Pins...How i hate thee

So as i figured my night out on the town with my old friend Marie and her new friends was a horrifying train wreck if i do say so myself.

Like most things i was trying to find a way out of going with all my might.
"maybe i can say i got sick"
"i have to write an important paper i haven't even started"
"i saved children from a burning building and am too tired to go out."

After seeing how stupid all of those excuses were, i gave in and just decided to go ahead with the whole stupid thing.

At 7, Marie showed up, i brought along my Scene It game, just incase things got so boring i had to whip it out. Me and Marie by ourselves are good friends, yes we annoy each other to the point of no return sometimes, but all in all i respect her, and i guess thats what friends do. We were going over to her friends Jeff's dorm too play Scene It, and wait for Dani(a girl) to come over so we could head to the all night bowling thing.

Jeff seemed like a nice kid, though so nice that you felt bad for him. He kept asking if i was thirsty, if i was cold, if i needed a belt(b/c for some reason my pants don't seem to want to stay up). After saying that i was fine, we decided that to waste time we would play Scene It.

I am the champion at Scene It, a movie trivia game, it has a DVD and everything, but unless you play it with people who like movies, it's a waste of time. As i was crushing them in the game, i soon notice that i was the only one screaming at the top of my lungs about my skills in the board games, and after defeating them in less than 30 minutes we decided to play volleyball frisbee.

It is just as it sounds. A volleyball game, but using a frisbee instead of a ball. It was like 8 by then, dark, and we headed to the net and sand. As a kid my mom said me and my brother hated the sand. Everytime i touched it with my bare feet i would cry, so i kind of winced at having to play in the sand and even more when they took of their shoes.

Though i never played volleyball frisbee, i had amazing skills in that too. Now Dani hadn't shown up yet, though Jeff kept asking when she would (he has a crush on her, more on that later). As soon as Marie got the call that Dani had arrived at the dorm, i slowly became the 4th wheel. Dani, like Jeff is uber nice. And though it was nice to be around normal people for a change, i saw how extremely boring it was. We played frisbee for like the next hour. The Rock-a-Bowl didn't start till 11, it was only 9:15.

To prevent myself from not falling asleep, i suggested we go get some coffee. The bowling alley was 45minutes away, so at least that would make time go faster. Dani went in the car with Jeff, watching the two of them chase after each other(literally) and slap each other on the butt. was not cool. Before the coffee idea we were planning on going back up to his room and playing another round of Scene it, but when we got to his room his roommates were there so we vetoed that idea. We roamed the hall looking for another TV, the whole time we were doing that the three of them were poking each other, smacking each other butts(all in a playful manner i guess), and talking about past things they have done. Though i wasn't into getting my butt smacked by some boy and girl i had just met, i knew that they had a bond that i did not, and i accepted it, daydreaming about various things while they were dong that.

So we made our way into town, i in the car with Marie. On the way she keep asking what i thought about them...the only word i could come up with was "there nice".

The ride there was better. I understand that this was my break home and she wanted to hang out, i don't understand why she wanted to do that with 2 other people yet alone in a bowling alley at night time. So we squezzed in what we have been doing since we last talked in that 45minute drive. I always wondered how Marie made friends, she's loud, brash, agrumentative, and a know-it-all, yet she somehow made friends with these seeemingly nice people. When we got to the Sandwhich place(which serves coffee) it was closed. We stood in the parking lot for too long deciding what we should do next. After talking about what we should do, we gave up and just decided to go to the bowling alley and sit around.

Once again i felt the uncomfortableness of the situation. Marie, Dani, and Jeff seemed to gravitate to each other, and i was left staring at the exit, then looking at my watch seeing that i had 3 more hours of this to go. We were standing around, and they started the poking again, and tickling each other. Jeff looked at me as if he was about to tickle me, but i guess my "dude i just met you face" told him i wasn't into that.

So Dani and Jeff have known each other a little longer than Marie and Dani have known each other, which is about a year. That is how Marie meet Jeff, through his association with Dani. Jeff has a major crush on her, which is more evident than...well it was pretty obvious. He asked her out a while back, but she said no. I could tell he liked her even before i meet her b/c of his face when she called the first time, and mentioned that she may not be able to make it. He was willing to drive one hour to her house to get her. Though Dani doesn't like him like that, i guess she is just a flirt. Marie says that she likes boys until they start showing an interest back and then she doesn't like them anymore. Whatever it was, it was weird. The whole night, they were sitting close and touching each others knees and once again smacking butts.

When 11 o'clock came i was more than happy to get this show on the road. We had picked out fake names before the game started. Marie and I are planning to go to Mexico for our start of Med and Vet school. No...NOT CANCUN. I want to see the ruins and she wants to go to the coast. As my spanish teacher says, Cancun is not seeing Mexico. She knows a boy names Vladmir whose family owns a farm in Mexico, and he is willing to go with us. Of course going out, we need fake names, because we don't want any one checking us up in the phone book becase they meet us in Mexico or any other place. So my bowling name, and "hey this person is creepy give them a fake name" alias is Celeste(marie made it up, it sounds like moleste to me) and her fake name is Elyse( i made it up for her). We gave Dani the name Kanga because of her shoes, and Uber nice Jeff was Gangsta Pimp. I should have used Mama Bling as my fake name, but i forgot. We went by these names the rest of the night.

I'm not a bowler, the last time i went bowling was about 10 years ago. I was an avid bowler when i was a kid, i was on a team and everything. I was MVP and was awarded a bowling ball. But i haven't bowled since and i wasn't looking forward to it.

I sucked, more than anything else. Gutterball after Gutterball was what i bowled. Then to make me feel better they suggested we bowl one frame the old granny way, and even then it was gutterball. eventually i got some pins but i must say my highest game was like a 60. I know...horrible. It was so boring. The three of them were smacking anf poking and i was dosing. We decided to put 5 dollars in the juke box, so that our songs would be played most of the night. I guess because i sucked so bad, they let me pick out the songs. Oh Yeah!!!!

I picked Bruce Springsteen, Zeppelin, Coldplay, Queen....i was like a Dj or something, and as it blared through the place i felt like dancing. Not that i did, but when Stairway to heaven came on, with the strobe light and darkness of the place, i felt like running in the middle of the lane and doing and Heather Graham(in the video American Woman) dance in the lanes. I mean i felt like i was just going to run out there and just...DANCE. I must been born in another decade, but Then Peter Frampton came on and i almost broke out in dance again. I love Rock.

I was isolated throughout the night, and to amuse myself i watched other bowlers. We were sitting next to what seemed like a group of little, bowling men. They were barely 5'2, which made me feel good but bowled as if there life depended on it. They kissed the ball, before letting it roll into the lane as if there wasn't a care in the world. I notice that there are different kind of bowlers.

Those who bowl as if it is a profession, who take it as seriuosly as anything. There eyes are glued to the lane, as if it is some metaphor for life. They come in with there own bag, ball, and gloves.

Part-time bowlers: Bowling seems to be an escape for them, maybe kids are driving them crazy, maybe work is stressful, but something about a ball rolling down a lane is relaxing and soothing.

The drunks. Funny to watch, spend most their day there, smoking, laughing it up.

And there everyone else, just trying to pass the time along. Well and then there was me, arms crossed, not really knowing what to do. They must have notice that i wasn't having a good time. They kept asking if i was okay, i kept saying yeah. I wasn't. I hate bowling. To give a visual of what it may looked like.

I walk to the line, real slow. Kind of dragging. I swing the ball back, for some reason kick my leg up, the ball bounces unto the lane, seeming to be going right down the center of the lane, but hallway down the aisle it takes a sharp left or right and gutter. Then i creep back, sliding in my shoes, hands folded again until it is my turn.

The last song i choose was Malibu by Hole. I don't like Courtney Love and i think Kurt Cobain was a quitter but something about the song, always makes me sad. My dad called right before i left and i was more than excited, and that song reminded me of him. So i had to take a breather and go outside.Marie followed me and said she was sorry for bringing me when she knows that i hate bowling.

Me: it's okay really, i had a fun time picking out the tunes
Marie: so what do you think of them
Me: he's really nice, and she's nice too
Marie: Just nice huh
Me: i mean i'm so use to....the craziness, i don't know how i feel about it being so normal.

I mean if Marie wanted us to have a good time, and get to know each other, we should have rented a movie, ordered pizza and went back to her place. Though i'm not going to be best friends with her new friends a better social situation for this already awkwardness would have been to not take us to a place where the music is so loud we are screaming just to hear each other. Something a little more relaxed would have been better. I expected to be the third wheel, but man i didn't expect to want to throw myself on the lanes for the complete boredom that took place.

Once 2 am came around, i almost ran out of there. We said our goodbyes and Marie drove me home.

And then i stayed up for the next two hours trying to figure out Requiem for A dream(damn you Jared Leto).

Marie called me today and said that Dani and Jeff felt bad for my not having a great time. I did have a great time, picking the sweet tunes that were played in the bowling alley.

I'm telling you i was 5 minutes away from doing a Napoleon Dynamite-isque performance in between the lanes.

Would've been more interetsing if you ask me.