Bowling

On Martin Luther King Day we decided to celebrate by taking the kids bowling.  We considered ice skating, but then I though, "who are we kidding?"  Bowling was much more likely to actually be fun.  It was!  We'd played 2 games.  The balls rolled slowly.  James and I had higher scores than normal thanks to the bumpers in the gutters (though we don't know what normal is since we don't remember the last time we went bowling).  We ate greasy french fries and gooey cheese bread.  It was a fun afternoon!

Side story . . . . when we got there, no bumper lanes were available so we went to a regular lane.  We started to get situated when this woman said, very excitedly, "Hi Haley!"  I looked at her and tried to enthusiastically say hi back, but I was totally drawing a blank.  She said, "I knew that was you."  I said, "Remind me your name" and she told me.  I had this movie rewind moment of my whole life zooming backwards in my brain in an instant - Murray, Tooele, New Ward, Old Ward, Parent's Ward, Molly dance, James family, I was trying to recall all associations I have ever had with different groups of people until finally . . . ZAP!  I remembered.  She was a girl I went to high school with.  The guy with her (husband or friend, I don't know, but not the father of her children) I also went to high school with.  

I know a little bit about her and was able to make small conversation.  It was weird, though.  I know a little bit of her post high school story and it has been a rough one.  She looked tired.  I felt bad.  I don't think she would have ever even spoken to me in high school and I didn't know that she would have even known my name.  I was super nerdy braces girl and she was super social dancing girl.  Our short bowling conversation was pleasant enough, but I honestly was relieved when the bowling alley guy came over to tell us a bumper lane had opened up and we got to move away.  I'm a friendly enough person, I think, but I just don't particularly care to associate with many people I went to high school with.  Most days I am happy with who I am and the choices I've made in my life.  High school wasn't that fun and I just would rather not go back. 

Book review

Starting at Zero: His Own Story by Jimi Hendrix

I read this book.  It was interesting.  It was about Jimi Hendrix and actually written by Jimi Hendrix . . .  sort of.  It is a chronological compilation of writings, including letters sent home, song lyrics, journal entries, etc.  Hendrix had a pretty sketchy life growing up in Seattle.  His mom died, he dropped out of high school, joined the army, and somewhere along the line learned to play the guitar.  He was pretty well a vagabond for most of his life.  He never had any money and just went from odd music job to odd music job, including playing back up in the Little Richard band.

He eventually moved to England and lived there for a time.  He honed his skills, formed "The Experience," and basically turned himself into a legend.

The writings are pretty introspective about his style of music and why he did what he did.  He doesn't talk much about drug use, which I thought either means he didn't think that it was important to read about or perhaps all we know about him is wrong and he didn't really use much.  The other interesting thing worth noting was his desire to eventually record an album with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  The statement comprised one whole sentence in the book, but certainly stood out as a strange fact.  He died shortly after that was written and it obviously never happened.

Paper Towns by John Green

I decided to crack open another book in the John Green collection.  I liked it.

This is a story of a boy Q, who has a major crush on his next door neighbor and former childhood friend, Margo.  Q is pretty boring and stable.  Margo is pretty, popular, but a little irrational.  The story takes off when Margo kidnaps Q for a crazy night of pranks on her snobby friends and ex-boyfriend.  She ends up disappearing a leaving Q a weird trail of clues.  The highlight of the book was a crazy road trip with Q and his friends involving peeing in bottles and confederate t-shirts.  I can't really say much more than that without giving it away, but I liked it.

There is also a movie of it being made.  I'm not sure when it come out.