Fall League

Pinball league is happening again!

Gru and I scootered downtown and warmed up on a few games before league play got officially underway.

My warmup game of Addams Family was much better than league play, but that's the way the silver ball bounces.

My best game of the night was Metallica, a game I've never played before and somehow I managed to really find a groove. Definitely going to be adding this score to Pinside.

My pod was amazing, and it's good to be back. Playoffs are December 12. Stay tuned, friends.

Belles of the Silver Ball

Women's Pinball Tournament last night was brilliant! It was great to see so many new faces while catching up with the familiar crew.

Pam came in second with an amazing showing, and Erin came in third. I came in fourth (again), and new-to-us Karolina took home first place. 

My best game of the night was Paragon, and Pam was in my pod. She's an amazing teammate as well as having serious game, so it was fun to have her by my side while I knocked it out of the park.

(Picture of the game is not my actual score.) 

In a moment of pinball weirdness, my skill shot caused Ghostbusters to jam right out of the gate on my first ball. The incomparable @dudworks came to the rescue, and the ball drained as we replaced the glass.

I can neither confirm nor deny any magic words that were said. 

Karolina was in my pod for Pinbot, and we had a grand competition going until the third ball, when my opening skill shot put me over her score. 

Jade and Julia were in that round as well, all of whom were new to me and who were absolutely delightful. 

My final game was Kiss, and I did well enough that I was briefly in second place, but only because Erin and Karolina were still duking it out on Addams Family.

There's talk of starting a women's league because yes, it was that much fun. 

Yuletide Presence

Yesterday was a good day.

I started out clear-headed, writing more GoodStuff for the thesis, and then was a bit worn out by the time lunch rolled around. I had a great conversation with Jenna, about all manner of things (including a dramatic rendition of what D&D is and specifically what it was to me in high school, playing second edition with pencils and graph paper and getting kicked out of the high school library because of the D&D moral panic of the 80s), which was a lovely way to avoid the scheduling hassles that we were struggling with, trying to find a time that my energy level would match up with our availability to do Phase Two of the storage unit. At the end of the conversation, she offered to take the Jeep to the storage unit while I was visiting with Vivian, and see how much she could load by herself (it’s helpful that there is a specific list of things to get, all easily identifiable; it’s less helpful that the things on the list for Phase Two are large and possibly require leverage as well as strength). I said yes, and we discussed how to transfer keys and scooters and the logistics of it all, and it was a blessing.

Vivian and I met up at the gym, who shortened the already short hours a bit more than usual, a nod to the variant and staffing issues. The pool would only be open for another half hour, and I asked Vivian what she wanted to do. I know she has been looking forward to both swimming and racquetball, so I was unsurprised when she said yes to swimming for 30 minutes and then racquetball after, though privately I was hoping the post-swimming shower routine wouldn’t take up all the racquetball time — we haven’t played racquetball in a couple months or more. I was pretty surprised when she stopped in front of the locker room and said, “Actually, let’s play racquetball, because i never ever want to get out of the pool and then i spend all the last of our time arguing about it.” She said it conversationally, and I’m impressed by her self awareness and her maturity. We got the gear and headed to the racquetball court and had a great time. She fetched her adventure backpack on the way out, and discussed where we would store it after, since the gym would be closed before our day was over. I like the ownership and understanding she has, and think she is just a great young lady all around.

During lunch Jenna texted that she had gotten everything from Phase Two and would I like her to take it up to the apartment? My heartfelt “yes, thank you so much” could be felt through the city. She was all like “no problem, of course!” I am truly blessed to have the help, and impressed by the physical ability of youth. 


Vivian and I scootered downtown for burgers and pinball, got distracted by the downtown trolley (called the Star Line, which I think is just great) that was available and took a tour of the “loop.”


I want bonus points for not making a single philosophers-and-trolleys comment.


Vivian and I talked during the trip, and she occasionally asked the driver about his job and the trolley itself, and it was neat to see how her mind works, and to watch her so at ease in the world.


When we came out of pinball, the daylight was beginning to fade, making the holiday decorations and lights of downtown particularly lovely.


The vendors had all packed up and gone home, making downtown pedestrian free and perfect for scootering.


We crossed over into Elmwood park, next to the downtown library, and Vivian mentioned that she wants to go the library again, which is excellent since the weather is in fact turning cold, despite the beautiful 60+ degree Christmas that we are having at the moment. We ended our scootering tour by coming back to the loft and stowing the scooters in the Jeep, which had returned and was now empty once again. Vivian waved and called “Merry Christmas” from the car as she rode off with her dad. It was lovely.

Back home, Jenna and I surveyed the Loft with all its new stuff, and discussed how the pieces and parts needed to be put together. She offered to come over today to literally lend a hand, and we nerded out about how silly it might seem that we’re looking forward to putting together furniture on Christmas Day. She has family in town, and is planning on visiting them briefly, but her relationship with them is in an awkward place right now, and she’s looking forward to having plans that involve tea and hardware and just being herself, things I have in abundance.

I had a glass of milk, brushed my teeth, and changed. I was asleep by 7.

I hope you are all having a lovely Christmas Day, and that your hearts and homes are filled with warmth and love.

Girls' Day Out

Vivian and I had an absolutely wonderful day together. The rein held off and we scootered downtown for burgers, root beer, and a game of Sleeping Queens. The waitress greeted us warmly and with recognition, saying "can I bring you a root beer?" There's an Oktoberfest thing going on and the staff were all in getups, and the place felt festive even with the clouds and damp. Vivian won one hand and I won another, and the burgers were as excellent as ever. She always gets a cheeseburger with extra pickles and I do too, with grilled onions as well. Vivian and the waitress chatted while she swiped the card for the tab. The waitress out an Oreo in a to-go bag for her and said "see you soon" as we left.

We unlocked our scooters before going to the Pinball Museum where she fell in love with the Lord of the Rings game. We cheered each other on, and when I unlocked the multiball, she practically danced in delight.

She and Nic talked a bit. There were some challenges going on, and there was no way to get to the machines in the challenge, and honestly we aren't good enough to get a high score, so she asked about the swag that was being put out for challenge prizes and if it's available just to buy. It is, but he said he can probably put some more challenges together, and they talked about which games she likes best. She also noted that the older Star Trek machine is still down, and everyone agreed that this is sad.  As we left, Nic waved and said "See you Monday." It's nice to have our favorite places again.

Before we left for the gym, she headed over to visit the Fast and Furious Bike game at the Starcade, where she tore it up on the Detroit level and at one point had her motorcycle on top of a moving train. We scootered back to the gym lot and stowed the scooters in the Jeep. It started to rain again a wee tiny bit and she made a big production of having her umbrella and being all ready for it. She's a ham and I love every second of it.

We played racquetball for a bit before swimming, and she chose to go into the lap pool, where she managed to do a full length without stopping. Wow. She's just so impressive. We got out and showered to go to the play, and she was ravenous, so I fetched a couple snacks that she ate on the short walk over to the Jefferson Center. As we came up to the main entrance, she started telling me about all the things we had seen here before—Charlotte's Web, and La Boheme, and a concert that she went to on a field trip. 

We loved the play. Just loved it. She sat curled up next to me, laughing often, talking about the story, and generally digging everything. Her favorite character was Gomez, same as mine, and it wasn't just because of his magnificent purple suit, but we are convinced that we each need one.

The play ended just at pickup time, so we hoofed it back to the parking lot. She was a bit worn out—definitely ready for dinner and an early bedtime—but happy and relaxed, as am I. 

I was back home before they had gone through the traffic light beside the gym. I've had an apple, and the kettle is on.

 

Apparently it rained more while we were at the play, and will again soon. The overcast day suits me perfectly. 

Happy Saturday.

Let the Games Begin!

First meeting of the Fall Pinball League!

Games in tonight's round were:

Kiss

The Creature from the Black Lagoon

300 (a bowling game, not the movie), which had an issue and was replaced with Target Alpha

Medusa

Snow Derby

Bonzai Run

Eight Ball

Maverick

Stay tuned for rankings. 

Nic had to go and get a Hall of Fame level score in Creature, of course.