Downtime Is Uptime: All Ten Pins—Live Every Moment to Its Fullest

Brian Wong keeps plenty busy as a senior global account executive at Equinix Metal, but he still finds occasion to visit his beloved home bowling lanes at The Classic Bowling Center in Daly City, California. It was precisely this establishment where I found myself getting crushed by Brian in a game or two as he explained how he got into the sport.

“I’ve always loved bowling for as long as I can remember,” he told me. “But I started taking it more seriously in high school.” Brian joined the school’s 80-person afterschool bowling league and ended up working at the pro shop where he scored free gear: shoes, balls, bag, a glove and some powder for the hand.

As we began our game—and I’ll keep descriptions of my gutter balls to myself here—Brian told me his best game ever was a 275 out of 300: in twelve possible frames, this score equals 11 strikes and one spare. Brian described feeling so in the zone that day that the lanes felt molded to his every throw; even a bad toss would somehow curve around and annihilate all ten pins. After warming up over a couple of frames at the Classic Bowling Center, I could see this effect in action. Brian threw strike after strike—six in a row—while I watched, jaw agape.

In-between throws, Brian told me about his high school bowling coach, a mentor and father figure who had recently passed away. “He really went above and beyond to be our friend,” Brian said “and help us through the ups and downs of life. It’s that reminder that you never know when it’s your time, and to value what you’ve got. And to have fun and live every moment to its fullest.”

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