10/16 My Best Keeps Getting Better :)

Was I not just whining about not doing as well in my USBC-sanctioned league compared to my unsanctioned league?  Well, lo and behold, the impossible happened tonight: I bowled my best series ever at my USBC sanctioned league, the Downingtown Womens Wednesday Night League.  I had scores of 176, 163 and 192, resulting in a 531 series (my highest ever!) and an average for the night of 177 (another league high for me!).  My first 500 series at USBC league!  My USBC league average increases from 145 to 149, closing in on my 150+ goal.  JingGalBowls is a BowlStar and a happy, happy girl....

Graph of my USBC League Scores

from my Best Bowling app

To top it off (icing on the cake), tonight my beloved Scatterpins (Sadie, Ann Marie, Ruth and me) swept the Pin Pals (my BowlStar anchor Mitchie, Carole, Jackie and Bette, who had prebowled): go team!

Now my hope is to have a good turn-around, comeback performance at my unsanctioned league, the Philly Pinoy Mixed Fall League (MFL) on Sunday night. My MFL average has been steadily dropping the past few weeks but is still (quite luckily) above 150 at 153.  To make matters worse for me, my dismal performances have virtually lost a few games for my dear Team BALUT.  So I pray that I may continue to have the same zen and focus on the lanes, and make good adjustment decisions, as I did tonight, coz that spelled the difference for me. 

The comeback of my Beast Ball as my spare ball made a difference as well.  Like an old friend, I am most comfortable throwing the old Beastie, since she was my very first fingertip ball, also my first 11 lb ball.  An old reliable she is, glad to have her (and my spare shooting) back. 

So happy that my best keeps getting better, as I hit more milestones in my journey to a better game.  May the trend towards even better bowling nights continue. 

See y'all at the lanes!

10/12 October Update: Busy But Happy

It looks like I have a trend going of posting one blog entry a month.  I am as busy as ever bowling, even if the blog has not had much traffic. 

My GoPapa Joel and I have been managing the Philly Pinoy Mixed Fall League (MFL) which meets in the Palace every Sunday night at 7 pm.  This is an unsanctioned (non-USBC) league, although we were able to ask the Palace to oil the lanes for us - it has made a difference in our scores!  Our escapades are chronicled in my Filipino/English blog, the BowlStar Blog.  I actually have been religiously posting two (yes, TWO!) blogs a week about that league, which may explain why THIS blog has been idle.  Oh well, the MFL is our "baby", the first league I have managed, and it is so wonderful that Joel and I are managing it together, with the help of the Philly Pinoy Bowling Committee and officers. 

I am doing quite well in the MFL, where I currently have an average of 156 and am the top female bowler after five weeks of regulation play.  There are four more weeks of regulation play left before the finals, and my beloved Team BALUT is still in the bottom but with momentum on our side!  it is a short but ultra-fun league.  I am proud and happy to have a hand in getting it started, keeping it going and making it a fun and memorable time for all participants.

I continue to bowl with my dear Scatterpins, Sadie, Ann Marie and Ruth, in the Downingtown Women's Wednesday Night league at 6:30 pm Wednesday nights at the Palace.  I currently have an average of 145 in this USBC-sanctioned league.  It had bothered me for a while that I seem to play much better on my unsanctioned leagues than I ever do on this league, but I hope that I am getting over that mental hurdle already.  I am intent on meeting my goal of getting my average in this league above 150 before the end of the year.  It's a reachable goal, I just need to keep working on it!

My spare shooting continues to be a sore spot.  I am still recording how many spares I make each game and each series = I am up and down on this one, blowing hot and cold, it's either up or down.  While I still get some awfully painful games with 2-3 spares only (ugh!), I am averaging about 4-5 spares for most of my games, and can get up to 7-8 when my confidence is good!  My spare shooting has slowly been improving with my new hot tamale red spare ball, lovingly named Hot Mama.  It has taken a good month to get comfortable playing with Hot Mama, learning where my stances are for each pin, understanding how to make it go straighter  towards my targets (push, as Donna said) and just getting the confidence on my shots, as the wavering wrecks havok on my approach and release.  My IR (Instant Results) mentality feels that is FOREVER, but that is my reality.  Progress is slow, but there is progress!  Can't really complain as long as I am moving in the right direction.

 

Jing with her Hot Mama spare ball

Speaking of moving in the right direction, my lane adjustments are a work in progress, but I feel I am slowly improving on this aspect as well, based on my play at Wednesday league and practice this week.  Practice has really made a difference in my learning how to read the lanes and adjust accordingly.  There have been a couple of really hot days when the lanes at the Palace were bizarre, but after playing under those conditions a few times, I have learned a few tricks on how to adjust.  My Beast Ball (DV8 Misfit) comes in handy when my Spinderella (Ebonite Cyclone) does weird things on the lanes, but I tend to stick with Spinderella now as my go-to ball.  I have gotten a good share of strikes, even strings of strikes on good nights, with my Spinderella: she treats me well when I throw her right!

I still have to work on keeping it simple (KISS), keeping my cool and not panicking or over-analyzing or even despairing on the lanes.  There have been nights when I just start out bad and take a while to recover and find my groove.  Thank goodness for bowling angels who come around to build my confidence and lift my spirits up!  When play is bad, Ruth's words ring true: "Get back to the BASICS".  For me this means making doubly sure that my alignment is right, and then slowing down and being very deliberate and focused in my approach = basically calling on and employing all the tricks my dear Donna taught me.  Then it becomes just me and the lane, everything else fades away....

It makes a difference when I bowl happy and find my zen on the lanes.  It has been a busy time, lots of bowling and blogging going on.  But oh, what a joyful time it is too.  I am improving, not doing too bad, and still learning so much.  My journey continues: I am grateful that you are following along with my blog and sharing my journey with me!

OK, tomorrow, Sunday morning, we have bowling practice once more at 10:30 am, then the MFL plays at 7 pm: lots of bowling for one day, I am a happy girl. 

Bowl happy, my friends.  See you at the lanes!

 

Jing, Bowling at the MFL

9/15 IR = Instant Results!

Bowled my highest league night average and series tonight at my unsanctioned league, the Philly Pinoy Mixed Fall League (MFL).  My scores were 170, 158 and 192, giving me a 520 series and 173 average for the night.  My league average in the MFL is now 169 after two weeks. UnBOWLievable, I just hope I can maintain it, but for now I want to celebrate: BEST SERIES EVER, may it get even BETTER, whoohoo!

BEST BOWLING APP, showing my Philly Pinoy League statistics

Shall I say IR, as in Instant Results?  I had met with Donna Roberts, my bowling coach/guru in the morning, very dismayed by my lack of consistency and my dismal spare shooting.  She said the code word for folks like me was IR, coz i keep wanting Instant Results.  Well, I had my instant results tonight:  THANK YOU, DONNA!!!  The effect of the fixes she gave me were immediate, i could feel and see the difference, and these were minor   adjustments to what I was already doing.  Awesome powerful mojo she gave me...  

Don't get me wrong, my spares still need a LOT of work, otherwise I would have gotten a 200 game in there (my one regret), but hey, I will take that.  I practice like one possessed anyway, especially when encouraged by such improvement.  That is what I needed, more signs of progress.  My confidence was waning, which is why I needed Donna.  I was not approaching my shots and spares correctly, and needed her intervention.  I was over-thinking in the wrong direction, professional help was needed!

I am even more convinced that I am surrounded by angels: bowling angels whispering words of strength, encouragement and wisdom into my eager ears.  Darling Shirley at league last week gave me tips on finding my spot while telling me my approach was fine.  Good ole Kevin reminded me that I am better than my average reflects, and that i should always play with confidence.  Tonight, i saw Jeff with my god sister Brenda, after not seeing them for years, and he told me to slow down, which WORKED and resulted in my string of four strikes in my third game.  And then of course Donna made sense of the madness I was putting myself through, simplifying what I had to do.  My GoPapa Joel, my original bowling angel (who also had an awesome night with a 196 average), has been telling me to simplify things, as he knows how I overanalyze, but Donna showed me HOW.  IR, baby!

I am hopeful that I continue to play well at my USBC league on Wednesday night, where i currently have a league average of 149 after two weeks.  I need to work on consistency, and on remembering and applying the KISS tricks and techniques that Donna has given me to work with.  I have been blessed with knowledge and tools to work with, now my challenge is to execute and deliver.

Unfortunately I am a bit sad that my MFL team, named BALUT, a Filipino delicacy,  lost tonight (1-3) and are at the bottom of the league standings.  However we played really well against pretty strong opponents from Team PISBOL (fish ball), and have high hopes that we can turn things around in future weeks (more details at my other blog).

FYI, here is the link to Donna's website (http://donnarobertsproshop.com/).  Give her a call for all your bowling needs.  Just tell her I sent you, she is the best!  

See y'all at the lanes!

8/27 Blog One-Year Anniversary

Wow, time flies!  Has it really been a year already?  Too bad today was a day when I truly bowled so badly it is un-blog-worthy.  But i still have much to celebrate on this anniversary feast day.

My USBC sanctioned Womens Wednesday league starts again with average setting tomorrow - another chance to reach some milestone goals on record.  Summer league with the Wednesday Women had my IncrediBOWLs team with Mitchie Masanga and Chelo Compendio ending in 7th place out of 8 teams - better than our last year last place finish!  My ending average was 138, which i hope to bring above 150 by year's end, we shall see! 

Our Sizzler league finals tonight had JC Squared (GoPapa Joel and me) in 2nd place vying for top spot against the Rum Rollers  Alas the bowling gods abandoned me tonight and gave me the curse of the open frame: dismal spare shooting plagued me all night and left me with another low low scoring 120 average night, far far away from the 145 average i had earned to date.  Need to work on those spares....  Can't complain coz i had some great nights on this league and know I am still evolving and improving.

Looking forward to our brand new Philly Pinoy Mixed Fall League on Sunday nights at 7 pm.  We have kickoff scheduled on September 8, and just announced the 10 teams out of the 30 participants. We created the teams to have one female each and mixed players of different handicaps to give all teams a chance to win.  Joel and i are co-leads of the Bowling Committee organizing the league: lots of work but very interesting and rewarding to do!  I plan to chronicle the stories on this league in my other blog.

So i guess i have resurrected my neglected blogs just in time for all the fall league activities. I am excited about having another fresh start. Bring it on!

Till next, see yah at the lanes!

07/17 Milestone Monday!!!

Bowled both my first 200 game at league AND my first 500 series on Monday, July 15 at the Sizzler League at the Palace.  Scores were 211, 117 (let down!) and 178 (recovered!), all with my Spinderella Ebonite Cyclone.  Best league night ever for me, truly a Milestone Monday!

This is a welcome improvement from my last blog on one of the worst nights i have had at league in a long time.  After such a dismal display, I decided it was high time to check off one of my goals for this year: to seek coaching from bowling guru Donna Roberts.  I knew I was not going to get out of this rut by barreling through it like I have done in the past = professional help was needed.  I wanted to correct the fundamental flaws in my game so I could move definitively in the right direction, and be armed with the knowledge of what I need to watch out for, so i don't regress again or too badly.

I had my lesson with Donna on June 23, and have been diligently working on the key things she had me working on.  Lots of things to think about, which was not good for me in the beginning, but we had discussed about putting in the minimum six hours of practice (just like our piano teachers told us!).  I had noticed my ball speed increasing, and I was hitting my target more consistently, so it was only a matter of time before my scores reflected an incremental improvement in my game.  Putting in the work helped me get a sense of how "right" should feel, so my new and improved approach could become more instinctive... good to minimize the thinking! 

By this Monday, I had logged in 55 games (both league and practice) since my June 23 lesson, which was more than the minimum 6 hours, but hey, I am a stubborn cookie overcoming many bad habits and striving for consistency.  I had been doing the release drill Donna taught me, and was getting better at keeping my head down through my approach, trusting my swing (do not direct the ball!) and following through strongly, which all finally came together on Monday and made a difference!  

THANK YOU, Donna, my fabulous coach and miracle worker, for making it possible!  THANK YOU, Papa Joel, for watching out for me and sharing this journey with me (go JC Squared!).  SHOUT OUT to Romy and Blue of Pinoy Style, and our opponents from $Money in the Pocket, witnesses to the miracle.

In my typical fashion, i had to get worse before the lesson kicked in and sank in, but the results are worth it!  Hard work truly pays off.  I need to be realistic though = for sure it will be bad again, i have no illusions.  But now i know and believe i can do good and be truly great, coz my inner bowler came out to play this magical Monday and she was super awesome!  I am grateful to be on the right track, getting the help and support I need, and truly looking forward to even more milestones on my journey.

See y'all at the lanes!

6/12 Setback

Had my worst series in a long, LONG time tonight: bowled 101, 122 and 104 for 109 average for the night.  My 150 league average dives down to 140.  

I should shrug it off and move on, I guess, but it is disheartening.  Something was just very off.  Ain't that my trend, improve then get off track, get better then face another setback.  Still hoping for better play and better days....

See yah at the lanes.

5/25 FINALLY, a 200 Game!!!

FINALLY, I have achieved a much awaited milestone: my very first 200+ game.  Yes, this was only practice at Facenda but after getting so close so many times both at league and practice, i can at least say that i have done it.  May this be the beginning of better play and more milestones in my journey to a better game.

See y'all at the lanes!

5/24 Let the Summer Leagues Begin!

Big week, with two summer leagues starting for me: the Summer Sizzler league on 9 pm Monday nights and my beloved Women's League on our regular Wednesday night schedule at 6:30 pm.  The nights are getting quite warm, which could make for some scorchingly hot nights on the lanes....

The Summer Sizzler league was bigger than we thought, with a total of 16 two-person teams.  My GoPapa Joel and I are JC Squared, and we played against the blind scores (140, based on 150 average) of an absent duo.  Playing against another absentee team on the lanes beside us were Philly Pinoy bowling buddies Romy and Blue.  Romy had just played with three Filipina gals (Grace, Alice and Bicoy) on team Lucky Strike at the 6:30 pm Mixed League.  Philly Pinoy rookie AllStar Bicoy currently has an awesome 150+ average on that league, and AllStar Romy had just played 200+ games. 

It took a while for the earlier league to wrap up, so it was 9:30 pm before we could start playing.  Romy and Blue were bowling up a storm beside us, throwing strike after strike. Joel got hot as well and ended up with a 230+ game!  I struggled in the first and last games (bowled 118 and 121, uggh) but got a 194 in my second game - SO close (again!) to a 200 game but not quite.  Romy and Blue were done early, sweeping their opponent.  Joel and I won the first two games and were on the last two frames of the last game when we realized were down by a few pins.  We want a sweep too! Our competitive juices kicked in, with Joel converting on a hugely improbable 3-6-7-10 split, allowing us to win the game by FOUR pins!  Sweep for us too! The guys all had averages in the 190s, i had to be content with my 144 average.  Great bowling, guys, awesome start!

Wednesday night for the ladies started out with a bit of chaos.  I could hear the Mission Impossible theme playing as we strove to figure out how our 8 teams could play on only 6 lanes, since two lanes allotted to us had apparently been assigned to the Men's League!  After much discussion, two of the eight teams, my IncrediBOWLs and the Split Enz, were assigned to two lanes on the other side of the building: poor Shirley was able to work this out for us but she was going to make sure we had our lanes together, as always, by next week.  On the Split Enz are Anjeanette, Sherry and Angela: all great players, and such a formidable opponent to be matched against on the first week, when our averages will be set.  My teammates Mitchie/Carmina and Chelo had had no practice for a while, and so i was voted anchor until my perrenial anchor woman Mitchie could get her confidence back.  Both Chelo and Mitchie played better than I did most of the night though - great for the IncrediBOWLs and a great start for us all!  We tied in the first game then won the second game, then the Split Enz, who had a hard time getting all warmed up, got their groove later on, especially after both Sherry and Angela got done selling raffle tickets during the second and third games.  They wound up winning the third game and total pins, so we lost, 1.5 to 3.5.  Anjeanette and I took a while before we got any strikes, i just struggled the whole night and could not recover like Anjeanette did.  Mitchie got hot in the third game and bowled a 178: that's my madam anchorwoman!  Chelo and I both ended up with a 141 average, what are the odds?  We had great fun, with all the high fiving and dancing we were doing, although Angela noted that I was not as noisy as i usually am, hmmm...maybe coz i was playing awful?

I brought home that night goodies from the Womens Fall League banquet that was held at the Thorndale Inn on May 15, which I missed coz i was home sick with a low grade fever and bad asthma, and could hardly breathe.  My dear Scatterpins did well as the #2 team for both the first and second half of the year.  I got a towel for bowling 60 pins over my average, the 197 i bowled when my average was 136.  I also got $15 for our team rolling a high team series.  Overall I received a whopping $133 in cash, together with a lovely handmade tissue box from Shirley and Ruth, some homemade lotion (which my daughter immediately claimed coz it smelled heavenly!), and some cool giveaways from the bank.  Awesome, I tell you... I truly feel like a winner and am so BLESSED to have found this lovely league!

On a related note, another Philly Pinoy team made its debut on the Tuesday night mixed league.  Angie's List is comprised of Angie (of course!), Raul, Desi and Roy, who is new to the Palace leagues.  Our newbie had awesome beginners luck on Tuesday night, bowling his first 200 game at league with a 230+ no less!  Way to go, Royster, i think that makes you our player of the week!

So we are off to a good start, folks, let us keep the momentum going.  See y'all at the lanes!

5/19 Reflections and Lists

Been doing a lot of reflection as my two leagues have ended regulation play. It has been a good long year since i decided to join my first USBC-sanctioned league on my quest to a better game. This week marks the start of my second year on the Downingtown Womens Wednesday Night summer league.  My GoPapa Joel and I are also set to start this week with the 2-person team Summer Sizzler League on 9 pm Monday nights.  How time flies (well, I AM having fun!).  My journey and my struggles continue, although i know i can, and should, so proudly say that i have improved as a player and hopefully also as a teammate.

My analytical mind gravitates towards lists to summarize my musings, so here goes the first list:


Accomplishments from May 2012-May 2013

1. Became a USBC member, playing continuously at USBC leagues for past 12 months

2. Increased USBC average from 117 to 137 over 12 months

3. Logged close to 1000 games over a one year period, both in practice and through league-play

4. Currently bowling a minimum of 8 games per week, 3 at league and 5-9 for practice

5. Played in two USBC-sanctioned leagues with the Downingtown Women (summer and fall/winter)

6. Played in two unsanctioned leagues, Adult-Child 2012 summer league, and Philly Pinoy 2013 winter league

7. Served as team captain for Bowling for Nachos (with Joey) and the IncrediBOWLs (with Mitchie and Chelo), summer 2012, and for the BowlStars (with Mitchie, Chelo, Liz and String), winter 2013

8. Was ranked #3 female player at Philly Pinoy league (all star player)

9. Increased Philly Pinoy league average from 110 to 154 in one year (graph from my bowling app tells the story...)

10.  Decreased injury and strain to knees and elbows by playing smarter, using correct form

Am I proud?  Heck, yeah!  But i also know i can do better so part of me is still a trifle disappointed.  So my lists continue:


Old Goals I Still Need To Reach

1.  Play my first 200 game (and then the next, and the next...)

2.  Increase my USBC average to 150 and above

3.  Consistently hit the 10-pin spare (and all my spares for that matter!)

It seems to be a shorter list than when I started, which is a good sign.  Why my first 200 game still eludes me is baffling, but part of my saga.  To each his own journey....

NEW Goals To Aim For

1.  Obtain coaching from Donna Roberts and successfully apply learnings

2.  Experience tournament play at least once within next 12 months

3.  Consistently play 450+ series at league (then, next aim is for consistent 500+ series)

4.  Play a 300 game, no-tap or otherwise (almost did!)

5.  Keep improving, keep learning, bounce back quicker from setbacks

My eye saga continues, so I am at risk of losing time at the lanes again.  The fact that i still improved overall despite my hiatus for my eye drama is another good sign.  But I hope if i take time off again, i will not slip down as low or take as long to bounce back.  Or, my most fervent hope is that all goes well and there is NO time off from the lanes!  

I pray, then I play.  I pray as I play.  Let the bowling gods smile on me, smile at my joy and laugh at my persistence.  

See you at the lanes!

4/10 Beach-A-Bye Golly-Wow!

Took a break from the blog for a couple weeks while on vacation in the Philippines but definitely did not take a break from bowling.  Had a date with an awesome bowling alley at the beach place (Pico de Loro) we found in the Philippines, and had a blast bowling with family. Then of course when we came back last week, I played at the Fun Night scheduled for my Filipino League last Friday night.  That was REAL memorable coz I got close to bowling a perfect 300 game in 8-pin-no-tap: was perfect till the first ball in the 10th frame but then threw a dud with my eleventh ball and ended with a 282.  Can't really complain about such a great outcome but, oh! what could have been!  Folks were telling me I should go on vacation more often, if I was to come back playing like that: beach-a bye-golly-WOW indeed!  My GoPapa Joel scored his second perfect 300 game at 8-pin no-tap = he truly is a clutch player, Go Papa!

Alas my mojo ran out after 8-pin no-tap this Friday night, coz I played dismally in lowest score (got a 170, NOT low at all) and in the scratch scoring game (got a 126, uggh, could not hit my spares).  I tried addressing my super awful spare shooting at Sunday morning practice, where my Beast Ball seemed to work best as a spare ball.  I had found sweet spots for the 6-pin and 10-pin spares (my favorites, uggh) at practice also, and had been hitting them consistently.  Had I finally addressed that weakness of mine?  We shall see.... 

So of course I was hopeful for good play tonight, coming back to play with my beloved Scatterpins who were up against the BOB.  It was Sadie, me, Ann Marie (so glad she kept in touch with me while I was on vacation!), and Ruth playing for the Scatterpins, and it was Lynn, Diann, Donna and Kitty playing for the BOB.  We had Ruth's super adorable grand-daughter Emma with us tonight, and we made sure we were giving her high fives with every good ball. 

And boy, was Emma darling our lucky charm tonight!  We ending up sweeping the BOB even through some super hot mama streaks and strikes from the BOB.  I started out cold (was it the jetlag-induced stupor?  not sure...) but I did get some well deserved raps in the butt from Ruth coz I couldn't seem to find my groove and make marks on that first game....  Thanks to the bowling gods, things got better as the night wore on.  Thanks also to Ann Marie, who I was trying to keep up with on the second game.  And thanks to Sadie who lent me some of her mojo on the third game.  I had scores of 114, 157 and 167 for an average of 146 and series of 438, allowing me (thank goodness!) to maintain my league average of 136.  I was hit and miss with the 6-pin and 10-pin spares, but I at least hit more than missed more tonight = good trend for me.

Seems that there are only a couple more weeks remaining for the league, with our banquet scheduled for May 15 and the summer league starting by May 22.  The IncrediBOWLs, my summer league team, is planning a comeback, and hopefully we do better than last place this year (11th out of 8 teams, LOL), all for the fun of playing and for the love of bowling.  I am still on the hunt for my first 200 game in league play, it is just around the corner, I can smell it.  And you know I will share it with you here, where I get to share my bowling adventures with y'all!

Thank you for reading, and see you at the lanes!

3/20 The Happy Loser

The Scatterpins lost to the Gutter Girls tonight, but I am still the happy loser: happy to bowl, happy in the company of mi bowling amigas, happy happy happy, even if absolutely NOT happy to lose and NOT completely happy with my scores either. 

Highlights of the night:

• Gutter Girl Gail got the highest score in our pit in the first game (152, baby!).  Bzzz bzzz busy busy bee (she had a yellow honey bee sweater on!), bumble bee buzzed those pins away!
• The Scatterpins blew the Gutter Girls away in the second game, when our most stellar anchor Ruth bowled close to a 200 game, hot mama Ann Marie threw a cool double and some pretty awesome spares, and I had my best game with a 163.  Too bad we could not play that way the whole night...some days the stars do not align.
• Fashionista Diann of the B.O.B. had a snazzy navy blue peasant top on with a trendy pair of denim palazzo pants, which perfectly matched her swirling ocean blue bowling ball.  I told her that it did not matter how she bowled tonight: she was the best dressed hot mama on the lanes.  Hey gals, why can't we all look that good when we bowl?
• PinPal Carole had some sexy hair going...she wore her hair down for once and boy did she look hot!  She started asking me about my most excellent proshop professional Donna Roberts of Pottstown, coz she wanted to get a "smelly ball" (LOL, she meant my sweet smelling Cake Boss, the Storm Tropical Breeze, which smells like a birthday cake!), so we got yelled at for holding up play...oh, behave!
• I got in trouble for clapping and cheering when Mary only hit the 5-pin with a 5-10 split, as in "what am i cherring for, coz she missed?"  I clarified that I was cheering coz she GOT A PIN!  Every pin counts!  So for the next few frames we cheered with every pin that fell.  Strike: boy that's a LOT of pins, whoo hoo!  Eight pins: that's still a lot of pins, hallelujah!  Then I missed my spare: darn, that's not quite enough pins, whatever....those who can't play, display (bow).
• Maggie threw a fair number of strikes = that is blogworthy... 

Fun, fun, fun, I still have to have fun, or else I'd be crying on the lanes, which I have done before (funny, but not funny...I was truly hearbroken then).  No crying in bowling (as in baseball), and for me no four-letter-words either (except for "darn") although the Gutter Girls were telling me after I thanked them for a good match and let them know how much fun I had playing with them, that I surely had some choice words I was holding back.  I was disappointed in myself, sure, but I truly try not to let my mind dwell there lest my dark side emerge (though I told Shirley and Ruby that my evil twin came out to play tonight!). 

My philosophical side strives to release mostly good things into the world, if I can help it, coz I believe that what I send out somehow comes back to me.  It's my belief in cosmic karma, since my name is Carmelinda (karma Carmelinda) = bet ya didn't know, that's my real name!  My name is also why I had considered becoming a Carmelite nun, but that's a story for another day....

Folks, I'll be taking a break from blogging and from my league for a couple of weeks as I will be on vacation.  I am headed for a beach with a bowling alley = that fits my definition of paradise.... 

Have fun and see yah at the lanes in April!

3/13 Jing Balls and Lynn Balls

Ann Marie was back tonight, whoo hoo!  Welcome back, girl friend, so great to be playing with you again.  So the Scatterpins were in full force tonight with Sadie, Me, Ann Marie and Ruth.  We played against Lynn, Diann, Donna and Kitty of the B. O. B. 

It was a good night for the Scatterpins coz we swept the B. O. B. 4-0.  We were really lucky coz we won the first game by only 15 pins, the second game by 60 pins and the third game by only 7 pins = it was close!

A few highlights:

• In Game 1, I had strikes where it looked like I had left a pin standing, which would eventually fall AFTER I turned my back on it.  So when Lynn (who had an awesome 165 game!) was able to convert on a 7-9 split, she said she had thrown a "Jing ball".
• Lynn finished her amazing 1st game with an explosive strike = that, my friends, is a "Lynn ball".  Very nice....
• I threw another "Jing ball" in the second game, converting a 3-10 split, whoo hoo!  Sometimes I can actually bowl...
• Kitty knocked down an awesome 3, 9, 10-split in the 3rd game.  You go, girl!
• When Ruth got up to bowl the last frame of the game, we were down by one pin.  Like I said, it was close, we got lucky, coz Ruth had an awful looking split with her first ball.  Go team, we still pulled off a sweep!

I had games of 132, 162 and 138, for a 144 average and 432 series for the night, allowing me to maintain my 134 USBC league average.  Not too shabby but my right hand spares were more miss than hit tonight.  Always something to work on....

See y'all at the lanes!

3/6 Kaboomadoodle

Tonight I'll keep it short and sweet

The Pathetics got the Scatterpins beat

And I really feel mighty sad

Coz I played so painfully bad

 

It somehow does not feel right

Coz we started out really hot (all strikes in the 1st frame!)

But at the end of our dismal night

One win was all the Scatterpins got (coz Beth bowled a 212 in that game, whoo hoo!)

 

Whoa! The Pathetics truly showed their mettle

Kaboomadoodle (Angela's word) = they were hot as a kettle!

Really got to hand it to their hot hands

Angela threw strikes while almost losing her pants.... (sorry, it rhymes, had to use it!)

 

Love my Scatterpins, we really did fight!

Sadie and Ruth played really well all night

Beth exploded in the second game (212, baby!)

I started fine, but was pathetic and lame....

 

Have to work on my confidence

How I was missing spares did not make sense

Need to believe in my game in my gut

To get myself out of this rut

 

Gonna post the blog then go to bed

To dream this night out of my head

'Nuff said!

SHOUT OUT to Ann Marie = miss you on the lanes, my dear.  I was so glad to see you today, I wish you all the best as you recover from your back troubles.

Thanks for all your help, Kevin.  I got work to do, don't I know it....

See y'all at the lanes!

2/27 Some "Russian" Poetry

Tonight's blog will be short and sweet
Coz I gotta catch up on my sleep!

My Scatterpins played the BOB:
Lynn, Dianne's blind, Donna and sweet Kitty
My team was missing dear Ann Marie (get well soon!)
Playing were Sadie, Beth, Ruth and me

The GutterGirls played the "ghosts" next to us
Doing badly, they were in a rush (the "Russian Gutter Girls"...LOL)!
When Coach Ruth slowed them down, they did better
"No Rushing" (as in Russia...) = we must remember!

The BOB played well, took the first game
I got no strikes and my spare shooting was lame
I realized late, I need to loft the ball more
I started low, but vowed to get a better score!

My Beast Ball, for spares, I was not trusting (brought out my Pinky spare ball...)
But my spare play continued to be disgusting
When I finally listened to dear Ruth and Sadie
My Beast Ball delivered spares, strikes and a turkey!

After the first game, me and my dear Scatterpins
Played well and ended up with three wins!
For all three games, Sadie's score was 126 (what are the odds?)
Beth and I were glad, that by the end of the night, our games we were able to fix!

So when playing bad I need to stop rushing (Russian!)
And my strike ball I need to keep trustin'
These lessons from tonight I must remember
Coz they really helped me to play much better....


My scores tonight were  127, 152 and 167, for a 446 series and a 148 average for the night.  This should increase my league average by one point to 134 = whoo hoo, inching upward!  Spent a lot of time at practice getting re-acquainted with my Pinky spare ball, but in the end did better with Beast Ball on my spares.  I need to be trusting my ball and my ability to throw it well.  Glad I was able to recover from a not-so-good start tonight too, as it gives me confidence that I can find quick fixes and get better as the games progress.  Need to keep fighting, fighting, fighting for each pin, I always say!

Enjoy, y'all, and see you at the lanes!

2/20 "Blogworthy"

Tonight my beloved Scatterpins were up against the Gutter Girls at the Downingtown Palace Wednesday Night Womens League.  Both my teammates Ruth and Ann Marie were out, so it was Sadie and me (with Ruby's and Ruth's blind scores) playing for the Scatterpins against Gutter Girls Mary, Gail, Maggie and Karen.  I was a little worried about how I would play tonight, since I did so dismally at Friday's Philly Pinoy League.  I prayed that my Sunday morning practice took care of my timing problems, and improved my spare-shooting.  My practice throws felt good, and so the games were on: we were going home early tonight with only two Scatterpins playing, yeah!

Game 1 was close, and it took a few frames before Sadie and I got our groove.  Boy, did sweet ole Sadie put on a show: she converted on a virtually impossible 1,2,10-split and then got a 9-pin spare with her ball kissing the gutter the whole way!  Gail wins the red hot mama award though: she had four straight strikes and ended up with a 160 game, way to go!  The Gutter Girls took Game 1, with Maggie commenting that they won because of her!  They won by a slim margin of 11 pins.  Hmm, maybe if we can turn it up a notch, Sadie and I can pull off a win.  We could only hope, and fight, fight, fight!

So Game 2 began and Sadie and I were making our marks, whoo hoo!  I was feeling lucky so I got ten 50/50 raffle tickets from Sherry and three 50/50 raffle tickets from Angela, all the while telling them that I had the winning tickets.  As the second game progressed, the Scatterpins started to pull away from the Gutter Girls.  Unbelievably when the winning ticket for the Downingtown Ladies League was called, I had the winning ticket!  I won a whopping pot of $44, hallelujah!  Then I had to go back and finish the 10th frame.  Wonder of wonders, we won the second game by more than 60 pins.  And so the third game began....

During the second game I had asked the Gutter Girls for their email addresses so I could send them the link to this blog.  After that so many things were looking truly blogworthy.  Maybe I unwittingly inspired the Gutter Girls to some pretty awesome play!  In the third game, Gail and Mary were making some impossible spares and throwing their share of strikes.  Maggie was getting the hang of her new ball, and even threw a double!  She ended up with two awesome 120+ games, what a performance.  Karen was making strikes and spares galore, having found a fix to her earlier wayward ball (strong follow-through, apparently!), and she ended up with a stellar 167 game, wow!   We had to concede the third game to the Gutter Girls, they literally clobbered us.  And since they also took total pins, we lost to them tonight, 3 games to 1.  A blogworthy win for the Gutter Girls = great job, you all played well!  And it was such fun playing with y'all tonight!

All night, I continued to leave and continued to miss the darn 10-pin, how frustrating!  As dear Ruby said, my team coach Ruth would have rapped me in the butt a few times for not trusting my ball.  While my first two games gave me scores of 147 and 141, in the end I barely scored above my league average of 133 in the third game (got a 134).  Not too bad, I guess, to have a night's average of 140 and a 422 series, a performance that allows me to maintain my league average of 133.  My timing is back and I threw a couple of nice looking strikes, but my spare shooting needs more work.  I did stick to just using my Beast Ball tonight, and may stick to using just one ball per night moving forward.  I guess I can't complain, and I remain hopeful I will continue to improve.

See y'all at the lanes!

2/13 Love from the Lanes

With tonight being the night before Valentine's Day, I was hopeful that getting some "love from the lanes" was in the stars for my dear Scatterpins.  We were up against the PinPals (Sandy, Carole, Jackie and Bette) who always seem to do so well against us.  I had seen Carole and Jackie on Sunday morning when I practiced.  They had played the 9-pin no-tap tournament and Carole prebowled since she was going to be out of town.  Her first game had been a whopping 171 (Jackie's game that Sunday had been a 180 = thank goodness she was not prebowling...).  And since Carole bowls second like I do, the challenge was for me to play as well as she did = ayayay, let's see what the bowling gods give me tonight!

In the meantime the score sheets from last week were reflecting just how well the Scatterpins did against the Pathetics last week: we had actually logged the highest team game and highest team series = way to go, team!  Sherry was asking how come we had to do that good against them, to which I said that they had "inspired us".  So of course I was hopeful for some good inspiration tonight as well!

Since Carole prebowled and Bette eventually sent word that she was not going to play tonight, we played against Sandy, Carole's prebowl scores, Jackie and Bette's blind score.  It was Sadie, me, Ann Marie and Ruth playing for the Scatterpins.  Since my resurrected Beast Ball served me well last week, I started off with it this week.  And boy did my Beastie deliver again, as my first game was a 165.  Love, love, love = I was getting love from the lanes tonight!  Alas, so were the PinPals, so as we struggled to keep the pin falls close, the pins kept falling for the Pin Pals, who eventually clinched the first game.  They  must have been inspired by Carole's super awesome prebowl play. It's painful when the pin falls fall mainly for the PinPals = try saying that fast three times.... Shrug it off and keep fighting, my Scatterpins!

Alas, I got struck by the dreaded "curse of the open frame" in the second game.  And boy was the curse contagious as the Scatterpins struggled to keep up with the PinPals.  I got so disgusted with my Beast Ball not hooking from the second arrow, and also with how I was somehow struggling with my right hand spares (gutterball delights, uggh), that I brought out Spinderella, which promptly "rewarded" me with a 6-7-10 split = not good.   On Ruth's prompting, I switched back to my Beastie Babe, and by adjusting more to the left and throwing more to the middle of the lane, I started getting more marks, hallelujah!  Ann Marie was throwing her share of marks, and the little "pin bump" spares inspired us to do little celebratory double-high-fives-followed-by-hip-bumps: my hot mama team mate had to carefully and demurely do the hip bumps, so as not to send me flying into the next pit...  Of course each celebration brought about fits of giggles = love it, love it, love it...  Hey, if that's what it's gonna take for us to get marks, then we should high five and hip bump all night long, whoa!  Unfortunately, the hip bumps could not save us from losing the second game to the Pin Pals.  I played a dismal 123, which could have been worst if I had not started getting marks in the last 4 frames and fought back in the last frame.  Have faith in the Beast Ball, I told myself, and focus, focus, focus!

The third game had the momentum shifting to the Scatterpins: hey, maybe there is some magic in those hip bumps after all...  We all started with strikes and marks, and both Ann Marie and I got doubles in the first two frames = celebration, baby!  Finally we were pulling away from the PinPals, although Sandy and Jackie hang in there and kept it close.   My faith in the Beast Ball was rewarded with a good 177 game, and my Scatterpins showed their stellar sides by playing at and above their averages, winning the third game, yahoo!  Unfortunately, we lost total pins by a heartbreaking ONE PIN.  Ruth had been under pressure in the last frame to get those precious pin falls, as she narrowly missed a 500 series by one pin, although she had played above her average for all three games.  It was THAT CLOSE.  Oh well, we win some, we lose some, then we live to fight another day.  Great play, everyone, I had a blast playing with y'all! 

So my happy streak from early February of playing with 150+ average at league nights continues, as tonight I had games of 165, 123 and 177, for a 155 average and 465 series.  My league average should improve to 133 after tonight: it's inching upward, whoo hoo!  But my take home lessons are to stick with my Beast Ball, to make the right adjustments early, and to work on my spares.  We will make sure we address those at Philly Pinoy league on Friday and at my next practice session.  With Ruth out of town next week, my team has the assignment to whack me on the head if I decide to switch balls away from my Beastie. next week  Since I am loving up my Beastie tonight, the possibility of a whacking next week is remote (but we shall see...).

I have to thank my newest bowling angel/guru Kevin. When I saw him at Donna's pro shop when I had picked up my Beast Ball, he had inspired me by telling me that I am a better player than my average reflects.  What a difference those words have made: I am better, I am good, I am a student of the game = what confidence those words have given me!  Believing that I can play well has made me play better = what a gift that is.  Kevin's earlier comments to me on decreasing the size of my first step, I had incorporated into my approach with immediate results (better balance, straighter walking, more consistency).  And at practice this Sunday, I got a few more pointers from Kevin on moving to the left as the lanes broke down (hey, that saved my second and third games tonight!), leaning forward at my stance and holding the ball's weight in my left hand, and even the simple act of carrying the ball with both hands (not by the holes!) and sliding it into my hand when I was in position on the lanes.  I actually bowled with no braces tonight: none on my knee, and none on my elbow, and I feel fine, no pain, and I am convinced it was the simple change in how I handle my ball that made the difference.  I am so glad I ran into Kevin on my way home, so I was able to thank him in person.  I have more work to do, but Kevin has given me more things to think about, more things to try, more things to learn and do and add to my game.  My happy streak continues, thank you so much!

I love this game, and tonight I felt love from the lanes, hallelujah, how I love playing well!  I am surrounded by bowling angels, and am constantly reminded of how blessed I am to have found my beloved Wednesday Night Ladies league.  I am committed to improving and am seeing results.  We are a happy, happy girl (hmm, my grammar teachers would have a fit over that statement....).

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!  See y'all at the lanes!

2/6 Beast Ball Resurrected

What a difference a week makes!  So last week at Wednesday Night Ladies League, I bowled at my 130 average and was pondering on my potential need to resurrect my old Beast Ball DV8 Misfit, which was a beast on medium oil league conditions over the summer.  In the meantime, I did not do too bad with my good ole Spinderella Ebonite Cyclone at my unsanctioned Friday night league (please see my BowlStar Blog), where I could not maintain a 162 ("ridicurous") average but was happy to bowl a 431 series, dropping to a (I'll take it!) 153 average = we're a BowlStar, baby!  Not too shabby....


Beast Ball Resurrected!

Saturday had me driving over to Pottstown to see my pro shop professional and unofficial/future coach Donna Roberts.  She had succeeded in resurrecting my Beast Ball, my magenta and yellow (neon bright!) DV8 Misfit, to a shiny like-new condition, except for a few black marks from my see saw which were too deep to be erased.  I could not wait to throw my old friend down the lanes - it is, after all, my first fingertip ball, my first 11-lb ball, and I love and hate the darn thing but had high hopes for its return.  But since Saturday was earmarked for (finally) taking down my Christmas decorations (yup, shameful to still have them up so close to Valentine's Day...), the lanes had to wait.

But bright and early Sunday morning (darn, it was hard to get out of bed....), i got 4 practice games in at the Palace between 10-11 am, after shovelling the dusting of snow on my driveway.  Oooh, I was loving up my Beast Ball again, and was now torn between my Beast and my Spinderella (twin ball to Ann Marie's) which has served me well these past months.  I also resurrected my original 10-lb spare ball, which I now call Pinky (as in Pinky and the Brain...), and did well with spares with her at Sunday practice.  Hmmm, three balls: it was going to be a workout just hauling these to the lanes.  I remembered to wrap Beastie in a white towel in my bowling bag (diaper!) to prevent any further color bleed that may beast it up even more, the little sponge....

Tonight at Wednesday Night Ladies League, the Scatterpins were up against the formidable Pathetics.  Our lineup had Sadie, me, Ann Marie (missed you last week, girl! glad you are back!) and Ruth.  It was Sherry, Angela's prebowl, Anjeanette subbing for Barb, and Mary Anne for the Pathetics.  Both Ann Marie and Ruth apparently had stellar nights at Monday league, but Mary Ann and Angela have two of the three highest averages in the league, and Sherry had been playing well, so we were in for a fight. 

And boy, did we FIGHT!  We got our groove quickly in the first game, all of us playing above our averages.  Looking good...  We continued playing even better in the second game, which we needed to do since the Pathetics were starting to make their marks.  Got two games down.  It was neck and neck in the third game, and the scratch score looked like the Pathetics won it, but with our handicap added in, we actually swept the Pathetics 4-0.  Way to go, Scatterpins!  I am so proud and happy of how we played.  Sweet Sadie hang in there, struggling in the 2nd and 3rd game but fighting for each pin.  I am so very proud of her, she did not give up!  Ann Marie was a super red hot mama, with a 466 series and all scores above her average.  Shall I say I told you so, my bowling angel with my Spinderella's twin sister?  I knew your breakthrough moment would come, Donna would be so proud of you as well!  And Ruth had a 530+ series, and a 200 game, well on her way to having one of the highest averages in our league. 

It was fun playing the Pathetics, as always, too bad we missed Angela tonight.  Sherry is always a hoot, but the pins were just not falling her way tonight.  Anjeanette ended strong with a turkey, and fought hard for every mark - glad you could join us!  Mary Ann is always a strong competitor, giving us a run for our money. 

Ruth almost got a "6-pack" from all of us missing our 5-pin spares = in the end she only had a "5-pack" coz the last 5-pin spare was one of hers, and she wanted the spare more than the 6-pack...too funny!  Glad you got the spare instead!

Dear Shirley was back from Florida and I did not recognize her with her lovely shorter do.  She had her long hair shorn for Locks of Love, such an awesome cause, and such an amazing and wonderful woman!

So in the end, my Beast Ball delivered for me, giving me games of 156, 172 and 148 for an average of 158 and a 476 series.  It is my best ever performance at Wednesday Night Fall League and will increase my league average to 132.  My Pinky Poo spare ball messed with my brain and let me down, I could not hit the 10-pin with it somehow tonight.  But I was hitting the 10-pin with Beast Ball more than 50% of the time, something to continue to work on, for sure.  I did switch to Spinderella in the middle of the 3rd game, when I got tired of open frames with ole Beastie hooking more in the changing lanes.  I got a double with Spinderella but then kept missing my spares with it, and so switched back to Beast Ball for the final frame and was able to get 19 pins for a good finish. 

I am really encouraged by my performance, but also wonder if my luck was brought about by my lucky "disco ball" bowling earrings which I had gotten from my last cruise.  I had been wearing them to my Friday Filipino league and wore them tonight too.  Nah...they are sparkly, but not a factor, except in my brain.  It most probably is a combination of my hard work and regular practice paying off, my confidence increasing (got a good boost from my visit to Donna!), my team playing so well and being so supportive, and my Beast Ball delivering for me.  Whatever the magic is, I feel blessed to be under its power.  This normally happy girl is super happy tonight, and looking forward to even more happy times on the lanes. 

Here is a picture of me bowling last Friday.  Notice the brace on my knee and elbow = I am falling apart!  Thank goodness for McNeil drugs (Motrin and Tylenol).  I need to take care of myself so I can continue to bowl into my golden years.


Bowl happy, folks, and see you at the lanes!

1/30 Steady does it...

Had an average night at Wednesday Ladies Night League tonight, in an epic battle between the Scatterpins (Sadie, Ruth and me) and the B. O. B.  We were missing Ann Marie who hurt her back (get well soon!) and Shirley who is in Florida.  We were lucky to get one game by a slim 6 pin margin, but the rest of the games went to the red hot B. O. B. team.  Must have been those heavenly cupcakes for Lynn's 20th birthday!

So my scores tonight were 118, 137 and 138 for a 393 series and 131 average for the night, which leaves my 130 league average unchanged.  I am just glad I did not play so bad, my ball was not hooking like it should, such that I had to move to the right (stance at boards 17 or 18) and position my hand with my thumb at 10 o'clock to get the line I wanted.  I am glad I am having my old Beast Ball DV8 Misfit refurbished by Donna to out-of-the-box specifications, as it really is a better ball for medium oil.  I am thinking I need it for league conditions (at least game 1) until the oil starts breaking down, then my Spinderella Ebonite Cyclone works better.  We'll test that theory next week.

Last week, I actually arrived just before the second game of my Wednesday Night league since I stayed late to take care of stuff at work.  My two games that night were 122 and 151, which were followed by practice games of 165 and 159, which boded well for the Friday Philly Pinoy league until it was cancelled due to a problem with scheduling at Downingtown Palace.  These games are what made me think that I need my Beast Ball for fresh oil, as my first games with Spinderella with league conditions are always in the max 120 range, but once the lanes break down after league, I seem to be able to play Spinderella and get scores in the 150+ range.  Hmm, interesting trend analysis, we shall see if my theory holds true in practice.  I am excited to be resurrecting Beast Ball, since it is my first fingertip ball from Donna and the ball I have played the most.  I just hope not to be enslaved into a cycle of weekly "spa treatments" with it again like I was before!  We shall see.

We shall also see how I do on Friday at Philly Pinoy league.  Can I maintain my 162 average with my Spinderella?  We will certainly try our darnedest! 

On a sad note, our Sunday Night Bowling dates at the Palace have come to an end, as Palace will no longer be offering $2 practice games during the weekend.  I was going to replace the Sunday night session with a Monday night 9 pm post-league practice session until a bout with a bug stopped me.  The bug is on its way out, as I started the Z-pak yesterday, and actually am feeling OK tonight, although I was hacking up my lungs at work!  We are trying a couple of nearby places as potential options for practice places, but I am leaning towards keeping my Monday night option, just coz it IS at the Palace also and would be representative of league conditions.  I don't mind bowling elsewhere, if only to bowl more and also to try out other venues.  Oooh yeah, that's what I need, more bowling in my life!  So many lanes, so little time.  And oh, my knee and elbow are constantly braced when I play now: we're playing better but falling apart, oh my!

See y'all at the lanes.... 

1/19/2013 Bowling Better in this New Year

OMG, can you believe this blog has been idle for more than a MONTH?  You'd think I was no longer a bowling addict!  Well, not a chance, folks. 

The year ended with a BANG with the Wednesday Night Downingtown Ladies League having their annual Christmas spread at the Palace.  I brought my usual egg rolls (not prepared by me, of course, which is why they are scrumptious...).  What a feast that was!  The ladies know how to have a party, how to cook up a storm.  I've been playing a bit more consistently lately and so enjoyed have good games and good food, always an excellent combination.

Philly Pinoy had their Jingle Bowl Christmas Party at the Palace on December 21 (end of the world!).  We had a fun night of 8-pin no tap(hitting 8-pins with the first ball is counted as a strike), where my GoPapa Joel played a perfect 300 game!  We also played lowest score, where you need to hit a pin with each ball (gutterballs or hitting no pins = strike/spare) but try to get the lowest score.  My idol Rachel Ditan actually won that for the women, but since she was the highest scorer for 8-pin no-tap for the women, they gave me the trophy (a bowling pin!) as the next lowest scorer.  Whoo hoo!  There was even MORE food than you can imagine at that party, and lots of raffles - just about everybody brought something home.  Great party, and of course, some fun bowling....

With my original non-USBC-sanctioned Philly Pinoy league starting back up again every Friday this winter (game 1 was yesterday), I am now back up to playing two leagues a week.  I started a new blog BowlStar Blog for my adventures on that league, that you are welcome to check out, although you will run into some Filipino words, as it is a chronicle for the Philly Pinoy bowlers and friends.  As you can guess, my team is the BowlStars, and I am once again team captain and number one cheerleader for our crew.

Been playing quite well my last few nights at the lanes, and I hope this is a trend that will continue!  I got a 150 average  and 450 series with games of 164, 133 and 153 this Wednesday night at the Ladies League (trying to make up for an abysmal 97 last game the week before).  And at Philly Pinoy league yesterday, my scores were 180, 169 and 139 for an average of 162 and a 488 series.  It all started last week at Philly Pinoy kickoff practice night, when I got games of 169, 136 and a whopping 193, for a 166 average and 498 series.  My Spinderella came to the ball that night and has been weaving her magic ever since. 

So in looking at my Wednesday league scores and trends on my Best Bowling app, it seemed like I was up and down since December, each good night followed by a "bad" night.  So I commented to dear Ruby that I hope my good night this past Wednesday is not followed by a bad one, if the trend continues.  She replied that I should believe that this good night will be followed by an even BETTER night = I love that, and I am holding on to that.  Here's to even BETTER nights for me at league!  My hard work is paying off....

See y'all at the lanes!