Monday, July 18, 2005

On Bowling

It's one of my goals this summer to become a better bowler. So, I joined a league with Jeremy, my Dad and his girlfriend, Peggy.

Setting Expectations High
Week 1: it proved a feat to convince my father, a veteran bowler of 25+ years that I was a *terrible* bowler... Not just kind of bad. As if my task wasn't difficult enough, I ended my debut by nailing a 110 average by some outlandish string of luck. Looking into the eyes of my father swelling with pride at having donated genes to a potential "natural" bowler, I cringed. Nothing good can come from this.

Leaving the alley, I gulped down rising stomach-acid overhearing Dad's murmuring in Peggy's ear his delight at their new "secret weapon" on the team... me.

A Steady Decline
Luckily, any misconceptions of my bowling aptitude were shattered the following week when midway-ish through the first game of the series I landed my 7th gutter-ball. For those that may not know how league bowling works, the steady increase of one's average does volumes to a team's chances. Conversely, it's *really* bad to lower your average... and mine had a ways to fall.

Fast-Forward to Week 8
I've been kicking my butt, pulling extra practices and Jeremy, holding a steadily rising 193 average, has been helping me on my approach. My average is a more reasonable 97. This Sunday, I nailed *confidently* a 97, 104, and 115.

*Plus* The last tie-breaking game was won by 7 pins, which Dad says my strong 10th frame won for the team. It's nice to help the team for a change. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Hurray for Oatmeal Cookies! That's our team name; sounds fiesty, huh?

-T.

1 comment:

Jeremy said...

Not only did you win the game for us, but you're also the cutest bowler in the league.