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Dec. 8th, 2002
Saturday was the O-fishle Verizon Call Completions Glens Falls Office Xmas Xtravaganza, which wasn't Xactly up to hopes, I'm afraid: less than half the office signed up to attend, and then 12 of those who did had to pull out because, well, they had to work. (Damn 24-hour office...) Kristi and I had a good time, though; she had just gotten done with a class presentation, so she started on her first Kahlua & milk within minutes of ditching her coat and finding our table. Trey, Jimmy, Smitty and Cheech all showed up, which made it a small-scale hoot. Food wasn't bad at all, even though my salmon and Kristi's chicken came slathered with what we determined to be exactly the same sauce. (Hey, new horizons in mass-market cooking: modular cuisine!) They even hired a cover band that (pardon me while I pause for effect) didn't suck. Yes, they stuck to basic bar rock fare, but they had a sense of class in their song selections: instead of "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and "Mustang Sally", they did "Save Tonight" and "Smoking Gun", making them the only band in Glens Falls who has ever heard of Robert Cray. Best of all: three door prizes for us, including a bottle of Bailey's. Thanks, Santa!
For my money, though, the real party was today: Abbey's 6th birthday bash at the Lake George Bowl. I'm telling you, it was a blast. Yes, my head feels like it's been opened straight down the middle with a wood chisel, but I'm honestly surprised at how much fun bowling with ten 5-year-olds can be. The true secret is the greatest invention of the 20th century: alley bumpers. These kids (those who could propel the ball forward, anyway) were racking up scores in the 70s and 80s, with one girl coming a point shy of 100' I'm comparing this with the scores I used to get when I was a kid, which usually hovered near my shoe size.
Highlights:
* Nik discovering, within three steps, why one shouldn't go dashing down the alley toward the pins.
* One little girl who rolled her ball so slowly, it stopped 15 feet out, and rolled back. (It took a minute and a half to even do that.)
* Ten kids attacking two pizzas like hyenas snarfing a freshly-killed wildebeest.
* Nik proving once again that he can fall asleep anywhere.
* Kristi making the mistake of blowing up one kid's punchball that was included in the goody-bags. You can never blow up just one punchball, with nine other pairs of eyes watching.
* The Crisis of the Day: Abbey's balloon popped. (For those of you without kids, to an overstimulated almost-6-year-old, this is the equivalent of watching someone throw three of your own winning lottery tickets and your grandmother's ashes into the fireplace.) Yes, she got a new one, which is why she's still talking to us.
* Some jackass with a broomstick up his patootie complaining to management that the disco lights and "lousy music" made it impossible (impossible, I say!) to concentrate on his game. Not that I think Kid Rock and Blink 182 are worth listening to under any circumstances, let alone a 6th birthday party, but for the love of Pete, man, smile.
And yes, Abbey cleaned up in the gift department. If I discover which child gave her a sand art kit, I will devote my life making sure he never goes to college.
For my money, though, the real party was today: Abbey's 6th birthday bash at the Lake George Bowl. I'm telling you, it was a blast. Yes, my head feels like it's been opened straight down the middle with a wood chisel, but I'm honestly surprised at how much fun bowling with ten 5-year-olds can be. The true secret is the greatest invention of the 20th century: alley bumpers. These kids (those who could propel the ball forward, anyway) were racking up scores in the 70s and 80s, with one girl coming a point shy of 100' I'm comparing this with the scores I used to get when I was a kid, which usually hovered near my shoe size.
Highlights:
* Nik discovering, within three steps, why one shouldn't go dashing down the alley toward the pins.
* One little girl who rolled her ball so slowly, it stopped 15 feet out, and rolled back. (It took a minute and a half to even do that.)
* Ten kids attacking two pizzas like hyenas snarfing a freshly-killed wildebeest.
* Nik proving once again that he can fall asleep anywhere.
* Kristi making the mistake of blowing up one kid's punchball that was included in the goody-bags. You can never blow up just one punchball, with nine other pairs of eyes watching.
* The Crisis of the Day: Abbey's balloon popped. (For those of you without kids, to an overstimulated almost-6-year-old, this is the equivalent of watching someone throw three of your own winning lottery tickets and your grandmother's ashes into the fireplace.) Yes, she got a new one, which is why she's still talking to us.
* Some jackass with a broomstick up his patootie complaining to management that the disco lights and "lousy music" made it impossible (impossible, I say!) to concentrate on his game. Not that I think Kid Rock and Blink 182 are worth listening to under any circumstances, let alone a 6th birthday party, but for the love of Pete, man, smile.
And yes, Abbey cleaned up in the gift department. If I discover which child gave her a sand art kit, I will devote my life making sure he never goes to college.
