Being Flexible

When planning a night out with friends doesn’t go according to plan, the best attitude to have is to adjust the plan and move on. You’ll end up having a better time rather than focusing on the negative.

For our friend’s 40th birthday party, he wanted to go to Steakburger to play miniature golf at their Golf-O-Rama (yes, this place is quite retro and reminiscent of a bygone era), however the rain sort of impeded on our plans. Another friend of ours said that she called the local bowling alley ahead just in case the rain was an issue, and it was having league day (on a Saturday no less) but had the number to one of the others. My partner called and they were open to the public so we went to Crosley Lanes for a game of bowling. With six of us on one lane we figured we’d be able to get one full game done in an hour and so we went the hourly rate to save a few bucks. Just for reference I think I bowled one of the worst games I’ve ever bowled, but we had fun.

After bowling we headed into North Portland to McMenamins Kennedy School for dinner and drinks. While none of us were prepared for the Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Celebration going on, we all were prepared for a wait at the main restaurant. It was, after all, a Saturday night. In the interim we went to one of the many bars within the school to order our first round of drinks and decided to get up and wander the school… with our drinks in hand, of course… to look at the various paraphernalia from its former days as an elementary school, as well as all the artwork, murals and many different rooms to explore. Eventually our table was ready and we enjoyed a great meal together, but the company always makes it better.

During dinner came up the fact that the birthday boy had never seen Aladdin, so it was decided that when we all went back to our house for cake that we would also watch the movie. And we did. Sometime after midnight. After I had made a pot of coffee for those us coffee drinkers. And yes, there was sing along during the songs for those of us who’ve seen the movie, which I hope didn’t make the birthday boy feel inadequate. Anyway, after a long night that seemed to be played by ear, it was definitely time for bed. And I was pretty sure we were skipping church as it was only a few hours away.

While it isn’t necessary to have a backup plan in place before going out in case things don’t work out, it helps. But more importantly it helps if you don’t get so stuck on doing a particular thing, and rather have fun with the people who are there to celebrate with you. For this, I hope our friend’s 40th birthday was memorable, even though it didn’t go according to how he had originally envisioned it. And yes, my white cake with lemon curd filling was delicious, in case anybody wanted to know.