for men which was great!

Then they called out the awards for sweeps. I didn't do so well today, but my sister finished in the top 4 women and the hubby finished 7th amongst the men for their handicap series. The other two guys on the team got 4th and 5th place as well. Coach beat out R, who averages 197, by 1 pin in the series.

The other teams were saying it was rigged as each of us kept going up there. When I followed my sister for an award, we said it was genetic, bowling in the blood.

We'll be playing summer league with our dad, but last week we didn't think we wanted to play through winter league again, but after today, we're thinking maybe it won't be so bad.

In any case it was a great way to end our whole year of bowling. We started out with just plastic balls and just prayed the ball stayed on the lanes, and now we're curving them, wearing wrist supports, have 2 or 3 balls each and learning the subtle changes of the game play. We've come a long long way!

Some people don't think bowling is much of a sport considering the stereotypical bowler in people's mind's is some overweight person in bad health, but hey, I've seen a bunch of martial artists who were just as overweight and in bad health. It certainly is a game of skill, and a game that requires one to be physically healthy to play. Most of the people we play with play in 2 to 3 leagues a week! That in and of itself takes a great deal of mental and physical stamina. We barely thought we could get through the year. But we're glad we did.

spread the joy

We played the grumpy team last night and yet we played as a team some our best bowling ever. The hubby decided to control the mood of the game and go happy, and I mean ridiculously happy with tons of hi fives, handshakes and compliments to go around and boy was it contagious. Hell, they were even cheering for us for a while.

I was one spare away from hitting 200 again on the first game and settled for a 181, then dropped to a 128 then came back in the third game with a 183. Although the other team was not at a super top form they were at least bowling their averages if not better, so it was a competitive game.

We lost the first game by 4 pins, won the 2nd with 21, lost the third game but won overall pins by a single pin! Talk about having every pin count! It was a nailbiter and alot of fun!

There are only 2 more weeks of bowling left then a week off with the summer league starting up at the end of May.

best lost ever!

If you're going to lose, lose well. And have fun either way. The team we played tonight was a fun group of guys with a pair of brothers that have some of the smoothest releases you'll ever see. They're one of the teams that plays poker with us, a side game we play for bragging rights. Each time you get a mark (a spare or a strike) you get a card. Best hand wins.

We lost total pin count by 7 pins because well, no one was counting and you figure when they put together 230+ games by two different people, well, you're just getting your @$$ handed to you. But we did win one game and what a fabulous win that was!

The first game we lost by 8 pins. The first game was plagued by broken down lanes so we're lucky we kept it close. But I managed to find the lane at the end of the first game. There's an invisible coat of oil on the lanes, but not on the whole lane, just on the edges. So, depending on the kind of ball you have and the kind of stroke you put it on, you spend most of practice and much of the first game finding that magic oil/dry line that, in my curve stroke, will turn the ball and bring it through the pins. You're looking for the turn and how it enters, then how it powers through.

The interesting thing about the curve ball is that you have to dare the gutter. You have to throw your ball a couple of 1" boards away from the edge trusting that it will turn back. Which means you have to swing your arm straight and risk the gutter. You can't be afraid to get zero. Playing with the edge, pushing the boundaries is the only way to measure the thickness of your blade in one sense. How close can you come and do you know how close you are.

I managed to find my marks, where I start and the line the ball rolls at the end of the first game. Into the second game, I stuck to it. And I built it frame by frame by frame by frame. I hit a 5 bagger, 5 strikes in a row, and watched my score jump 30 pins, 30 pins. I knew by the 5th frame that if I kept this up I had a 200 game on hand but I didn't want to jinx myself. What was going for me, was that all this month, I had been feeling like I have a 200 game in me, I just need to put it together. I can do this. My book average is 136, but I'm really bowling 150. I hit 9 pins in the 9th frame, leaving a 10 pin. Often when some bowlers get into a strike groove and then they miss, then they forget how to roll the spare shot. I didn't want to blow it, relaxed and picked up the 10. whew! What I didn't realize was that the 9 already put me over the 200 mark!

I had never rolled a 200 in league, ever! 207 in the 9th with a spare. In the 10th I almost goofed it up with a 4, but brought it back to close with a 222! I didn't hit 200, I blew past it! High fives all around!

Last week in the league in the lanes across from us, we had watched a guy roll a 300 game. It was really amazing. Watching the crowd build for the last three strikes. By the last strike, he was biting on his shirt, the crowd cheers after the last strikes getting louder and louder, the silence between balls with greater stillness. He thought he had left a pin, but one straggler kept spinning and took it down late. The building erupted in cheers and for a moment we were all perfect bowlers.

The guy I chase each week in bowling scores was clear across the other side. It's just a bunch of bragging rights. Some light competition to spur us on. Usually I take one and he takes one, then he blows me away on the third. His average is higher than mine. Last week he blew me away with a 195, so when I hit the 222, I had to walk over to his lane and let him know. I shook his hand and said, "222". He didn't believe me and walked all the way back to check the scoreboard. I don't need to beat him all three games, just once a week, is all I ask.

The best part about rolling the 222 was how easy it felt. I didn't fight for it. I just systematically put it together, one ball at a time. Which means, I can do it again. This score places me 2nd place for the Women's high game scratch and boosts me higher on the women's high series and game which I have 2nd place in those too. I was 20 pins off the high series top spot. Two seems to be my number right now.

The night before I had just sewed on my 160 and 180 game patches and placed my 500 series pin on my bowling shirt. This game should get me the 200 game patch and the 75 points over average. I was 17 pins off from getting the 140 pins over series average patch.

Funny part is that I wasn't going to bowl tonight because I had this other thing scheduled, but that thing fell through and good thing it did. I thought last week was the week for me to bowl the 200. All this month I kept thinking the 200 will come before Europe. And indeed it did.

Oh, and it means that I get to buy a Ninento Wii, provided I can find one. When I first tried it out, I wanted to get one, but I also wanted to tie it to a goal. Since the Wii had bowling on it, I tied it to bowling a 200 in league. I had rolled a 200 in practice, but that's practice. I wanted a 200 when it counted. And so I told myself and hubby, when I roll a 200 in league, I'm going to get a Wii. Even set aside the money for it already. Now I just have to go find one!

I wouldn't mind losing like this every week! lol!

2 and 2

Looks like we're solidly in 7th place heading into another position round next week. We played the last place team last night and they, of course, came out with big games in the 2nd and 3rd. Fortunately, we beat them with enough pins in the first game to take total pins.

I'm still happy with my bowling as I continue to push my average up. My book average is 134, but I'm really bowling 150s-160s and I'm still searching for that 200 game, I just need to string the marks in larger bunches instead of going 2 then open then 2 then open.

In the high series handicap standings, I'm number two with my sister one pin behind me tied for third. I'm also number 2 on the high game handicap standings for women. Which means prize money at the end, but I'm really shooting for the top spot. why not?

no games but plenty of winning

It's been a while since I've gone bowling, but managed to still roll a few points above my average. Unfortunately, the other team bowled a whole lot above their averages. Oh well, I had a good time anyway since I hadn't seen folks in a while. The last time I bowled my back was still hurting and tonight was the first time I had gone bowling without any kind of pain or need to lie down by the third game.

R gave his wife a night off and brought his 5 month baby daughter to the bowling alley. Actually, he's been bringing the baby to the alley for several weeks so she's used to the noise. She looks just like dad. R joked that they're still trying to figure out who the mom is. She even shook my hand which he had never seen her do and she wouldn't do it with anyone else. Must be just a trick between me and her.

So even though we didn't win any of the games, there was plenty of winning.

learning to explode

Learning to explode is key to eventually learning how to do the "1-inch" punch which for us is even smaller. I've felt the explosion and on occassion could produce a touch of it but to do it on a regular basis, well, that's the challenge.

In bowling, I've been fascinated at how people create pin action or the explosion at the pins. As the ball rolls it rotates as it skids along then explodes into the pins. The ball actually only hits 2-3 pins and those pins take out the rest of them. If you get enough rotation on the pins, there's an illusion that the ball doesn't curve but rolls "straight" when in actuality it's spiraling at a high velocity.

In the second game of bowling, I was able to do this. Increase the speed of my throw so the ball skids on the oil and instead of turning before the spins it changes direction right at the pins creating even more explosion.

On the ride home, I kept replaying the strikes in my mind and it kept reminding me of the "1-inch" punches. And how on the surface the punch looks like it's just a straight punch but the way it explodes into the person tossing them across the room, then you realize this isn't an ordinary straight punch.

And I'm thinking, "A-ha!" That's how the energy travels!

It enters then changes direction creating the cascade in the body. The energy hits really only 2 or 3 pins and those pins take out the rest. Several months ago during a class I was teaching, I kept hanging onto the idea in open hand work, "my hand is not the weapon, their body is my weapon. How do I make their body, my weapon?"

This is completely different from the way I had thought about the punch and what held me back from actually doing it. I kept thinking I have to somehow toss their entire body, I kept thinking I have to move this big thing. But I realize now, I don't have to move their whole body, I just have to find the right pocket to explode. If I can find those 2 or 3 pins, create a rotation in energy, and explode into that, then they will toss themselves. Wow, this is big! oooooh! So cool!

My mind is replaying all the explosive hits I've felt over the years trying to remember how those explosions felt and whether this "new" idea makes sense with what I've experienced.

Now right now, I'm not sure if my body is on the same page with this a-ha moment, but I think that may just be a matter of time.

Oh yeah! I'm going to have to try this! But that's why I have students.

working hard for that 2nd win

It was supposed to be my week off, but decided to switch with a teammate so I can make it to an open mic in the city next week. It's been several years since I've been actively attending poetry readings and now with Kali's Blade out, I would like to get back into it, but need to balance it off with the rest of my life.

As we struggled to figure out the lane in the first game with three of us barely getting over 100 pins, the hubby and I rock it in the 2nd game scoring 191 and 193 respectively. We waivered at the start of the third game but came back to score 158 each. However, it was my sister, who with her ipod rocking Dixie Chicks, rolled in with a 201, her first 200 score EVER! whoo-hoo! On the last ball she hits a 6, as she stood to throw her ball, we all did the math and whispered she needs 3, she needs 3. The last time that happened, she heard us and choked, but with the headphones it was just her and the pins.

But the other team was not going to let us go that easily and the game came down to the final pins and the last balls with our anchors each hitting a spare in the 10th. Coach gets a 9. As their anchor comes to the line, we figure we can tie, since he had been nailing strikes on call. The ball rolls, and hits, 8. We win by 1 pin! What a nail biter! Splitting 2 games apiece. whew!

Our scores should be good enough to get my sister and I on the high game handicap list, plus she'll get a 200 patch, plus a 75 over average patch. yay!

what can you do?

Split the first two games and got blown out in the third when their anchor hit 215. Can't say we didn't try. We played the beer drinker team. You'd think the older guys would be the ones downing beers at the bowling alley, but it's actually the young team of guys going through a few pitchers of beers. Oh well. My average keeps creeping up, now at 135. I finally got my 160 and 180 patches from December along with a 500 series pin! whoo-hoo! Still hunting for that 200 patch this season.

Tricky lanes last night and had to use two different balls, one for each of the lanes with their different oil conditions. I even had to abandon my PBA curve to roll the right side lines and tight rope the gutter a bit. I thought I'd be able to fill in a few more spares to get about the 150s in the first two games, but my spare shooting fell apart. I redeemed myself a bit by going out strong with 29 points in the last frame.

You know I must have bowling on my mind, because in the last part of the project management training at work we were discussing time management, and when he was describing how interruptions eat up your day, all I could see was a bowling score sheet with strikes and open frames. lol! He was demonstrating how reducing interruptions makes you more efficient through a day because of how interruptions not only interrupt your time but also interrupt your mind's focus, so you end up spending all this time focusing and refocusing to switch topics. I kept seeing how the interruptions were like open frames that kill the momentum of your score. In one game I had a 157 with 3 open frames, but it makes a difference where those opens are located. If you can group them in the beginning and create a longer string of marks then your score is higher despite the three opens. I've gotten good at stringing three marks together, now I need to look to string four and five marks together.

Next week is an off week as I rotate out for other players. I know I'll really want to play, but it's probably better for my back. And I can work on stuff at home without distraction.

breaking the 500 barrier

We got a chance to play K&J's team. Always a fun time with their team. Lanes were dry which made for a good game for folks rolling the straight ball.

The team bowled well and we won 3. For a second week in a row I manage to score above 150 in each of the games and even finally broke the 500 series level: 172, 156, 187. Whoo-hoo! It's been fun each week getting more and more consistent. I even started understanding how the swing of my leg affects the curve of the ball.

What I like about bowling, and actually what I like about just about every endeavor I've tried that involves aiming at something, is the chance to watch the ball roll and seeing where it lands, then seeing if I can make an adjustment to get to exactly where I want it to be. And what if I do this, and what if I do that. And what makes this strike the same or different as that strike.

The hubby was a bit discouraged in the first game with the dry lanes, but managed to bring his score back up in the next two by changing equipment around.

As a team we still struggle with the 9th and 10th frames, not enough marks. We even tried to entice ourselves with chocolate for whoever could get a mark, but no luck. Maybe we need more than chocolate.

I saw it on TV and hungryman dinner

The back has been getting progressively better. I was able to sit through the last 3 days of computer training only being mildly uncomfortable. Last week both standing and sitting were not good. This week standing is good, sitting is ok for a bit. Today, training ended and I went to attend to clients which gave me a chance to walk around. My new bumbakpack allows me to keep a good posture while carrying around 10-15 lbs of equipment, papers, laptop, etc. (I'll review that in another post). Felt fine, felt good.

So, when we got to the bowling alley tonight, I decided not to risk it and stood the entire 3.5 hours: walk, lean, etc., but staying relatively straight. It was hard by the third game because my back still felt good and there were more and more empty seats and I had to consciously remember, "no sitting!". It was Coach's night to bowl, so I had to bail out of ball placement duties. Three of us rotate placing his bowling ball on the ground so he can push it with his specialized stick while another wipes the lane approach for oil that may have gotten dragged onto it. At first it seems like I could do the lane wiping, which we do the Filipino bunot way of placing the rag on the ground, stepping on it and sliding on it as we wipe. But halfway through the 2nd game, I hit a double gutter, which I've never done before. So now wiping the lane was out. The hubby and my sis picked up the slack so I could keep up my game. They figured they weren't hitting well so might as well help me hit well.

Today was a rough night for the team. Then again we're getting to the hump of the season and you can start to feel the fatigue. As a team we dropped to 7th. And though I really wished I bowled last week, it was probably for the best that I didn't. (But the hubby and C bowled really well. C's gotten her 3rd award already!)

We managed to win the first game by 5 pins. We lucked out that one of their main bowlers forgot their equipment. His wife had used the car and forgot to put his ball and bag back in the car. And I thought we were the only ones who always have our bowling equipment in the car. We won the 2nd by 12, only because their anchor couldn't pull off a 4 bagger in the end. A 4 bagger would have given them a tie. We had a 120 pin lead into the 10th frame that vanished as they drew X after X. Oh that was a nail biter! By the third game they came out to play, their anchor had a strike run til the 7th frame. I was hoping to watch a 300 game. He still ended with a 235.

Coach started slow and came back to his average in the last two. My average is still at 127, but I'm hitting consistently 140s-150s. The stretching and the yoga have improved my stride and stroke. After I hit one strike, Skip, Mr. How's-them-cowboys, asked me how do I do that. And Big D answered for me, "by watching the PBA games on tv." And though the PBA games are now on ESPN on Sunday mornings, I do remember growing up watching them on ABC Wide World of Sports. And maybe somewhere my body still recalls the lines and the forms of those bowlers. The deep bend in the knee, the long back leg stretched to the side, the throwing arm that ends high with their elbow near their ear. They watched me bowl and said, "You're a dangerous player."

And that's really where I want to be. I want to be the dangerous player, like so many we've seen on the other teams. The one who if you're not looking can make a break for it and run up the pin count. The one who can come back from double gutter and find their form. The one who can make the adjustments on the lane and stroke and footing to find the strikes and to pick up the spares.

I scored 157 in the first, 156 in the 2nd and even pushed strong in the 3rd to 178, closing out with a pair of strikes. I knew we were going to win in the third game and get pin count, but I didn't want to get completely blown out. And dang, missed the 500 series mark by 9 pins. I'm getting close I tell ya! The 2nd game I bowled a double gutter in the 8th. I had 88 at the time. I tweaked my back a touch wiping the floor. The back feels good, then I might move a certain way that's it's not ready to go in, then it stiffens or is sore, so I have to be careful with any small jerky movements. I did some stretches and moved around a bit and dug myself out for a 156.

I hope I can do this again next week. I'm still looking to score a 200 some time this league, then I can get a Wii. And I keep getting close. Each week I score 2-3 balls away from a 200. Close out a few more spares, adjust into a couple of strikes and I'll be there. Plus last week I got knocked off at the top female series and game high handicap. I got beat by a woman who pulled a 265, so ok she deserves it. I don't have to score as high to get the high series handicap because of the handicap. But if I get my 200, I think I can regain that lead back. It's a game, something to shoot for.

Two weeks ago, I couldn't keep the consistency. But today, I felt like I built a good base. At the end Big D, points to my score, and says to me, "see that score? You go to the grocery store and get yourself one of those hungryman meals, not those dinky one, the big ones. That's a hungryman score1" (as he holds his hands wide) "You mean the one with 4 pieces of chicken?" "yeah, and two desserts."

we're #3

Tough tough match last night. I was playing with a sore back and trying to keep warm and stretch. The lanes themselves were tricky with ball rolling all over the place. We managed to win the first game outright with spectacular performances from R and myself (180). But by the 2nd and 3rd games we could barely find the pins. I dropped to 99 in the 2nd game and recovered to a 136 in the 3rd, but a series still above my average. The other team was amazingly consistent and really it was our game to win or lose since they didn't give us much ground.

But the first game was amazing, rolling a turkey in the first 3 frames. The thing about being sick or injured or sore is that you either concentrate more because of the slight pain or you tend to be more aware of your form. Either case you find a way to be way more exact and efficient at it simply because you have little energy to waste on inefficiency. Talk about using your weakness as your strength.

With the 4th place team taking all for games, they move to 2nd and we drop to 3rd. We were technically 2nd place because the other team had a higher pin count. Oh well. Third place is not bad for half way through the season. The other team wasn't as grumpy as before and we all actually had a decent time.