Played laser tag on Friday. I’d gone before with a larger group of people and had a ball, but this trip was kind of a bust. We got there a bit late and the place, which had moved, was brand-new and HUGE. We were essentially the guinea pigs for the place, which was still under construction. It was in the basement of this mall-ish type of place that was being renovated, and to get to the laser tag place, we had to go down an escalator and through a bunch of storefronts that hadn’t been completed yet. It was kind of funny.
The laser tag place was gigantic. It had to be double the
size of the previous one, and that really wasn’t a good thing. It was also
completely dark and the ramp things up to the next level were incredibly steep,
plus there were low-hanging pipes and things that made it pretty dangerous.
But mostly, it was just too big. You needed at least 20
people to make it a lot of fun, and we had about nine. I went for minutes
without seeing another person, friend or foe.
Oh, and we were late. We’d reserved the place from 6 p.m. to
8 p.m. but didn’t get there until after 6, then for whatever reason putzed
around until after 6:30. I couldn’t figure out why we were just hanging around,
but I was one of two who didn’t speak the language so I couldn’t really
communicate “let’s go!” to the shopkeeper.
Anyway, the games were longer than the earlier location, and
as a result we’d only played three before maybe 7:50. We sat there and waffled
on the next game – seriously, make a decision, people! – and finally got in. So
we’re in the dark place, waiting on the guns to activate, and they never did. I
looked at my watch and it said 8:03. And I had it figured out before anyone
else – we’d hit out cut-off.
That’s exactly what happened. The computer system shut it
down at 8 p.m., because that’s when we’d reserved the place. Some of the people
in our group were just bitching and moaning about that – we paid for two hours
– but hello, it was our fault. I hate it when people screw up and then blame others.
Anyway, that started my weekend. We went to a Korean
restaurant afterwards and it was also just meh. I mean, the food was fine but
the orderer (in China,
one person places and order for the entire table) did so without consulting
anyone else and we wound with way, way too much food and a really pricey bill.
I don’t mind pricey food places – it’s a splurge that’s worth it – but this was
expensive because it was just wasted.
Today I’ve done next to nothing. My big highlight was to
help someone in the building write his work evaluation. He’s not a native
English speaker, so it took some work but I was happy to help. I also did my
usual grocery store run, but I did not make food for the week because somehow I
have a lot left over from last week.
My big highlight, I guess, was a visit to the dentist, both
professionally and socially. I was a bit overdue for a checkup and my jaw is
acting up. I have TMJ (which, he explained, is really TMD – disorder vs. joint)
and it’s been bothering me.
I did not know this, but as it turns out, that’s his
specialty, so I got some good information, plus a textbook to research. It
looks like down the road getting braces – again – would be the best long-term
thing to do, but it won’t happen while I’m here.
The dentist lives in the building here and is originally
from Texas.
We went for a burger after the appointment and talked for awhile. He’s done
mission trips to various countries and has a sister who has a house formerly
owned by Ally Sheedy and next door to Molly Ringwald’s.
And, in the course of discussion, he mentioned that his wife
(who’s not in China just
yet) is from Eudora, Arkansas. We were walking back to the
apartments at that point and I completely stopped short. I said my aunt was
from there and he could not believe it. I did not know this, but it’s a tiny,
tiny town and he’s convinced his wife’s family has got to know Mary Lynn’s, but
we haven’t been able to determine it yet.
Just another “it’s a small world” moment.
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