Winds Of Change...!

For some people tradition begins at home - a special dinner with loved ones, a precious gift by someone special, a fun gathering; for others, tradition manifests itself in different ways - like a trip to the nearest Movie Theater or a Mall...! Now, amidst all my friends, I am a little less adventurous of the lot and given a choice - prefer to stay back home, pick up some bestseller, grab a Coke, switch on some music and believe me weekend just passes by :) About 3 Weeks back, on one fine Saturday morning, when my friends made a plan to go Bowling @ Rip Van Winkle Lanes nearby, my first reaction was "Oh dear! What Kinda trouble..?" But then the idea somehow intrigued my consciousness since I had never been to a Bowling Alley before... and I thus decided to Go Bowling...!

I was pretty amazed upon enterring the bowling arena (it was huge...!) for it had all the trappings of an upscale entertainment-made-to-order cocktails(we had mock tails :)) , snack bar food to delier made-to-order casual dining choices & tempting appetizers, colossal Plasma Displays, a state-of-the-art sound system blasting latest music tracks and an array of lanes to keep everyone occupied. Observing the frenetic pace of everyone inside- their rhythmic walking & swinging of arms was remarkable indeed. Now, I couldn't help myself taking a note of few things in there:

• Appeal - The Bowling experience is designed to work for everyone - an office team building event, a special birthday party, a super special date, a family get together or just a hangout destination for friends.
• Patience - The excitement is always on as one waits for his/her next turn to bowl for everyone tries to do better than erstwhile attempt. The lead time is best for munching some snacks.
• Speed - The game goes way too faster than one anticipates and as a result everyone wishes to play games after games.
• Music - Pulsating Sound tracks coupled with intense desire to hit a strike adds special effect indeed.
  
• Etiquette - Bowlers next to you proceed with their next chance even though you are about to take your shot & at times they even pick your favorite bowling ball. But then the good part is egos are kept aside & it all somehow works fine.
• Shoes - I wonder whose idea was it to make it mandatory for everyone to wear bowling shoes provided by folks running the alley, but may be the concept appeals to some.
• Work-Out - Owing to balanced & co-ordinated body movements, bowling serves as a nice way to shed off those extra calories indeed.
• Customizations - Bowling Balls come in varying degrees of hardness, weight and colors - and one gets to cherry pick the ball from a stack of multitude of balls in alley thus giving an illusion of customization (Mac Experience).

All in all, thanks to my friends it was a wonderful experience which helped in breaking my status quo for the weekend ;-)