Monday, February 16, 2009

Weekend of Awesome

Before I get too deep into the awesomeness of this weekend, I'd like to make note of an epiphany I had.

When I decided to start running again back in May of last year, I went to a running store and got myself some new shoes. They didn't fit perfectly, but they were much nicer shoes than the old New Balance monstrosities I'd been wearing since high school for every vaguely athletic activity I did. I tried to run on the new shoes (Asics Gel-2130) and immediately noted the return of shin splints I had thought long gone. I decided I could fix the issue with a lacing change or different insoles. I got some insoles and they fit much better. I started running again and noticed that I kept having the shin splints issue and stopped running for several months. Somehow, all of this was completely lost to me until this weekend. Suddenly, I remembered the whole thing, all the way from me being at the running store telling the guy I used to get shin splints but don't anymore, to me trying to convince myself that the new shoes were totally awesome I just needed to break them in. Weird, eh? Anyway, now I totally remember and I think I need to go back to the running store again and see if I can find some shoes similar to the old beaters I used to wear. I think I've gotten more miles out of them than my last car, but they're still super comfy. They're a neutral shoe with a good bit of padding, and I think that's the way I need to go. So anyway, that's my proposed solution to this problem. I'll keep everyone updated on how this works. I'm also planning to get up tomorrow and run in my old shoes and see if they still have the same cushy goodness that was helping before.

Okay, on to my awesome weekend. Friday night, the wife and I stayed in and worked on Valentines for our gaming group. Yes, we're that geeky. We made a little valentine for each player out of felt and puff paint, and made it in some design that related to his or her character. It was a ton of fun coming up with the designs, making the valentines and then giving them to everyone. We also made a cake, which was sort of horribly ugly, but it tasted good so that's okay. I'm going to have to try several more cakes to get a good handle on it, I think. In any case, here it is:
It's so ugly it's almost cute, isn't it? It looks like a blind kind with a learning disability decorated it, and that isn't far off the mark, skill-wise. So you know, "STPF" stands for "Super Teen Poverty Force" - our group's unofficial moniker. While half our group is fabulously wealthy, the other half is miserably poor. My character was actually homeless at the beginning of the campaign, and rooted through dumpsters for food. We're also pretty young, with half the group being teenagers. Anyhow, it's too perfect a name for us to discount it for being only half accurate, and the cake reflects the level of awesome we bring to the world of crime-fighting. Hooray!

So the cake turned out poorly, but the game was very fun and jenna was suitably surprised when we got there and she had flowers waiting for her. I'm a sneaky husband. She had no idea there would be flowers and then there were totally flowers there! They're in our bedroom now, making it smell all nice. That was Saturday and it was a good day.

Sunday, I woke up and played Fallout 3 for a few hours while Jenna slept in, then we sort of lounged around watching Quantum Leap and eating leftover pizza. In the afternoon, Jenna decided she wanted to learn to play racquetball so I ran to the store and bought her a racquet while she got ready. We went to my office and played for over an hour, mostly me teaching her the rules and then practicing serves and getting used to how the ball moves in the space and all. it was really fun, and she absolutely loved playing. Success! I've been wanting to find something she and I can do together that's physical and not just working out to be working out. I think this may be the one. So we're going to play again soon, and I may supplement with running if I can figure out my shoes.

Sunday evening was also awesome. AJ came over at 6:30 and we headed out to the Movie Tavern on Hampden and Tower. We were going to see "Taken" at 8:00 and I wanted to get there with plenty of time to explore, order food, etc. Some friends from up north came down as well and it was really good to see them again. So we're all at this theatre about an hour before the show starts and when we go in, they're still cleaning it. We head out to wait in the hallway. While we're there, we are greeted by almost every member of the staff, several of whom made food suggestions and one of whom helped us figure out how big a 10" pizza is by use of the second knuckle on his pinkie (he had measured it and it was exactly one inch). Once they cleaned the place out we went inside and got to see how this joint works. Instead of having rows of seats pretty much jam-packed together in the theatre, there was a lot of space between them (to allow waitstaff, I'm thinking). The rows aternated between regular movie chairs with small tables between them and nice leather office chairs lined up at a counter. Every pair of seats has a little red switch that lights up when you flip it to let the waitstaff know you need something. The food was really tasty and everything was very reasonably priced. Tickets were $7.50 for adults and the cheeseburgers we got were like $8 each. Drinks are reasonable and you get refills, and you can get a bucket of popcorn for like $5 with free refills, too. Regular theatres will refill your popcorn, but you have to go out of the theatre and wait in line ot get it. Here, the waitstaff will come pick up your bucket and bring it back to you in your seats so you don't miss anything. Brilliant!

I need to take a fresh paragraph to rave about the service here. Everyone in this place is friendly and happy. They are helpful and attentive without being disruptive. It's a big danger when eating dinner in the theatre that you'll have your waiter coming and bugging you during important parts and everything. These folks are great, though. You have your light and they don't bug you unless it's on. And when it is, they get what you need quickly and quietly without bothering you any more than necessary. It was something I was very concerned about heading in, but honestly it was awesome. We had a few people just saying hello in the hallways, too. That's something you rarely get in most restaurants or movie theatres. Normally the staff is brusque at best, and can flat-out ignore you the rest of the time. Everyone working here liked each other and they really seemed to like their jobs, too. It's a huge deal for me, which is why I keep going on about it. The vibe of a venue has a lot to do with my enjoyment of it. Normally the vibe of a theatre is so neutral that you don't even notice it, but having a decidedly positive atmosphere makes a big difference.

So anyhow, that was the weekend. Extremely fun, vaguely productive, and successful on all counts.

1 comment:

  1. That *is* the ugliest cake I've ever seen. I think it may stand as some kind of artistic accomplishment, actually. Abstract cake art.

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