Oh, I’m Supposed to Blog Here

That is enough of a break for you; I’m back and I’m posting. Let the nonsense begin!

Some of you noticed that I was not around; it makes me feel good to be missed. Some days I feel like the Internet redirects my rambling to a black hole somewhere. Oh yes, Pity Party for one, please—at a table near a fireplace lest I freeze to death in January rendering me unable to continue whining. (I did the whole Cut & Paste dance with this paragraph too many times to count until I figured that I should leave it in as it accurately represents my current mood: full of self pity with a huge helping of disgust from said self pity.)

So, where have I been? Work has been uncharacteristically busy for January. (Shhhh…I mostly blog at work.) Also, I’ve been practicing (bowling) a lot and working out a lot and all of this effort is bound to pay off at some point, right? Like maybe with a strike or five and a visible waistline? But mostly I’ve been avoiding my blog because I’ve been less than chipper recently and I didn’t want a post like this to happen. But, I’m here. People emailed. And Books said it was OK if I got fired for blogging at work as long as she was entertained.

Luckily, I ignored my blog when a decent post was left on the main screen. Had it been one of my less than stellar posts, perhaps I wouldn’t have stayed away for quite as long, though. And I completely thought about updating you all on how antioxidants almost killed me: I challenged pomegranate seeds to a cage match and those little tarty-sweet seeds kicked my arse but were disqualified for causing an allergic reaction, making my digestive system revolt. The lesson in all of this: enjoy new foods, but eat them with caution!

I really didn’t intend to take 10 days off, but this week has just gone by so quickly. (see Busy At Work above) I have a couple of articles to use as writing prompts (no worries, they are not time sensitive at all, in fact I’m certain they are both old) and some pictures I intend to post as soon as I find my camera. And I am not as crabby in person as I am in black and white. I’m fine—really. In fact, my cute pearl earrings arrived today from Blue Nile and they look great with the pearl pendant necklace from D and the combo perfectly compliments my light blue cashmere turtleneck today. That and a new coffee mug are certainly enough to make this girl smile!

9 Hours Of Bowling Sucks

I realize that most of you don't bowl and have no desire to read about bowling, but after spending a long day in one of the worst Family Fun Centers I don't have anything else to write about.

Also, I realize that it's technically Monday, but I fell asleep after bowling and just woke up to post. It's the middle of the night, so let's just pretend.

Today was tough for me on the lanes and I really could have used a remote controlled bowling ball.

A Day Of Work And Bowling

You can tell it's November when I'm bowling all the time and also have to work on the weekends. This month is short on workdays and weekends, but apparently that makes it appealing for organizations to cram everything into.

This morning I was at work. We had a luncheon for donors and students. It's an easy event to work and it went incredibly well--it just took up time. At least I was served delicious pot roast for my efforts.

After changing out of my snazzy pink tweed suit (That's right, pink tweed. Oh yeah.) I put on my cute black and white bowling shirt. I didn't think it was possible to be in two such extremely different venues in one day. Although when I'm bowling with my tournament team it is rarely the 'bowling alley' you imagine or see on TV. These are mostly women's tournaments and even when we're bowling with/against the men, people there are competitive--not wearing wife beaters or My Drinking Team has a Bowling Problem T-shirts. Bowling is an odd thing as it is both a recreational activity and a competitive sport.

The center was not as kind to us as it could have been today. For starters, it was hot. My Degree was activated. Also, it took forever to get my food. And we just didn't score as well as we would have liked. We'll do better tomorrow. Yes, another full day in a bowling center. But, this time I don't have to go into work as well; and we're wearing teal.

It's A Bird. It's A Plane.

Yes, I spent the entire day in a bowling center. Again. I swear there is a world where people think this is cool, though. Or at least not completely lame. Anyway, there was a big local tournament this weekend and both my dad and my brother did well enough on Saturday to make it to Sunday. Whoo hoo! I started my morning with yet another Grande Nonfat Chai and later had to supplement my caffeine intake with a Diet Dr. Pepper. (While I do love bowling and like to watch it, I'll admit that it does get a little slow.) My brother finished 8th. That is quite a good showing. My dad, however, has become some crazy good bowler (again) in the last few years and decided to make me stay at the bowling center for a total of 8.5 hours yesterday. A handful of people stayed to watch the final matches and when it was all said and done my dad was probably the underdog going in to the final match. While my dad is quite good, and called Superman on occasion by his peers, his opponent is still in his prime--my dad is on the senior circuit. In order to win, my dad would need to beat the hot younger player twice. He did it. He won. It was awesome. My dad rocks.

***I wrote this at about 6:00 pm on Sunday. My poor Internet connection at home would not let me post as it always timed out. I tried to publish a few more times, but eventually I needed to go to bed. So, I kept the time stamp from the last time I saved it. I hate to have the appearance of cheating so early in NaBloPoMo, but I tried, and tried, and tried.***

Good Shots

Yes, I spend pretty much every weekend in the bowling alley regardless if I'm bowling or not. And yes, I still say 'bowling alley' most of the time even though I know I am supposed to say 'bowling center.' I'm working on it.

Today both my dad and my brother were bowling in a big tournament and I enjoyed watching, pseudo-coaching and cheering them on. I basically grew up in a bowling center, so I know most of the guys there, and it was fun to chat with everyone and see my friends do well. My dad and my brother both bowled well enough to make the cut, so they get to bowl tomorrow. I was reminded of the start time and that I even get an extra hour of sleep tonight (Remember, it's Day Light Savings--set your clocks back!) so that there is no excuse for me not to show up on time.

Lest you think I'm a social loser, I do have plans tonight with friends and we will not be bowling. I do expect that food and laughter will be involved though, and maybe even some shopping. Perhaps I'll find a few of the accessories I so desperately need.

Pillowcases Full Of Butterfingers

First off, no, I am not wearing a costume today. I thought about purchasing a pair of spider web like tights, but I really didn't want to spend the $8. Cheap? Yes I am. I'm in all black, though. I'll pretend it's for Halloween.

I don't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween. Last year we went to a costume party but D didn't tell me it was a costume party until about 10 minutes before we were leaving--I had just returned home from bowling and was racing around the house trying to find something decent to wear, I didn't notice his overalls and straw hat...anyway, I ended up wearing a black turtleneck with great jeans and my glasses. I called myself a 'city girl' to contrast his 'country boy' although I'm not sure what he was really supposed to be. Yes, I realize it wasn't really a costume and that there was nothing innately 'city' about my outfit. Whatever.

I'm going to assume that the last time I dressed up for Halloween was in 7th grade. It was during the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 (And why is the news still talking about this? The last 3 mornings all I've heard from the morning news is about the weather patterns back in 1991 and how this year Halloween will be nothing like it. Is that really news?) and my costume actually worked for the weather quite nicely. I was a baby. Lame, I know; but my pastel pink footy pajamas actually allowed for long underwear and I put on a silly ghost hat. I was like a baby on Halloween--even more creative! Or lame. Again, whatever.

Tonight I am bowling. I think I will dress up as a bowler since I've been so bad lately that I can't really call myself a bowler. It will be an awesome costume complete with bowling shirt, shoes and ball(s). I even have a wrist brace.

I remember having a lot of fun on Halloween with all of my friends going door to door, saying the traditional 'Trick or Treat' and then returning home with my pillowcase full of candy. The only thing I like better now is that I don't have to sort out all of the chocolate and try to trade for Smarties, Sprees and Starburst--now I can just buy the candy I like. And tonight one of my teammates promised me a bag of candy corn, so I'm set.

Eye Candy: Calorie Free, Dentist Approved

1. Yesterday the dentist shot me up with Novocain so he could fix my bite. (This is due to a recent filling which I’m still upset about.)
2. While my mouth was paralyzed and I felt like I was drooling (although friends constantly reassured me that I wasn’t) I ran up to the bowling center and saw an old high school crush.
3. Normally I wouldn’t care what I looked like at said bowling center (which is why I went directly after the dentist) but I would have probably made an extra effort had I known I was going to run into said high school crush (this goes back to me wanting to look pulled together for the ‘just in case’ moments life throws out).
4. He was engrossed in the arcade video games so I wasn’t terribly worried that he would see me in my expressionless, thick tongued state. And he wasn’t as cute as I remembered him either.
5. On Saturday I potentially get to see another crush.
6. It isn’t actually a crush, it’s more that he’s really good looking and many of the other men around him are not, and since he’s nice but quiet, it’s fun to over exaggerate and act giddy with a select group of women about the slightest bit of attention.
7. It’s kind of like a random cute guy at a coffee shop—you don’t want anything to happen, but it’s nice to be noticed. It’s the same thing; we just take it to a high school crush level.
8. In more tooth-related and less crush-worthy news, my teeth are very sensitive to cold right now and even though the cavities and recent fillings are NOT MY FAULT, I’m feeling guilty about eating anything sugary-sweet.
9. (I also have a thing for misusing parentheses and hyphens—just look at this entry!)
10. No, I’m not going to edit it; it’s the way I type. It’s my style.
11. So because of the guilt factor and also the fear of finding out that yet another tooth that is ‘sealed’ is not really sealed and that a cavity is really forming under there no matter how often I brush and floss and rinse, I’m going back on the Healthy Eating Plan and to the boards at SparkPeople.
12. I’m also going to start eating better because the last several weeks of drinking frou frou coffees and eating pastries like they’re going out of style have taken their toll. Not only can I feel it (sluggish from the sugar high and crash) but I can now see it.
13. I’m going to do my best to resist the waxy goodness of candy corn for the benefit of my waist and molars!

Steeerike!

Bowling season is now officially here once again. Last night was my first night of league and it was everything I expected. That's just not nice. Why can't it be better than I remembered? Why can't it be fun? Why can't it only take an hour? Sheesh. I didn't get home until 10:30 AT NIGHT! That's just crazy.

Anyway, it was nice to see a few of the people that I hadn't seen all summer long. And it was a nice reminder that even when things change they tend to stay the same, for example this is a conversation I overheard between two guys at bowling last year:

Roy: I see you got some new jeans there, Jonny.

Jon: Yeah, I just bought ‘em.

Roy: Next time you should see about buying a butt to put in them.

Me to Jon: Tell him, ‘you can’t buy ass in Minnesota.’ (I just had to add that in for you all since I thought it was funny. You can all laugh now. No, not at me, at the excellent joke I made.)

Last night Roy said to Jon, "Hey Jonny, I thought I told you last year to get a butt for those jeans." Yes, he really thinks he's funny. This comment resulted in an uproar of laughter from his teammates. Don't judge me by the league company I keep; there aren't very many options.

Also on the topics of strikes--my friend is on strike right now. I'm not sure about all the issues, but I'm glad she's supporting what she believes in.

And I need to write about Q, but later; it's a sensitive subject right now.