HPI Holiday Bowling Night

To celebrate the 2013 holiday season, I, Andrew Rezansoff and fellow HPI’er Aude Gilabert decided to organize an HPI bowling night because, you know, “What the hell, let’s go bowling” (see The Big Lebowski for the true quote.).  After a few expected and unexpected organizational hiccups, Saturday December 7^th was set as the day would HPI brave the alleys. Upon arrival, an air of relief set in as people realized the terror inspiring ice surface of a curling rink faced during the HPI annual curling bonspiel had been replaced by a comforting surface of dented hardwood. The mood was further elated when the disco kicked in. Disco bowling; fifteen years after I remember, its origins has remained just as cheesy and just as awesome as it was in 1998 when the likes of Aqua, and the Venga Boys graced the sound system.  Suffice to say, people got into the bowling quick! It’s amazing what neon lights, bad music, and a lack of threat of physical harm can do for a party!

Safety and disco induced enthusiasm aside, it definitely took a bit of time to train our cerebellums how to throw this obscenely oversized rock down a three and a half foot wide lane.  We are researchers after all; dexterity is often put on the backburner, and when it’s not, we tend to focus on the precision of our pipetting thumb.

Thus, it goes without saying that a few scores in the 50’s and 60’s went up on the big board, all the while mocked by the aquatic themed animals in charge of keeping score.  Fortunately I didn’t keep track of the board of shame, so I can’t mention those responsible here. I unfortunately can’t mention the best scores either, as all I know is they weren’t mine.

But scores don’t matter! Am I right? All that matters is that team HPI left its mark on the bowling alley. No literally, a few members poorly timed the release of their throws and the ball arced down on the lane with a solid CRACK!! But we took it in stride, like champions! After all, what rites do grad students have if not to cut loose at organized Christmas events? Certainly it will be a blast again next year when we organize another quasi-competitive event to get our minds away from the hosts, away from the parasites, and into attempting to look good at something we haven’t played since grade school. Maybe laser tag will fit the bill next time around, who knows! For now though, thought of Christmas bowling 2014 must be delayed, as the second annual HPI Curling Bonspiel draws near, and we must prepare ourselves for the ever-daunting ice surface of the Calgary Curling Club!