Bowling

Bryant Lake Bowl is at the corner of Lake Street and Bryant Avenue, and is across the corner from what I still consider "my" coffee shop, despite the fact that I've only been there a handful of times this semester. Despite the many, many hours I've spent there, however, looking out the window at the hipsters across the street at Bryant Lake Bowl, I'd only been to the latter once before tonight, and that was for dinner and a play, not for bowling. (This is the beauty of the city I live in: mere blocks from me is a bowling alley attached not just to a restaurant that serves primarily local, organic food--but to a theater!)

Tonight, however, we bowled. A friend had passed her oral exams, so a bunch of us joined her to celebrate. Despite the fact that bowling involves sticking feet and fingers alike into potentially wildly unclean locations (at BLB, you grab your own shoes from cubbies on the wall, and return them yourself; a manager told me that they have "someone who cleans them all at the end of every night." Ewwww), and that I have never been good at it, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Everyone was very celebratory and encouraging, and it was just a fun change of pace.

Also, I met a boy who introduced himself by saying, "I'm Tony. You're beautiful!" Even though I'm quite sure he was more interested in the boys there than in any of the girls, it still made me feel special.

I haven't heard anything from The Date--nothing! As relieved as I am that it doesn't appear that we'll have to have any awkward conversations about our incompatibility, I'm admittedly curious; was it(/I) really that obvious? I didn't think so at the time, but now I wonder. I suppose if I--even shy, neurotic I--had had any interest, I would probably have lingered in the car for at least a minute or two. I certainly didn't think I was cruelly or even overtly dismissive, but, again, now I'm wondering. I didn't intend to be, so I hope he wasn't hurt; maybe it just took him slightly longer to realize, as I did, that there just wasn't anything there.

My mom predicts dating in my future, which makes me laugh since there's been so little in my past. Now that I'm single again, though, I think I'll at least try to accept dates when they're offered, even if I don't go in search of them. If nothing else, they make for interesting stories in the office and on the blog.