Back the change out… and nobody gets hurt

02/18/2009

Remember what Preed The Build Engineer says:
“Bad Checkins Hold
Everyone Hostage!”

This Valentine’s Day1, the boyfriend and I bucked convention and took the opportunity to do something we had both randomly expressed interest in some weeks earlier, but neither of us had done before: learn how to shoot a gun.
We found a shooting range2, which offered a package deal that included a twenty minute how-to course4 followed by an hour on the range, to practice shooting a .22 caliber pistol at various things5.
(Interesting sociological note 1: a shooting range is a fascinating place to people watch while you’re waiting for your class to start.)
(Interesting sociological note 2: apparently, shooting with your significant other on Valentine’s Day is more common than one might think: we were joined by no less than six couples making use of an assortment of firearms.)
This particular range happened to be near KSFO, so afterward, we spent a few minutes watching planes land on the southeast plan, followed by a video game-related Fry’s run and (altogether too much, but oh-so-tasty) thai food.
All in all, it was a pretty awesome way to spend a day with my Valentine.

***

When I got back to the office this week, I brought one of the targets in to show off my mad, GTA-honed6 aiming skillz.7
After joking around for a bit, it became clear that this particular target could be used as a visual aid in imparting a much more important lesson.
Because as we all should know: the sooner a sad, frowny build is fixed, the sooner we can douer it.8,10
_____________________
1 Or, depending on status, location, local restriction, and phase of moon, “Singles Awareness Day”
2 Ironically3 in the South Bay; south city to be exact
3 Or not?
4 Apparently, actually discharging a firearm pales in comparison to the moral, circumstantial, and legal issues often associated with doing so?
5 Ok, just one thing.
6 Interesting sociological (or maybe merely generational) note 3: of the five people in the class, more people had played GTA than had shot a gun
7 Why yes, that is a bullet hole in the center of his forehead; there’s also one in his left eye and three centered squarely on the chest!
8 Where “douer it” is defined as “release the product9
9 A complex, three step process that involves four steps
10 Is this a sufficient number of footnotes, Mr. Dolske?