10/28 Cyclone-Playing in the face of Hurricane Sandy

So what do bowling addicts do in the face of the impending direct hit of Hurricane Sandy?  Play as many games as physically possible at the Palace, of course! 

It is always great fun to play on Sundays with the Philly Pinoy bowlers.  Angie & Edmer, Mitchie & Ivan, Raul & Joy, Desi, Dennis, Romy, Blue, and Paolo were there tonight, laughing with each other about playing and being at the Palace in the face of the approaching storm.  We had yummy palabok (Filipino noodles) c/o Desi's wife and some food for the gods c/o Mitchie.  Yummy food, fun with friends and bowling - what more can I ask for on a rainy Sunday afternoon?  Maybe a better game, as I always seem to be on the cusp of something great!

I played five games with my IncrediBOWL teammates, Chelo and Mitchie, on Friday - I figured I can play one last time with my Beast Ball before I "divorced" it. Then I played four games solo on Saturday, eager to try out my new Ebonite Cyclone and my old Cake Boss spare ball, courtesy of my bowling guru and pro shop professional Donna Roberts. And this Sunday afternoon, I played a total of six games with Papa Joel, my Joey, and the Philly Pinoy bowlers. That's a total of 15 practice games for me in three days!  I am happy to now be able to bowl close to as many games as I used to. I took my time to build up my stamina, and am glad to be well on my way to recovery.

I am also very happy and excited about playing with my new ball, my Ebonite Cyclone that I have christened my Spinderella.  I guess it does look like a pretty marble...  It hooks just like my Misfit did when it was new, but packs enough power to have wicked pin action when it hits the pocket.  Now I just need to work on finding my line quicker and throwing my Spinderella with good control and consistency, as that seemed to be my limitation this weekend. I had good balance and timing on my approach but was experimenting with my release.  The tucking and untucking of my pinky was a good exercise but messed with my adjustments and maybe even with my brain (pinky and the brain...) - next time I will just focus on a good solid plain-jane release.  But I am still "getting to know" Spinderella, after all, and should only get more comfortable over time.  I look forward to eventually taking Spinderella to the "bowl" to meet my first 200 game!  But we will be working hard towards a higher and more consistent average.  I seem to be anchored on my current league average of 124, although I got some scores in the 130-140s.

 

My spare shooting is looking up with my Cake Boss in tow.  On Saturday, I was able to consistently hit all my spares, including the dreaded 10-pin and 7-pin.  Today was not as good, maybe coz the lanes were more oily and my stance needed minor adjustments.  I almost always converted when I smartly determined my stance (thought it through) and then threw the ball with conviction.  This tells me that working on my mental game is critical to my continued progress with spare shooting.

 

I have to give a shout out to Donna Roberts, without whom I would not have the perfectly drilled balls I have in my arsenal.  THANK YOU, Donna, for taking care of all our pro-shop needs, for your expert advice and guidance and now for introducing me to my Spinderella.  I look forward to working with you on improving my game once I am 100%. 

 

So I really can't complain overall: got my new balls, got some good practice in, my approaches were balanced and well-timed, and more importantly, we are happy and healthy and playing again.  Good things are in store!

 

Praying that everybody stays safe and that we all fare well through Hurricane Sandy.  Lots of rain, strong winds, flooding and power outages are predicted.  Schools are closed, public transportation is shut down, and there is no work for most everybody.  I am hoping it is not as bad as predicted.  The storm will have passed by Wednesday, a Halloween league night.  If all goes well, I'll be blogging about how we survived Sandy as I recount how I played on Wednesday night league.  It'll be an interesting week....

 

See y'all at the lanes!

10/24 Bowling like a pirate...argh!

Tonight was my first night back with the Wednesday Night Women's League at the Palace in Downingtown, PA.  Whoo hoo!  It was great to be back!  I did not realize how much I missed being with the wonderful women of this league until I was with them again.  Love them all...

Tonight, playing for the Scatterpins, we had Sadie, then me, then Ann Marie (subbing for dear Ruby), and our anchor was Ruth, who I had not seen since the first night of league in late August.  She had come back while I was out.  My "blind" scores were used while I was out for the past three weeks, and my average had remained anchored at 127.  We were playing against the "Ghost" team with their blind scores. 

Please allow me to gush in utter loving admiration for my team, my beloved Scatterpins. We are not in last place (they lied!) and how I missed just being in their midst and in the heat of the game: Sadie fighting for every pin, Ann Marie telling me to throw my striped ball (strike ball, my ears are gone...), and Ruth telling me that it is the second arrow and not the first. I am so glad Ann Marie and Ruth were watching me, offering their advise, and yes, if I could only actually do what they asked me, I probably would have played better, but they know I truly tried, and I love them for their faith in me! Dear Shirley and Ruby I love to death, such sweethearts, the "guardian angels" and heart and soul of this league, always reminding me to slow down and take things easy, and repeatedly telling me how I was missed and how glad they were I was back. Sadie, Ann Marie and Ruth all had great scores in the first game, we had a mixed bag in the second game, then we all struggled in the last game, needing 40+ pins to win in the last frame! Ann Marie got a mark and Ruth ultimately saved us, such that we won 3-0 with two games and total pins. Great night for the Scatterpins.
I will say that I was overjoyed to be back at league, but not so overjoyed with how I played.  My scores were 102, 120 and 103, giving me an average tonight of 108, which will drop my league average to 123.  BUT I fought for every pin, did well with my right hand spares (better than the left hand ones!), and only had 2 gutterballs all night.  So not bad for my first league night. 

I had a bit of practice on Thursday night (right after I got clearance to bowl, of course!), on Saturday morning and also on Sunday night.  Contrary to before my surgery when I would put in 6-8 games in each practice session, I have limited myself to 3 games on Thursday and Saturday and 4 games on Sunday, so as not to overdo things - I am still recovering after all!  The first nine games I bowled over those three days had scores in the 69-130 range, but the last game was an encouraging 160 - yeah, we can play GOOD!  That game and the few flashes of brilliance tonight with strikes and hard-fought spares give me hope that my game is on the upswing, just as I am ever so slowly on the mend.

SO I bowled like a pirate, argh, coz I might as well have been blind with an eye patch on each eye the way i kept missing my mark tonight.  I could have distracted folks (and myself) with my rhinestone eye patch which I wear while driving, but during practice, it did not do good things for my game....  When I was told by Ruth to keep my eye on the arrow, I asked which eye! Still healing, the vision from both my eyes are still not aligned, and there is still an annoying gas bubble in my left eye.  This may explain why my ball kept going right of my target somehow, and why I had such hard luck with my left hand spares.  I had to slow down my approach and release considerably, and also concentrate really hard on where the ball in my hand was passing on the edge of the lane to ensure I would hit my mark.  This worked for the most part but led to a few pulls when I was late on the release and muscled it too much:  fine edge for me, and something to keep working on.  I had a few good throws and need to concentrate on consistency.  More smart and focused practice and play needed!

Looking forward, I will be getting my old Cake Boss ball (my Storm Tropical Heat that smells like birthday cake) back from my wonderful pro shop professional, Donna Roberts, this weekend.  I am also getting my new Ebonite Cyclone, which Donna had recommended as a replacement for my poor old Beast Ball (DV8 Misfit), which I played tonight.  I am excited coz I watched Ann Marie play her own new Ebonite Cyclone from Donna tonight, and seeing that ball in action is making me hopeful about where my Cyclone may take my game moving forward.  Still thinking of a name for that ball, maybe one will come to me when I actually get to see it and throw it down the lane.  It will be good having a hard hitting new ball in my arsenal, coupled with a sweet smelling spare ball in my Cake Boss.  My spare shooting needs work, and my Beast Ball left me with some weird, disheartening splits and ugly spares after hitting the pocket a couple of times tonight.  Change is in the air, it is time to add more pins to my game with a couple of wicked new balls!

BTW, for more info on my eye condition, do check out my other blog: http://dodgingdarkness.blogspot.com

See y'all at the lanes!

10/19 OMG I am BACK (sorta...)

Got clearance from my doctor to bowl again, after more than three weeks hiatus!  Happy, happy, inspired to more poetry...

Whoo hoo I can play

It's a happy day

Hit the lanes yesterday

Could not wait another day

I am back
But what a shock
My game is sad
Need to practice bad

Vision is still weird
May need to be geared
With my eye patch all sparkly
So I'm not seeing doubly

Need to go slow

Can't overdo, yo

Need to smartly play

To be at league Wednesday

See y'all at the lanes!

9/25 Taking a break

Gonna have to take a break from bowling for a week or so. I'm addicted - can I stand it? But I need to nurse my left eye back to health, not many blind bowlers around!

Be well, everybody, I will see y'all soon enough at the lanes...

9/30 UPDATE: I may actually be out for more than a couple of weeks.  I had retinal detachment and almost lost my eyesight (checkout my blog on my eye troubles at http://dodgingdarkness.blogspot.com).  Am hoping that I can slowly return to bowling by November or December.  Keep on bowling, my friends!

9/19 Bad night poetry

The Scatterpins won one game and total pins against the Gutter Girls tonight - tied!  Gail of the Gutter Girls was by her lonesome, as her teammates either prebowled or were absent (blind).  All my games were below my current (plunging) average of 131 - not a good trend.  My just spa-treated Beast Ball and even my Cake Boss could not help me convert my spares or get enough strikes tonight.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day, which of course spurs me to wax poetic once more:

I look forward and not back
Coz tonight was out of whack
And I need to hope that there'll be better days

And I cannot be depressed
Or let my scores get me all stressed
Bowling should not turn me into a basket case

Let me shrug off days like this
Get some rest and find my bliss
Coz tomorrow truly is another day

I will hit the lanes with glee
Be as happy as can be
No matter what my scores may ever say

My league average is down to 127.  After league I had solo practice and still could not get scores above 130.  Considering that I just had left-eye cataract surgery on Friday and am still not seeing 100% out of that eye, I guess it could be worse!  But I can only blame my eyes so much, I have some work to do to get my average back up.  Have some goals to make!  On the good side, I only had one gutterball all night.  Gutterball Reduction Initiative Index was an all time low of 0.16 (one gutterball out of three league games + three practice games).  I am truly hoping to get the trends turned around for the better.

So I'll see y'all at the lanes!

9/12 Bowling for cookies

Tonight i felt that i was at the Palace for the free yummy cookies instead of competing at league. After having good, productive practice sessions this weekend, I felt prepared to play well and even found my line quickly at practice time before the first game. But I somehow lost it and floundered for most of the night.

The Scatterpins were up against the PinPals: Sandy, Carole, Bette and Jackie (who prebowled), all really good competitive players. It was Sadie, me, my lucky charm Ann Marie and hot hand Beth. Sadie had excellent scores all night (go Sadie!). Ann Marie and I had flashes of brilliance amidst constant battles with our drunken balls. Beth got her groove after the first game and threw strikes galore! But we got swept by the PinPals. I should have stayed home, my scores were 95, 96 and 133. Somehow Beast Ball would not hook when I wanted and hooked when it shouldn't. Some things worked but never for long so adjustments were constant. Could not move with a groove....

For the first game, my score was a disappointing 67 at the 9th frame, after 2 gutter balls in the 8th frame had me walking around the Palace to get some fresh perspective. I somehow salvaged the game with strikes in the 10th frame, starting to feel that maybe my game was back.

It wasn't, so I switched to my new purple ball in the middle of the second game. I ended up finding my line too late, constantly missing my spares by one board: one board! I am still getting used to the new ball, but I figured I had nothing to lose by just practicing with it, since my game was non-existent. I had to joke that I did one point better in that second game (96 is better than 95) and wow, I was consistent, just consistently bad! It was especially awful knowing that we lost that second game by only three pins. If only I had played better....

I vowed to get a score above 97 in the third game, and I did, starting to get the hang of throwing my sweet smelling new ball. I was at 133 at the last frame with one more ball to throw: I would score at my 143 average if i got a strike. Alas that last ball was a gutter ball - a fitting end to a horrible series.

With 6 gutter balls in three games, Gutterball Reduction Initiative (GRI) was a fail, with index of 2.0 gutterballs per game. When it's bad, it's really bad. Ugh....

So i HAD to stay and practice throwing the new ball, at least to prove to myself that I CAN still throw some good balls even on a bad night. Unbelievably my practice scores were 157, 139 and 143 - where was all that earlier? I guess it happens.... At least the night was not a complete loss: a lesson in humility (horrible play lurks at every corner), a means to lower my average and also I got more comfortable with the new ball. On post-game analysis, Beast Ball was overdue for spa treatment (hot water bath). Also can't underestimate the value of a good night's sleep - fatigue really hurt my game, both physically and especially mentally.

Switching gears to the good stuff, i am quite excited about my new ball, a purple and pink Storm Tropical Breeze. It did give me my better scores in the third game and at post-league practice. It smells like birthday cake, and is 11 lbs with fingertip grip drilled by Donna Roberts at Pottstown (thank you, Donna!). Beast Ball has a new companion and rival for my affection, my Joey wants me to call it my Cake Boss: smells like a cake and (hopefully) boss of the lanes! Maybe throwing the Cake Boss will have me bowling to win and not bowling for cookies at future league nights. Looking ahead, I have to remember to expect and to take the good and the bad. "School is still in session" as I find I need to learn to deal with nights like tonight. Tomorrow is another day. I'll see y'all at the lanes!

Go PAPA UPDATE: My GoPapa Joel played really well at the first night of Adult-Child League at the Palace this Sunday. He had the highest scores of the league with 193 average and a 200+ game, whoo hoo! Go Papa! So happy he is playing at league with Joey and doing so well. Hope he can maintain, i know he can!

9/9 My personal bowl-versity

Bowl-versity = Bowling University

Bowlingball.com has a section called BowlVersity that is full of tips and articles for bowlers at all levels. Since I'm constantly seeking ways to improve my game, the eternal student in me has enrolled in my own personal bowl-versity, starting with all the wonderful teachers and gurus I have had:  special mention to my own GoPapa Joel (mentor and cheerer extraordinaire), Jops "one board" Datu, and Angie "you can do it" Sotomango - thank you so much!  Then there is my Bowling Fundamentals book by Michele Mullen (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0736051201 ), YouTube videos on bowling tips (Fred Borden is a personal favorite), the BowlVersity articles mentioned above, and a wonderful coach named Sue Minchew who I fatefully discovered online in the midst of my summer slump. Sue can be found in bowlersparadise.com, and the article of hers that speaks to my game today is at this link: http://www.bowlersparadise.com/articles/coachescorner/susie-minshew/dont-get-crazy-over-it.shtml  I try to read Sue's articles regularly, since her tips are SO helpful to me, and I know I need all the help I can get!

Of course, all the reading and videos won't help me without regular practice at the lanes - it is a mental and physical game. I have to constantly work on good muscle memory on my approach, my release and my spares. I also need to build a tough, intuitive mental game that allows me to quickly find my line and to adjust effectively. Like I said in a previous blog, there are no bad days on the lanes if you are learning and get the take-home lesson. With practice, I learn what works for me and what doesn't, which I write down in my trusty pink notebook to facilitate review and recall. As a scientist, I try to keep only those learnings that have been validated, those tips that have proven true time and time again (such as move left if the ball curves left). But sometimes stuff in the discard pile comes back, so those tips get an asterisk as something to conditionally try - they're the back burner stuff that worked at one point, but may not always work, such as strategies to consistently get the 10-pin (still working on that!).

In the best of days, my card catalog of everything I've ever done, both good and bad, comes through crystal clear (without looking at my notes!) and what I need to do becomes instinctive. It feels like déjà vu, I KNOW exactly what to do and how to do it, and, more importantly, am able to do it! My recent practices have felt this way at certain moments, like a slowing down of time, a clearness of mind, a feeling of utter control and awareness of what I am doing, a zenlike state where bowling seems easy. Like a runner's second wind, it is a certain kind of high, one that makes me play as good as I do in my dreams. Oh, to have that feeling stay, how glorious that would be, my goals would certainly be attainable!

Of course the bubble bursts, and my string of strikes gets interrupted by gutterballs and open frames. But that's where practice helps with both my mental and physical game, allowing me to determine what helps to bring about the zenlike state (detachment and objectivity), and what tricks make my physical game more consistent and my weaknesses not as big a factor (focus and slowing down).  Practice is also invaluable in building on my card catalog of experiences and learnings, on what worked and what didn't based on certain conditions. The hope is that the learnings make league play as good as (or better than!) practice, just as quizzes and final exams demonstrate that the student has learned the course material. And then the bigger hope is retention, a continuous demonstration of a learned skill, not just dumb luck! So I have to be patient, I am progressing, this is my journey, and I AM truly happy to have these zenlike moments along my journey when I can see what I am capable of, and can truly say that my education is paying off.  To be able to play at the best of my current abilities IS sufficient reward, but always celebrated with the humility of knowing that the next bad day or seasonal slump may hit at any time.

So school is in session. It'll be a lifelong bowl-versity for me, class may never be dismissed! See you at the lanes, or shall I say "at class"?

UPDATE: Been getting consistent averages in the 140s at practice sessions this week.  The zenlike moments have given me turkeys (whoo hoo!) but the gutterballs and mental farts have kept my scores in the 120 - 167 range.  The Gutterball Reduction Initiative (GRI) is better, with my GRI index (gutterballs per game) kept at 1.0-1.2.  Did not get to discuss this with Donna, but I do get to bring home my birthday cake ball tomorrow - not sure if I can try it out before league, but I'll be writing about it and this week's league next time (if not earlier!).  Have practice tonight, while my Joey and GoPapa Joel are at Adult-Child League.  Thanks for reading!