Birthday Recap
Yesterday was my birthday, and I walked in to find my desk adorned with a nice little surprise. Throughout the day, I got a lot of well wishes from friends, both in-person and online. Facebook always surprises me, with people I literally haven’t seen in years dropping a note and a kind word. It was a steady stream all day, and pretty fantastic.
In the afternoon, I got a surprise delivery. Liz had a big bunch of balloons sent over (there are 37 in total). She’s had a history with surprising me with balloons.
Justin tried to get the reveal on video, but it didn’t end up coming out – which I’m kind of thankful for, in a way. I get particularly nervous when a camera is turned on me (and yet I have no compunctions about turning the camera lens on my friends, go figure).
Me and all my balloons. I was reminded of the time, many years ago, when Mike and I released a ton of balloons near the Merchandise Mart.
After work, Liz and I went to Lawry’s for my birthday dinner. I’ve been trying to actively avoid red meat a lot (my cholesterol levels are a bit high, I found out)… but tonight was intended to be a splurge. I will most definitely not be doing something like this again, anytime soon.
This is a view of the bar area, where we relaxed a bit before going to our table.
One thing I totally need to mention is the fact that Liz had on a dress she made (and had just finished, the night before). She hasn’t posted up photos yet, but I’ll link to them directly when they’re up.
Anyhow, we were checking in and there were three women at the hostess podium near the entrance. Before we even got to talking, one of the women remarked: I just love your dress! It’s a vintage dress, isn’t it? Watching Liz explain to them that she had made it herself and watching their expressions was pretty awesome.
// Edit: She’s updated her site, and photos of the dress are here.
Liz and I both got martinis and relaxed a bit. I’ve also been trying to cut down on the sauce more, and this was yet another indulgence. There are few things more satisfying than biting in to a blue cheese olive, after sipping on a vodka martini.
Before we sat down to eat, I decided to open up my gifts. Liz got me a TON of stuff – with many things I had been eye-ing for a while.
I got a starter book about Arduino, an open-source platform that allows you to combine programming with electronics. I got a copy of A Pickpocket’s Tale, after hearing it mentioned in a MetaFilter thread about The Lost Art of Pickpocketing. I also got a copy of
And, of course, I got a nice videogame: Dragon Age II. Because the Arduino thing wasn’t nerdy enough, I needed a D&D videogame to round things out.
I had a great day, and closed it off with a fantastic meal. I had a few shots of the interior of the place… but they didn’t turn out so well. Suffice it to say we were stuffed, and after dessert and a coffee… it was a lovely way to end my birthday.
Related:
My Amazing (And Slightly Terrifying) Birthday Surprise (2008)
Awesome Birthday Surprise: My Office, Filled With Balloons: 2009
Game Review: Dragon Age
This Made Me Unbearably Happy
I’m starting to understand why we seem to find the same things interesting/funny: we’re both Pisces. Or Aquarians, as the new sign would have it. Happy belated birthday, Felix! : O )
Marty J. Christopher (March 12, 2011 at 12:15 am)