Whitehall-Yearling High School - 40th Reunion, Class of 1978

Senior Photo/Reunion Badge

Last weekend I took Thursday and Friday off to attend my 40th high school reunion (see April 8, 2018 entry).

On previous reunions, I usually take an early flight on Friday, arrive early evening, have dinner with Cindy, attend the reunion on Saturday and fly back Sunday morning.

This flight for this reunion was different. For the first time EVER, I flew direct. Southwest Airlines now has a single daily non-stop from Oakland to Columbus (John Glenn International). It's about a 4 to 4.5 hour flight.

Man, what a difference. I saved so much in travel time and the drudgery of catching a connecting flight. I now can consider making weekend trips without feeling like all my time's been sapped traveling.

As the last 3 reunions have been, it was loads of fun. It was expanded to 3 events: Friday school tour, Saturday banquet, and Sunday brunch. Most attendees participated in 1 or 2 events. I attended all 3.

After the Friday tour to see the remodeled school, we met at Gatsby's in Gahanna for drinks (club sodas for me). Toward the end of the evening, we pushed picnic tables together for a high school-like girls only chat. On Saturday, I took selfies with many classmates, participated in a very fun, hammy sing along/karaoke to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, and had a few very meaningful conversations with others I've known since elementary school.

My most favorite part of the weekend was to see classmates that had not attended previous reunions connect as Facebook friends. There were at least 5 to 6 classmates that had 5 or more new friends by the end of the weekend.

If you've never attended a high school reunion because it's too painful and/or you don't have fond memories, I respect your decision. I can't speak for everyone, but my experience has been if you get to a 30 year reunion, all the cliques are pretty much gone. Everyone will have experienced death, divorce, illness, or some other kind of life changing event.

We are now on common ground on an even playing field. We share life experiences which connect us to our past and present. We reflect and look forward to seeing everyone again at the next reunion.

If you're interested in reading my blog entries from previous reunions, click here.

San Francisco USBC Board Member

source: SFUSBC

On my way to Wednesday night league last summer, I was unloading my bowling equipment from my car when the current president of San Francisco's USBC approached me.

She told me my comments at a previous meeting open to league bowlers impressed her. She asked if I'd be interested in becoming a board member.

Surprised, honored and flattered I accepted. Due to a schedule conflict, I didn't become a board member right away. Meetings were taking place Wednesday nights, the same nights I bowl league.

This past November that changed. Meetings were moved to Sunday mornings. Perfect day and time as I'm already at the center for practice every week. Our most recent board meeting took place this morning.

In my capacity as a San Francisco USBC board member, some duties include:

• Lane inspection/certification
• Fund raisers 
• Local tournaments
• Management of sanctioned leagues at Classic (Daly City), Sea (Pacifica), Brentwood (South San Francisco), and Presidio (San Francisco).

As the 2018-19 season has officially started, I attended 3 league meetings last week (including my own) to introduce myself and briefly describe San Francisco USBC's role and upcoming events.

Being a board member requires time, dedication, and passion combined with a strong grasp of diplomacy. Not all that different than a full-time job. I find both roles very fulfilling and hope that I'll continue in both roles for a long time.

Hello Cinemark Movie Club

Shortly after I cancelled my Movie Pass membership, I enrolled in a new movie club membership, Cinemark Connections.

I chose this membership because most movies I watch are at Cinemark owned theaters. I can purchase in advance my tickets, choose my seats and have the tickets downloaded to my phone's wallet in minutes.

With Movie Pass, it required me to be at the theater to check in through the app, choose the desired show time, and then purchase the ticket with the Movie Pass issued MasterCard.

If I wanted decent seats, then it would require for me to arrive at the theater at least an hour before  show time. On top of the lack of movies eligible, this sealed my decision to cancel my membership.

In case you can't read the screenshot, here are Cinemark's Movie Club benefits:

• One credit per month good for one 2D ticket.
• Unused credits roll over and never expire when you're a member.
• Pay just $8.99 for additional tickets.
• 20% off concessions.
• Waived online fees.
• Earn Connections points for every purchase.

If you visit other movie houses on a regular basis besides Cinemark, this membership probably won't work for you. 

Goodbye Movie Pass

CineArts @ Empire West Portal
September 3 2018
movie times

As Labor Day 2018 comes to an end, I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday.

For me, it was my annual trip to Reno: weekend stay at Silver Legacy and a walk across the street to bowl 5 squads over 2 days in the Asian American Labor Day Tournament. I bowled well in yesterday's squads, including a 225 game in my doubles match with Leo. Hopefully it will be enough for us to cash out.

Today, it was an encore viewing of Crazy Rich Asians. I knew from the time I saw it 3 weeks ago I would see it again. I laughed and cried as much as I did the first time.

I paid for the first viewing by Fandango. As the movie just came out, it wasn't likely I'd have the option of buying it through my Movie Pass membership.

Three weeks later, I thought that would change. It did not.

First photo is a screenshot of today's movie showings at CineArts @ Empire in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood.

 

The next 2 screenshots show why I cancelled my Movie Pass subscription today. There is only ONE of THREE films showing at CineArts @ Empire eligible on Movie Pass.

This was also the case at Cinemark Tanforan. After 3 weeks from its wide release, Crazy Rich Asians is still NOT available on Movie Pass.

If I can't see a new and popular film from Movie Pass, then my subscription is useless.