Sorry I didn’t blog last night. I had to go to a hotel with my Mom because she wanted to do this shopping trip to Ikea. So I went, but there was something seriously wrong with that hotel. Never ever, ever, ever stay at a Holiday Inn Express. I’ve never had such a horrible allergic reaction. I don’t even have seasonal allergies! But something in that room made my histamines go *insane*. After only 15 minutes in that room, my throat got scratchy. An hour later, my face was turning bright red around my nose and sinuses. Two hours, and I could barely breathe. My nose was completely shut off, but not really congested. My throat was tight, scratchy, and hurt like the dickens. But Mom said we couldn’t leave. That was the most miserable night I’ve had in a looong time. When I laid down if felt like my head was going to explode. I tried to put a wet washcloth over my face, but that didn’t help much. When I woke up, ugh. I won’t go into details. It was bad. As soon as I could, we were out of there and on our way to Ikea. I felt better after we left, but even now I’m still congested and my nose is probably red again. I don’t know what the crap was in that room, but it’s evil. Pure, concentrated evil. I don’t even have allergies usually! No hay fever, no pet-related problems, nothing seasonal. But this was really bad.
And the worst part – my Mom, the Queen of Allergies, was fine in there. Only this afternoon did her throat start to scratch a little.
When I got home I was so tired from lack of sleep, and my face hurt so bad. I thought for a while I wouldn’t be able to go to the first night of the AOL Bowling League, but I forced myself. Brandon, one of my team mates on The Thomas Jefferson Starship Bowling Machine, said he couldn’t find a sub for me. And since they couldn’t find a replacement, he and John – another team mate – couldn’t play tonight. I felt really bad about that, so I decided to attempt another experiment. A yummy experiment.
Mom, Max, and I went to a Mexican restaurant so I could drown my allergic sorrows in salsa. It’s always worked before when I have a bad cold, to just eat as much spicy food as I can stand. Clears stuff out. I practically drank two cute little cauldrons of salsa, inhaling it trying to flush it out quick. Then, since it was dinner time, I got a delicious steak chimichanga. Mmmm. Benadryl should start making Mexican flavored anti-histamines. I can imagine the commercial now; those people with the giant noses being swarmed by a crazed Mariachi band. It’d be great, great I tell you!
Anyway, back to bowling. I made it, thankfully, so Thomas Jefferson was able to bowl tonight. Unfortunately, though, my brother Kevin had to skip out on us cause he got tickets to the Daily Show’s taping in Washington, DC. I went by myself, representing the Lawver contingent, and had great fun. The best part about the AOL Bowling League is that it’s okay to be a really crappy bowler. For instance, they’d cheer for me whenever I hit more than four pins at a time. It was fantastic! If they were really serious bowlers and kept making me feel bad for taking their lane space or something, then I’d have a serious problem and might have to throw that ball the opposite direction. But they were all really cute about it. One time when I got a spare after a particularly bad couple of frames, the guys on my team put their hands in the air and cheered. It was hilarious! A spare and it’s like I won the championships. It was entertaining.
I think I’ve found my bowling groove, too, so I might not be as bad as I thought. I was an okay bowler before, but with the No-Toe I had to completely re-envision my approach to bowling. (Sounds very important, doesn’t it?) I can’t approach like other bowlers do, so I walk up to the line, pick my spot, and then look at where I’m trying to aim. My problem tonight was I’m just not used to how I have to throw it yet. I tried raising it like everyone else, swinging back, then forward and letting go. That wasn’t working. I kept turning my wrist and elbow too much and sending it into the left gutter. Not good, since the object of the game is to actually hit the pins. Instead, John suggested I forget raising it up, and just pull it back gently, then toss it out. Slowly. I tried it, and as long as I keep the image of a pendulum in my mind, it works every time. I even got a backwards strike once! Okay, technically it was a spare, but I missed all the pins the first time, but on the second run, glory! I hit all of them at once. Huzzah! (Mmm, allergy medication is setting in…) It was great.
My scores for the three games of the evening (feel free to laugh, because I certainly am): 49, 72, and 85. At least I improved! Week after next I fully plan on beating somebody. I was one point away from beating the woman on the opposite team, and two points away from beating a guy. (Not physically beating them, I mean point-wise. [That much punching would hurt my bowling thumb.]) 🙂 I’d beat them next Monday, but I’m going to a concert then. Hurrah! Sigur Ros! I wonder if they’d bowl with me…
I seriously need sleep now. I doubt I got any more than 4 to 5 hours of sleep last night, so I’m (quite obviously) getting delirious. I need to sleep in tomorrow, and thankfully that shouldn’t be a problem.
One last thing, though: I need a job!! Help find me a job, please! I need stuff to do. I need money. I want to DO something. I’m tired of just doing internet stuff on my own. I want… something. I dunno. Anything (legal.) Something I can really sink my teeth into.
Okay, grovelling over. 🙂 Good night!