today was my company's holiday party. it was held at a banquet room in a hotel last year close to my house. this year it was held at a bowling alley not so close to my house. bowling alleys... hmm... i don't think most people jump up and down at the thought of a corporate party at a bowling alley. smelly shoes and questionable cleanliness. however, we went to a very different kind of bowling alley. it's trying to be hip and cater to the younger crowd. this is not your father's bowling alley at all. it's called lucky strike and there are several throughout the country. they've got rock music blasting with pop culture prints on the walls and there are giant television screens above the lanes. the displays that show your score even let you know your bowl's mph! our function room had nice lounging sofas, several bowling lanes, and giant posters of "blow up" (italian poster no less) and "chinatown". there are also billiards tables, food service, and a bar. very nice atmosphere for young people to hang out in. however, it is pricey.

naturally, i couldn't eat any of the food. the music wasn't exactly my taste, nor was the sports and soft porn like images that were on the displays. i admit it wasn't soft porn but it was scantly clad hooters chicks and computerized images of couples putting on condoms on each other only, but when you're with your supervisors from work, it's like sitting next to your grandparents and thus everything with even slightly adult content gets elevated to the soft porn level. i also felt a bit uncomfortable with the bowling situation. i'm not really friends with any of these people and everyone already has their own little cliques. there wasn't a clique i could just break into to say, "can i bowl with you?" for by the time i had returned with my rental shoes, everyone had already inputted their names into the computer and began to bowl. one group saw my quandary and let me fill in once or twice while someone was unavailable or for someone who felt they were not good at bowling.

shortly thereafter, someone in the lane next to us decided she's terrible at bowling and let me take her place. here's where the pressure came in. it was the team comprised of the top people in the company! i can't even remember the last time i bowled and i can't look like a total idiot in front of these people but i did mess up a couple times. everyone got gradually better and started kicking ass. i just managed to trail by at the end of each game but not by too many pins at least. even if i too gradually started kicking ass, i'm sure some inner voice would have told me in fear, "let them win."