RECORD STORE TALES #1095:
Mental Health Plan: Gutterballs! (Jen Kicks Mike’s Butt at Bowling – with video)

Part of my mental health plan this winter is getting out more.  Movies, dinners, that sort of thing.  Jen loves bowling, so she took me out bowling for the first time in many years.  Five pin bowling is her jam.  Her lanes at Towne Bowl just closed, but Victoria Bowl isn’t far.  We rolled in to roll, right at noon.

Now, it’s no secret I’ve been having problems with my right arm.  You’ve seen it on Grab A Stack of Rock all wrapped up in braces and Tensor bandages.  There’s some serious pain going on there and sometimes even working on a mouse all day can leave me in agony.  So, this was a big test for me.  Can I bowl for an hour?  Is this a viable option for spending time in the winter?

The answer to both questions is yes (sorta), and yes.  Sorta, because though I could bowl for an hour, I got noticeably worse after about 30 minutes and Jen proceeded to kick my entire ass.

Jen had the best score of her bowling career to date.  I started strong, but pulled one of my worst scores on my last game.

We had a lot of fun.  Because we were so early in the day, we had a whole side of the place to ourselves.  We were at ease and because there was nobody else around, I filmed a bit of it.  I’m always at my happiest when I can be creative, and I was able to bring that side of it into the game.

My elbow is paying for it now, and my right hand and wrist are a bit rough, but that’s how you build up strength and get past this stuff.  Next time I’ll stretch first, though – that was a mistake.  My thighs….

But we did it, and we had a great time doing it.  Mission accomplished.

Kicking winter’s ass one pin at a time.  Let it begin.

Music:  The Last Train by Tee Bone Erickson

 

You can see my score decline as the pain set in.