Eric Online

After more wandering, we found our way to our next destination in Opry Mills: Dave & Buster’s, a combination restaurant and arcade (think Chuck-E-Cheese with less kids and more margaritas). We weren’t there for the food, of course, but for some good ole’ fashion token-taking ticket-dispensin’ fun. First on the menu? Why, Skee Ball, of course!

I should've known

After a few rounds, we hit the rest of the arcade, playing games and winning tickets. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking for this post to save you from “then we played this game, then this one, etc.”

So in Malaysia, we had this reader named Lvis...

Motorcycles. YES.

Is a solid gold watch too much to ask?

It's... beautiful.

Up next, some video of our arcade adventure.

My, we’re just boosting on through this retelling of the Boost Day adventures! This is the midpoint in our nine-part series on Boost Day. If you missed the earlier parts, why not check them out:

1. An Introduction
2. A Long Road Ahead
3. Reunion
4. Ultraviolent

After a cutthroat game of miniature golf, we took to the mall once again. The various kiosks and stalls provided some amusement, from some rather unusual signage, to a retro video game set.

Jump over the pit! No, the- watch out! Jump! JUMP!

We noticed at one point, Brad had paused in front of a rather relaxing looking store and had struck up a conversation with one of the employees. We waited on him to catch up. Finally, he rejoined us.

“Guys, I’m going to do it. I’m going to the oxygen bar.”

“You know, I think they’ve got some air around here for free… Oh, here’s some.” *deep breath* “Ah.”

“No, it’s more of a half-hour massage, with relaxing music, and also scented oxygen.”

Normally, that would sound a little unusual to me, but it was Boost Day, and who doesn’t like a good massage?

“Alright, let’s do it.”

We were strapped in, so to speak, in over-sized massage chairs. Headphones played a continuous shuffle of tranquil melodies as we drifted to the edge of consciousness, too relaxed to stay awake, yet too comfortable to fall asleep.

In case you forget to relax, the signage kindly reminds you

Following the adventure proper, we were treated to complementary energy drinks and a non-chair back massage. This was actually my first energy drink, and it did have quite a bit of kick to it. Finally, we were… treated to a creepy, vibrating, head massaging machine.

GET IT OFF GET IT OFF

Things got crazy once we got to the mall. We had a whole boost day ahead of us, but nothing really planned out. We began by wandering the spacious halls of Opry Mills, passing between kiosks and benches, looking for our first activity. Then, like an anti-beacon of black light, we saw eighteen holes of miniature awesome: Glow Golf. The putt-putt course was lit only by black light, reminiscent of our experiences at the Kuala Lumpur planetarium. We paid the fee (guess how many dollars?), grabbed our clubs, and put on our game faces.

Game faces, indeed

The competition was fierce. Each hole (especially the ninth, mind you) provided greater challenges, upping the ante bit by bit. When the ridiculous obstacles seemed to be at the crux of the difficulty curve, we turned the corner to find the all-too-cliche loop-de-loop. Things were further complicated by everyone’s insatiable thirst for victory. Let me tell you, things got intense. Here we see Brad preparing to challenge Loraine to a club fight:

Or maybe he was dancing? I don't know.

And that Meredith… she has experience hitting people with things. I mean, just look at this not-out-of-context photo from Malaysia. She’s obviously hitting Pua with a broom!

Note the non-misleading camera angle

We finished the game and moved on to find other adventures in the mall.

Meredith and Loraine sat at the far corner of the restaurant. Four glasses of water had already been set on the table. Brad shouted a warm greeting across the tables.

“Merry Boost Day!”

We exchanged pleasantries as the waiter came by to see if we needed drinks. I chose to remain with just the water, and Brad got a mango lassi.

“So what have you gials been up to?”

That’s probably another joke that needs a quick explanation. Simply put, it was a typo on the church bulletin board in Malaysia.

We came to teach English, after all

Meredith and Loraine went on to talk about their recent exploits, and we continually pointed out that none of us knew where exactly Loraine was living now, save that it was somewhere north.

“So how is Illinois, anyway?”

“Actually, we’re living in Indiana, but-”

“Yeah, like I said, Michigan.”

Meredith and Loraine presented a pair of blue gift bags before we started eating. We were a bit surprised (and without gifts of our own to present), but grateful. Brad opened his first to reveal a donut with one bite taken out of it. At a donut shop in Malaysia, Brad had snuck a bite of Meredith’s donut one day; she had finally gotten her revenge. In my bag was a package of Butter Cookies (with one well-placed sticker for added humor) and, better yet, a package of Butterscotch Buttons, subtly edited to read “Butt Butts.”

The food brought back some memories. We had some chicken tandoori, butter naan, and similar Indian dishes. Granted, it wasn’t Restoran Al-Awwal Maju, but still good.

Best food in Malaysia. No contest.

“Boy, I’m fuller than a tick on a lazy porch dog,” Brad exclaimed with an appropriate southern drawl. “So where do you gials want to head to next?”

“How about Opry Mills? We could find plenty to do there.”

“Good idea. Let’s move out.”

I bet you’d like to know what happens next. Well, you’ll just have to stay tuned for the rest of this nine-part series on Boost Day.