"I've seen more marks in my shorts!"

I think I may have used up my allotment of strikes for the month last week as I didn't have much success this week. I did, however, swear profusely and conspicuously flipped off the remaining pins when I missed a spare, which happened a lot. I have to remember its not a sprint, but a marathon and I will probably do much better next week. I couldn't do much worse.

I did have some inter-team competitive fun in the second game. A teammate and I had lead into the tenth frame with two strikes and had the same score. I jokingly said "it's on" and he agreed. I started the tenth with a strike, then rolled a six. The remaining pins were clustered together and I picked up the spare - I would have said 'easily' but nothing came easy that night! My teammate left the tenth open, so I had THAT going for me.

And a clean game still remains elusive as I ruined any chance of getting one by the second frame of each game.

September 18, 2014
Game 1
9/, 9-, X, 63, 8-, 8/, S81, S81, 7/, 81 = 127

Game 2
6/, 9-, 81, 8-, 08, 0/, S81, X, X, X6/ = 156

Game 3
9-, S81, X, 6/, 8-, 8-, 0/, 8-, 9/, 9/8 = 135

Series Total:  418
Series Avg.:  139
Season Avg.: 152
Season Hdcp.: 45

Just Dropping Pins And Getting Wins

"They're going down, I'm yelling timber.

They better fall, so I can dance.

It was a night I will remember,

The final score I won't forget."

This past Thursday was the earliest in the season that I bowled a 200 game. The night didn't start well as I threw a first ball into the gutter following a spare and didn't fare much better with my second attempt. I marked pretty well to finish the game above 100 pins, notching 99 at the end of the ninth frame.

After using my first game as a warm-up, I was in the zone. I marked in my first four frames of the second game, three of them strikes. I missed a spare, struck again, then followed that with knocking down one pin on a first ball. I redeemed myself by sparing the frame, then closed the game by sandwiching my fifth strike between two 7-2 frames to finish at 169.

The third game was when the magic happened. I got strikes in three of the first five frames, the other two being left open (a clean game still elusive to me). I then bowled four straight strikes to have seven in the first nine frames. I started the tenth frame with another strike (a badger), then got a split. I knocked down one of the two remaining pins to finish with a 218. I had a 505 series and 168 series average. My season average now sits at 158. My handicap should be about 35.

September 11, 2014
Game 1
8-, 9/, 03, 7/,6/,6/, 9-, 9-, 72, 8/9 = 118

Game 2
X, 5/, X, X, 72, X, 1/, 72, X, 72 = 169

Game 3
X, X, 72, X, 44, X, X, X, X, SX81 = 218

The 2014-15 Bowling Season Has Begun!

Don't let the words on the shoes fool you, I own these bad boys!  A nice birthday gift from The Wife to support my interests in health and athleticism.  The start of September means the start of another bowling season.

The lead up to this season has been a little more stressful than others in the past. We had three of the ten teams collapse due to some people leaving the company and the league had a tough time filling the gaps.  There are now eight teams, but in a bit of irony, there are 60 names of people interested in bowling - enough to alley ten teams and half as many again for substitutes and alternates. I'm sure people like the idea of bowling as a fun thing to do every once in a while, especially when the weather gets bad and you're looking for something to do; but the season runs 29 weeks, from September to April, and playing for a league is a huge commitment in time and money. The season is already split into two halves; we might just have two 12 weeks seasons with position and final rounds at the end of each. Just need to make sure we get 40 bowlers for each season.

One of the spots to fill was the Captain of my team. She is still with the company, but in a new role and has a lot of family obligations this year. Since I was handling most of her team duties anyway, transitioning her out didn't take much effort. Finding someone to fill her spot did. We made her and another former co-worker, and current teammate, into alternates, but we needed someone who could bowl more regularly. The Wife got rid of her Thursday night shift, so I asked if she would be interested. I was about to mix my work and my personal life on the one night I get a brief respite from responsibilities at home. We all have to make sacrifices to keep the league going, gang!

I had a very satisfactory start to the bowling season, as I was able to beat my last year's average by a couple of pins.  As always, I've captured my stat line. The Wife did not do as well, and in deference to her, I will not make her scores a matter of public record. I will say we finished two pitchers of beer and a plate of avocado bean dip with chips. I look forward to similar results!

September 4, 2014
Game 1
7/, X, 4-, 9/, 6/, X, 63, 7-, 71, 9- = 126

Game 2
07, 7/, 8/, 9/, 71, 81, X, X, 8/, 7/X = 163

Game 3
9-, 63, 81. 8/, X, 9/, X, 9/, 7/, 6/8 = 158

Series Total:  447
Series Avg.:   149
Est Hdcp.:       43

Sports, Sports, Sports, Sports

It was a full week of sports for me, in as much I will be updating you on the three sports-related activities I'm involved in.  In related news, the Red Sox secured the AL East pennant for just the 7th time in team history and yesterday the Gophers football team beat San Jose State to go to 4-0 against non-conference teams.  They seem like a good team this year, but the U of M has historically played pathetically within their conference. Here's hoping they buck the trend.

I bowled last week after having one week off to take a business trip to Winnipeg. I'm not yet in bowling condition, but that didn't stop me from getting my own ball.  My nickname among some of my friends and colleagues is "Frank the Tank," and I've taken a step to secure its permanence.

My scores from last week weren't all that great.  Maybe with the new ball, I'll show some improvement.  It's heavier than I'm used to, so it's going to take some time, but I have until April to build up some strength.

September 19, 2013

Game 1

62, 61, S81, X, 71, 81, X, 7/, S62, 6- = 109

Game 2

52, X, 81, 9/, 9-, X, X, X, S72, 53 = 156

Game 3

9-, 8-, 8/, 9/, 9-, 9-, S7-, 71, 9/, 3/8 = 119

Series Total:    384

Series Avg.:     128

Season Avg.:    127

Season Hdcp.:  65

Last Sunday, my Fantasy Football team came thisclose to winning its first game (out of two week played so far).  I was about 25 points shy of my opponent, but had my best receiver playing on Monday night.  I figured if he got 8 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown, that would give me enough points for the win; and this stat line wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for him.  He ended up with 6 catches for 41 yards and I fell well short of victory.  On the plus side, this week I play against the only other team at 0-2, so my odds are quite good.  Whether at winning or losing, I’m not sure.

In the football pool, I picked 8 of 16 games correctly.  I’m now in 7^th place of 12 players and 8 points away from first place.  The fact I’m having a slow start on all my seasons is an understatement.

Does Being A Bowling League Treasurer & Secretary Look Good On A Resume?

A better question is:  does pulling funds from my retirement account to buy my own ball and shoes constitute sound financial planning?

I mean, who hasn't dreamed about becoming a professional bowling and poker player? Just me?

The new bowling season started on Thursday, September 5 and due to sinking $300 in car repairs, I was reduced to using a house ball and shoes . . . again!  My duties as Treasurer & Secretary not only include taking dues and filing paperwork, but it apparently also includes advising newcomers how to keep score and where the bathrooms are, as well as directing captains what they should do when a player doesn't show up.  I have to bite my tongue before saying, "get a better captain."

So, as G-Bug uses her height to her advantage for her JV volleyball team, I will use my ability to drink beer as an advantage to roll a ball.  I'm using a heavier ball now (14lbs - I already told you about my limp wrist!) to train for when I do get my own ball.  I'm going to use the first month as my spring training to get into game shape.  After the last week I had, there is definitely room for improvement. Never have I thrown so many first balls into the gutter.

Game 1
8-, S51, 9/, 8/, 0/, 6/, 9-, 9-, X, 08 = 121

Game 2
63, S81, 81, S7-, X, 9/, 9-, 8/, 72, S7- = 115

Game 3
09, 9/, S7-, S8-, 09, X, X, 9/, X, 8/8 = 147

Series Total:  383
Series Avg.:  127
Est Hdcp.:  67

Bowling Results: Second Half

We’re coming to the end of the 2012-13 Mixed Bowling League, with just one more week remaining.  This week was the “Position Round” to finalize the standings and next week will be the championship week.  Unfortunately, I will miss the last week of bowling due to business travel (opportunity for new photos in my “365 in 365” picture project!).

  

Essentially, the winner of the first half of the season plays the winner of the second half.  The Gutter Snipes were just a game behind the second and third place teams for the second half, but the first place team really pulled ahead and lead by more than a dozen games.  They didn’t place too well in the first half, which I attribute to serious sandbagging. We played the third place team and took 5 of 7 possible points.  The Gutter Snipes will place third for the season, but probably will have the second highest win total.

For myself, I had a slow start to the second half, but have really turned it on of late.  I was able to get a 200 game last week for a total series of 560, my highest I believe.  Unfortunately, I need at least a 640 series to be recognized as a man.  I mean that almost literally as the list of high series from men range from almost 800 down to 640.  Anything below that is unremarkable.

Here are my scores to close out the second half:

February 7, 2013

Game 1

7/, S72, 8/, X, 9-, X, X, X, 7/, 9- = 179

Game 2

9-, 9/, 9/, X, X, X, 81, 71, 9-, 9-, = 160

Game 3

X, 72, 9-, 61, 61, 8/, S8/, 8-, X, S72 = 122

Series Total:       462

Series Avg.:        154

Season Avg.:      147

Season Hdcp:     47

Bowling Fail X2

Uff-dah!  I did NOT represent myself well for the first two weeks of the second half of the bowling season.  We had a five-week layoff, during which I did nothing in terms of keeping my bowling skills honed.  At least one set of games before the start of the second half would have helped.  Since I didn’t, I crapped the bed - twice.  It’s a shame because during my warm-ups, I was able to pick up a couple spares, including an odd 6-7 split.  Alas, it was not meant to be.

January 17, 2013

Game 1

9/, 6-, 72, 9-, 9-, 6-, X, 07, 9/, SX81 = 118

Game 2

72, X, 41, 81, 9-, 72, 9-, 6/, 62, 8/8 = 107

Game 3

X, 9-, 9/, 6/, 9/, 81, X, 71, 8/, 9/9 = 154

Series Total:       379

Series Avg.:        126

Season Avg.:      148

Season Hdcp:     46

January 24, 2013

Game 1

X, 81, S81, 71, X, 81, 63, 9/, 6/, 61 = 121

Game 2

72, 63, 9/, 81, X, 8-, 7/, X, 9-, S7/X = 139

Game 3

S72, X, X, 9-, X, 9/, 9-, 9/, 8/, 81 = 159

Series Total:       419

Series Avg.:        139

Season Avg.:      147

Season Hdcp:     47

2012-13 Bowling Season: First Half Results

The Gutter Snipes

I’ve embedded myself like a tick in my work’s mixed bowling league.  After two years of being an alternate, and a year as a full member of the team (with team name credit), I am now the league Treasurer/Secretary.  This requires me to be the heavy in collecting weekly fees and treating the other 39+ bowlers as my fourth grade class, telling them where to be and when and not to forget their lunch money.  Add to that, my obsession to manage the duties of my team’s chatty Captain and I’m putting my stank all over this league.

Both the team and I had a very successful first half of the season.  The Gutter Snipes ended up tied for first place by record with the perennial powerhouse team.  The tie-breaker is most pins, so our official finish was second place.  For myself, I’m at the top of the list for “Most Improved – Men” with an increase in my average of 9.66 pins.  Since we use round numbers, my average moved up from 141 to 150.  I’m also in the top position for the “High Series Handicap – Men” with a 741.  I must have been bowling out of my mind that night.

One of my life bowling goals was to bowl a 200 game.  I did that once all of last year, but in the first half of this season, I’ve done it twice (all my 200+ games occurring in 2012).  My next goal will be to have a clean game, all strikes and spares.  After that, I will try to get a scratch 600 series.

For those who are interested, I have documented my first half season performances.

Welcome to the Club!



Six weeks is too long a time between blog posts and two weeks is too long a time between bowling sessions.  The league had its first week of the second season yesterday and I feel as though I have carpal tunnel as I type this entry.  I was eagerly anticipating the re-start of the bowling season as I was able to get over 200 pins during the final game (complete with Tebowing) before the holiday break.  This was one of the life goals I had determined for myself after listening to the motivational speaker, Dan Thurmon.  It didn’t take long before my hope devolved into resignation, then into despair, and finally into “DAMMIT!”

Last night, we were able to win the first game, but got our collective asses handed to us in the second, and less so in the third.  The Gutter Snipes will start the second season with a 2 – 5 record; not a particularly strong start from our third place showing in the first half, just eight wins from first place, four from second, and 3 above fourth. 

This was just the first week of 15, so we have plenty of time.  I did get my named mentioned in the list of “High Game Handicap – Men” with a 275, so I’ve got THAT going for me.

The high-low range of games and series for me are 223 – 95 and 509 – 368.

Here is the recap of the last several weeks:

January 5, 2012

Game 1

X, 8-, S81, 9/, 9/, X, 9/, X, X, 8- = 168

Game 2

8-, 9-, 7-, 71, 8/, 18, 9-, 9/, X, S71 = 107

Game 3

9-, S62, X, S62, X, 8/, 9/, 9-, X, 7/9 = 149

Series Total:    424

Series Avg.:     141

Season Avg.:    143

Season Hdcp.:  51

Worst. Bowling. Ever.

Not for me personally.  I didn’t have too bad a series.  But the events surrounding the outing caused me some consternation. I was the only regular on the team to show up; the others needed subs and one of those was a noob.  I was responsible for the captain’s duties, including changing the names and handicaps on the scoreboard and collecting the weekly fees.  The newbie was the only sub to show up on time.  I had to pull another one out of the bar once league play started and the third arrived just as I was planning on updating the scoreboard with her absence.

Adding to the turmoil was the rather impatient elderly woman on the other team.  She was already in high dudgeon as half my team were still putting on their shoes at the start of Game 1 and she spent the rest of the evening directing people to “just go up and bowl” or we risked “being here all night.”  It didn’t help that the ball return on the lanes we played would frequently fail to return balls.  So, we weren’t at the lanes all night, but we were the last teams to finish.

Unsurprisingly, my nerves were frayed to the point where I was intolerant to the behaviors of the players around me.  In short, people were annoying the hell out of me.  One such player was on another team to the right of us.  I will call him ‘Bob’ to protect his anonymity . . . What?  Bob won’t read this?  Okay, his real name is Steve (still not his real name) . . . and he works in the Corporate Credit/Accounting department, so he already lacks some social graces.  Bob-Steve looks like an 80’s adult movie actor, complete with porn-stache, and has a reputation of skeezing on some of the younger female co-workers.  We had a recent college grad on the Parts Accounting team and Bob-Steve would often visit our end of the building, which is on the complete opposite side from his cubicle location.  I don’t remember ever seeing him on my side of the building in the first 18 or so months I worked there before the college grad was hired, and haven’t seen him since she quit this summer.  You do the math.

Bowling for Hollahs!

Obviously, I haven’t been on the grid as much as I would like, so I’m a little behind in my bowling updates.  I can’t say there was anything remarkable the last few weeks, just a solid showing between the high and low game scores I have had this season.  The team itself has been doing very well, holding a strong third place for the first half.  If all the players can pick up their games just a little, we can make a push to the top.

October 13, 2011

Game 1

X, 72, 7/, 7-, S72, 9-, X, X, S72, XXX = 155

Game 2

S72, 8-, 8-, 9/, 9/, S81, S8-, X, X, X8- = 155

Game 3

6/, 62, 8/, X, 8/, 9-, 9/, X. 7-, 9- = 145

Series Total:    455

Series Avg.:     151

Season Avg.:    138

Season Hdcp:   55

October 20, 2011 (4 Year Wedding Anniversary!)

Game 1

5-, 63, 9/, 7-, 9-, 9/, 8/, 81, 81, S8/9 = 120

Game 2

8/, 8/, 8-, X, 8/, S8-, X, 8/, X, 8/X = 170

Game 3

X, 7/, 8/, 9-, 8-, 7-, 9-, 8-, X, 8- = 124

Series Total:    414

Series Avg.:     138

Season Avg.:    138

Season Hdcp:   55

Results Were Mixed

I had a very slow start to my bowling play the other night.  Like a pitcher who can’t get a good feel on the ball to throw his off-speed pitches, I couldn’t seem to find the right angle to throw my hook.  I left a lot of slop on the right side of the lanes and had the hardest time cleaning it up.  I was able to get three marks through 17 frames before going to Plan B, which had me go back to my roots and throw a straight ball.  I was able to set a new single game high score for the season in the third game.

Handicap at start of play:  59

Game 1

9 -,S8 -, 8 1, 0 7, 7 2, X, 9 -, 7 2, 8 -, 8 1 = a bag of shit (95)

Game 2

9 -, 9 -, 8 /, X, 9 -, 9 -, S8 1, X, X, 9 / 8 = 151

Game 3

9 /, 8 1, 9 /, 8 -, X, X, X, 7 -, 8 /, X 8 / = 174

Series Total:  420

Series Avg.:  140

Season Avg.:  135

I Shat the Bed



I shouldn’t be so hard on myself (The Wifey thinks that’s one of my biggest flaws).  I had a very strong start to my first game, but choked in the eighth frame.  Once I did, I couldn’t find my groove again.  I did get over 100 in each game, but the results were touch and go through much of them.  Before start of play last night, my handicap sat at 60 pins.

Game 1

9 /, 7 /, 8 /, 9 /, X, X, 8/, 7 -, 8 /, 7 2 = 172

Mood:  YEA . . . awww!

Game 2

8 1, 5 4, 9 /, 7 -, 7 -, X, S8 -, X, 5 1, 9 / 6 = 113

Mood:  WTfffffffff!

Game 3

S8 1, 7 1, 9 -, X, S6 1, X, 0 8, 7 /, 9 -, 6 / 9 = 123

Mood:  Whatev!

Series Total:  408

Series Avg.:  136

Season Avg.:  134

Handicap:  Competitive without the ability

Let's Get Ready to Rrrrrrrrum-Bowl!

The new season of the McQuay mixed bowling league started a couple weeks ago, and this time I’m a permanent member of the team, not a substitute or alternate.  We were allowed to rename the team and I suggested “Gutter Snipes,” which was agreed by the others.  My contributions to the team just continue to grow!  Here are my results for the last three weeks, including last night.

Week 1

Game 1 – 131

Game 2 – 129

Game 3 – 152

Series Total – 412

Series Avg.– 137

Season Avg. – 137

Week 2

Game 1 – 137

Game 2 – 108

Game 3 – 123

Series Total – 368

Series Avg. – 123

Season Avg. – 130

Week 3

Game 1 – 159

Game 2 – 141

Game 3 – 122

Series Total – 422

Series Avg. – 140

Season Avg. - 133