After league I pre-bowled* for next week along with a few other players (two days after Christmas is too close for anyone traveling out of state). 145, 158, 188. Much better.

Leagues do small awards for high scores on the holidays. Frozen turkeys are handed out near thanksgiving, hams near Easter, etc. This week our league did gift cards and I won a $25 disposable Visa card. The earlier league gave away wine for highest over average in each pair of lanes; I'm pretty sure there is a law against that in Massachusetts but like most laws in Mass no one cares.

Boston has accumulated eight inches of snow, ending yesterday. Street parking sucks, sucks, and sucks. I took a cab to and from league so I wouldn't lose my spot - parking is bad enough on summer nights. Traffic sucked too, my cab there was $21 (incl tip) and 30 minutes for a two mile ride. Back was $13 and 10 minutes.

* If you know you are going to be absent you can "pre-bowl" your games to be applied to a later week. The rules vary by league: some require majority assent by team captains, some require a league officer to witness, and some (like ours) just require something short of a popular uprising against it. Pre-bowling is kinda like cheating because the pace is quicker and the distractions fewer. It is tolerated because everyone is extended the same courtesy whether they use it or not.