Weekend Report

Friday- My cousin Myles came to visit, and we went bowling with Ern and Pat at Boston Bowl, the shadyriffic 24 hour bowling alley in Dorchester. We opted for candlepin, which, in Massachusetts, is just known as "bowling," whereas the type of bowling that is played in the rest of the nation is known as "big ball bowling" or "cartoon bowling." I remember the first time I went bowling in South Bend...I don't know what I found more shocking, the fact that I walked on on a lady doing lines of coke in the women's bathroom, or the fact that that crazy bowling you see on cartoons, with the big balls that people stick their fingers in, actually exists.

Anyways, Boston Bowl was packed, mostly with teenagers, so we had to wait a while for a lane. However, in addition to the people watching, there were many diversions to keep us entertained. Like the Weirdest Vending Machine Ever:

Here's a closer look at some of the contents (in addition to the Rosin Bag, comb and nail clipper, and breath spray, pay special attention to the cloth bag in C5):

The arcade room was pretty fun, and even had an old Pac Man game.

The bowling itself was a grand time, although the mystery haze that fills Boston Bowl clouded the photo a bit.

Before leaving, our curiosity got the best of us and we spent $5.95 to learn what was inside the mysterious fabric bag, item C5 in the vending machine. Any guesses?

Saturday- Myles and I went to the Museum of Science. I was happy to see that many of my old favorites, like the dropping balls that form a bell curve, are still in existence. We also checked out the Darwin exhibit, and I couldn't help but feel a little giddy looking at some plant specimen collected by Darwin himself. There were also many original letters and notes on display from Darwin's famous voyage on the HMS Beagle, and some more personal items, like a list of pros and cons he wrote out when deciding whether or not he should get married. Apparently Darwin didn't watch a lot of sit-coms, because otherwise he would have known that putting such a list on paper is a very bad idea. After the museum, we took advantage of the nice weather and walked around downtown for a while. Myles took off Saturday afternoon, and I played soccer on Saturday evening then spent the rest of the night icing my ankle and watching The Upside of Anger. I was under the impression that this movie was a fluffy romantic comedy, when in fact it is a fairly serious drama- Joan Allen plays a bitter mother of four whose husband has just left her, and Kevin Costner is a washed up baseball player who becomes a constant companion to the family. Good acting, spot-on realistic dynamic between the mother, who was a total bitch most of the time, and daughters, but not the thoughtless, uplifting fodder I was in the mood for.

Sunday- Went for a long run around Castle Island, then met up with Lisa, Nikki, and Meg for a picnic lunch. I'm at work right now, and headed over MJ's for dinner and some baseball watching tonight.