Blatherskite

(Groovy etymology for that word, by the way.)

My mom did end up babysitting on Thursday so Mr. Tangerine and I could go out to dinner for our 15th. We walked to an Italian joint and had rather disappointing food. Also, the dinner menu was riddled with typos. Not ridiculously so—it's not as if they're selling mescaline salad like some places claim to do—but if you're the proprietor of an Italian restaurant that's been in business for over a decade, wouldn't you know how to spell tortellini? (Hint: It's not "tortalloni.") Then we hit the grocery store after dinner (so romantic!) and took a cab home.

Friday morning was Ben's show at school. The salute to Hollywood was a raging success, and I'm certain that we were not biased in pronouncing Ben's class's performance to be the best one. He looked fantastic as a junior cowboy—very Brokeback Kindergarten. Several people even thought the tall girl he was partnered with for the dance was a boy, further enhancing the Brokeback vibe. Ben had a grand time, and said he wished they could put on a show every day. Sure, there were probably about 1,000 watching him, but that didn't faze him. Not a shy boy.

Saturday morning, my cousin and I embarked on the ovarian cancer walkathon. (The donation site is still up if you wanted to chip in but were afraid you'd missed your chance. And vielen Dank to those of you who donated! The money is sorely needed, as breast cancer beats ovarian cancer by a mile in the race for funds.) Now, last year, the walk route was 3 miles if you walked two laps of the route, so we just did 1.5 miles last year (one of us had asthma acting up). We fully planned to do the same this year, and wouldn't you know it? The event organizers changed the route so that there was no opting out at the halfway point. We were suckered into doing 3! After the walk, we had lunch (Italian again, but much more satisfying than my anniversary dinner. Can you say "Godiva chocolate cake"? Can you stop salivating now? You can't? I know! It's good cake!)

Saturday afternoon, my cousin and I betook ourselves to an outlet mall. Yes, to walk some more! But for a good cause, again. I found three skirts, three tops, and two pairs of undies. Skirts with an elastic waist = the epitome of summertime comfort.

Today, the la famille Tangerine went bowling. And not no blue-collar bowling alley, nope. We went to an upscale "bowling lounge." One part bowling alley (I started typing "boweling alley"—what sort of facility do you think that would be?), one part pool hall, one part sports bar with many TVs, and two parts loungey bar with couches and whatnot. Ben bowled with the bumpers up to prevent gutter balls, while his parents faced the risk of rolling the ball directly into the gutters. We bowled three games, and I scored roughly 90, 60, and 80. That 60 was quite sad. (In my defense, I hadn't bowled in nearly a decade.) Afterwards, we visited the Lego Store to cash in some of Ben's birthday money. Dammit, now we have to build that giant police station. At least it's not one of the Star Wars things, like the Death Star with more than 3,000 pieces (ages 16 and up!).

Speaking of Star Wars, Ben and his dad have been playing this Lego Star Wars video game together. Ben's never seen any of the movies, but he's becoming moderately well-versed in the characters. Do you know how disheartening it is to hear him discuss the pros and cons of Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and Jar Jar Binks? Oy vey. I know kids are prone to such obsessions, but why can't my kid be obsessed with...reading? Or crossword puzzles? Star Wars and Legos...sigh.

Commenting assignment: Tell me a lie about your experience with mescaline, bowling, and/or Godiva chocolate, dear readers.