Work on Friday was largely spent hustling. Rushing about. Scrambling. And still sniffling... but at least with a hefty dose of productivity.
Friday night, thankfully, was anything but productive.
Due in large part to some social hustling on Hadley's party, seven of us met at the Garage on Capitol Hill for... what else? Bowling. Yes, bowling. I'm not much of a bowler (Victory = score breaks my age); luckily, none of us were. The wait for a lane was long enough, so we scoured out booths, ordered drinks, ordered more drinks, and let the conversation flow... politics, Iowa politics, poor Howard Dean, the Urdu language, correcting James on his pronunciation of a variety of words, gay stuff, straight stuff, science stuff, Seattle stuff, and also comforting Hadley when she realized she was the only non-couple-member in attendance (Saboora and Scott; Amy and Paul; James and Zach... "No, Hadley. You are NOT a seventh wheel..."). Our waitress had to be seen to be believed - the blonde hair, the ponytails, the spunky pink shirt (spandex?), the numerous mistakes with our checks attributed hastily to "another (like) blonde moment" (complete with an empty-headed "Tee-hee!" now-and-then)... she had (Hip-hop!) danced her way out of a blonde joke, and got hit by the short bus.
Finally, lanes opened. Hadley and Zach were feeling the profound effects of alcohol-a-plenty. I, a self-proclaimed lightweight, was shocked to find myself still Somewhat Coordinated - despite the three Mac & Jacks and one Tequilla Sunrise (Mmmmmm...) I had hastily downed in the flurry of laughter and conversation. (I passed my peak long ago, and tumbled hastily down the opposite slope of Mt. Alcohol Tolerance.) It had been "ages" since I'd had a drink. Bonus: I discovered after my first gutterball that, thanks largely to the bar, I didn't give two flips about my bowling skills. Apparently, no one else did, either. My skills for the evening peaked at a spare... and came to a crashing halt after rolling the gutterball to end all gutterballs right after that holy spare... and that, my friends, as all who are familiar with bowling know, is a no-no.
It was a glorious time; and a great way to end an Odd Week [Bedridden Sunday through Tuesday; half bedridden Wednesday; nose-blowing mixed with high energy Thursday; hustling on Friday].
Turning now to the weather:
--Just finished J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace; a fantastic work... but utterly depressing in many parts. Still, the ending, while not uplifting, is settling enough... and the language lush. Read it. And Waiting for the Barbarians. Next, I might re-read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451... "just because."
--Zach and I ventured downtown after a rousing breakfast (at noon) at the 14 Carrott Cafe (easily my favorite breakfasting spot in all of Seattle). My mission: birthday shopping for my father and sister. Of course, first we had to shop for myself, though - a sweater (WINTER SALE) from an unnamed store that posts pictures of half-naked youths, and two DVDs (Finding Nemo and series four of Absolutely Fabulous). Shopping for the blood relations is nearly finished.
--Tonight - I say we stay in! Laze about! Eat leftovers! Watch DVDs! Who's with me?
My bowling skills are lacking as well.
Posted by: Travis at January 26, 2004 12:02 PM