IYE: Lina T’s First IYE @ Aiea Bowl

How to decide whether or not to go to an event? Some people may use the old simple formula of «Who, What, Where, When, and Why»… Here’s an example:
WHO — this is a common question. You want to go somewhere «where everybody knows your name». You want to feel comfortable and hang with familiar faces. Maybe you want to meet new people. Whatever your reason is, remember the song, «People». The words go like this: «People…people who need people… are the luckiest people in the world…» So — come out to events! Everyone is welcomed!
WHAT — maybe you’re not a bowler. Well, you can always learn — like our dear Intern, Lina T. She was a brave soul! Plus — it was her FIRST IYE (Intern’s Unilocal Event). Also — I’m sure I saw her get a STRIKE! That was so AWESOME! Even experienced bowlers had fun! My team on Lane #23 consisted of Gary, Paul, Jeff, Alycia, John, Victoria, and me. It appeared as though everyone had some past history of bowling. I had learned in my 20’s when my team only wanted me for my handicap! That’s how bad I am. But, like Paul says, «No shame!» Everyone had their own graceful style and had FUN! (Please note that Victoria bowls «backwards» and let Gary beat her by one point!) (I thank John for being such a gentleman by letting me beat him!)
WHERE — Aiea Bowl is rather far for me. It is located at the Aiea Shopping Center. I had never bowled there before and was curious. The parking was tight because there was a league before our meeting time. There were a lot of people — some were there to eat at the restaurant in the bowling alley — it was packed! There seemed to be a «bouncer» at the door and some «young people» hanging out in the parking lot. Interesting place! I parked downstairs by McDonalds…
WHEN — we were to meet at 9:30 pm. There was a delay in our start time because we didn’t know we had to reserve lanes. That was okay because our team decided to do a «site inspection» for the Book Club Meeting (August 31, Sunday). «The Cage» at the Arm Bar downstairs was a novel experience. Besides the 7 of us, Maggie T. and Dave F. stopped by to support Lina T.
WHY — When I was able to answer the above 4 questions, my «why» was clear.
1. I saw who was going when I looked at the Events tab on the Home Page of
;
2. I had bowled before;
3. I kind of knew where Aiea Bowl was AND
4. it was my DAY OFF from work!!! Happy, happy!
With all the pieces in place, I knew the stars would be in alignment and that it was going to be a stellar event. It sure was!!!

What a great turn out for Unilocal Intern Lina T’s first IYE! At least a dozen Unilocalers showed up. It took a little while to get a few lanes because it was a busy Friday night, but it was worth the wait. Bowling is so fun!
To be honest, I had not bowled for so long. I’m no pro, but I was happy to squeeze out a win with a lead of only 1 point! Victoria had 113 points and I had 114! She sure is good and I would believe that she was a pro in another life. The second game did not go so well for me.
I really liked seeing everyone again and meeting new people. Those are the best parts of these get togethers. It was refreshing having a late night out instead of the usual lunch and dinner meet ups.

BALLS. We enjoyed playing with balls as a child. Although we’ve grown up and now adults, I guess the child is still in us. How can you turn down playing with balls?
Nadine C. was not really flexible. She only played with the pink one. John N. was more open-​minded as he played with all balls. At the end, the consensus was John seemed to like the blue one.
Hats off to Unilocal intern Lina T. for hosting a fabulous night outing at Aiea Bowl. There were a little over 15 peeps who gathered at the ever so popular local joint. Who cares there was a league playing tonight and were advised a 2-​hour wait for lanes? Some of us took that opportune time to head down to Ambar Sports Bar and Grill for a drink and had fun in «The Cage» where you had to remove all footwear to enter. It was cool to meet Dave F. as she showed up to offer his support.
We were fortunate to have bowled in 2 lanes next to each other as we had a great time interacting with one another. We kept on using and touching each other’s balls. It didn’t matter as tonight an intimate group showed up and I have gotten to know them very well over the past year.
My competitors tonight were Victoria M. and Gary N. as they are pretty decent bowlers. Jeff O. had a wicked throw and clocked in at the fastest speed of the night in our lane. In the end, congratulations to Gary N. for beating Victoria M. for the victory by just 1 pin! It was soooooooo exciting!
Nadine C. baked delicious almond cookies for tonight so we munched on them while bowling. I apologize to Nadine as I was able to guess her secret ingredient again. I’m now 2-​for-​2!!! (1^st one was the nata de coco in her almond float at UYE Ray’s Cate and tonight was the peanut butter in her almond cookies.)
As usual, it was cool to have spent quality time with old faces (Dave F., Nadine C., Cathy T., Mahina C., Jacob N., John N., Victoria M., Gary N., Jeff O., Alycia P. and Eric B.). It was a pleasure to finally meet Lina T. and Sean tonight. I also recognized Josh P. from Mahina’s UYE the previous month at Bar 35.
In the end when it was time to go, we left the parking lot after 130am and parted ways. What a great way to have spent the night playing with balls with your fellow Yeeps.