Birthday Night Out: Dinner at Daisies, VR Games, and Team Feliz

For my birthday, Liz had some fun excursions planned for the evening. First up, we had dinner at Daisies, which was a nice treat. We’ve been really good about staying on our diet, but tonight was an excuse to splurge a little bit – and so pasta was back on the menu.

We also indulged in some drinks. I had a glass of wine and Liz had a cocktail. In retrospect, my glass was kind of a short pour… and I debated having a second. But ultimately, I’m glad I just had the one.

As much as I looked forward to indulging tonight, there was still a part of me that wanted to not “undo” too much of the work we’ve put in the last two weeks.

My lovely dinner date.

One of the gifts I received for my birthday. We made a stop to pick these up en route to dinner. And though I was told to avert my gaze at the store Liz went into… I had a hunch what this gift was all about.

Note for later: one of two. I opened all my gifts at the table, but ended up taking photos back at the house.

The pasta has arrived! The server told us that the portions tended to be a bit smaller than what most folks expect, and recommended ordering 3-4 pastas to share between the two of us.

We debated an appetizer, but figured on having some dessert as well. So we went with just three pastas. On the left is the Tortellini (with lentils, Tuscan kale, and Italian sausage). On the right, one of the daily specials – I forget the pasta type, but it was comparable to Angel Hair, with brown butter and sage.

When the third pasta arrived, this one was the game changer. I’m not a big ravioli person, but this one won me over (Liz and I were both remarking on how much we loved it). The ravioli included Black truffle, brussels sprouts, bacon, and red grapes.

This was hands down the winner of the bunch. I could see just ordering 5 servings of this all to myself, and would still be craving more. This dish was phenomenal.

For dessert, I had the Apple Crostata and a cup of coffee.

Liz also had coffee, but went with the chocolate (budino) option.

After dinner, we went up north a bit to a place called VR Mania. I had thought briefly about buying some VR gear, but soon learned it required a bit more hardware than I realized. And not really knowing a ton about the different headsets, etc… I figured I’d drop it for now. Besides, we don’t really have a good space in the house yet for this sort of thing.

On hearing I was interested, Liz booked us some time to try out some VR games. Which was a very fun and unexpected surprise.

The headset we used was an HTC Vive. I was able to jam my glasses into the headset, and though it was a little tight… I go the whole thing on, and it fit fairly comfortably on my face. I was able to see everything quite clearly, and overall it felt comfortable moving around.

Sadly, the first thing we tried was Richie’s Plank Experience. When the doors opened up, I looked down and was like “there’s no way.” I don’t even think I got one foot out on the plank. After just a few short seconds, I begged off and took the headset off.

Our guide for the hour said that most of the versions were related to heights. And then I thought “Oh boy, there goes the whole hour. If it’s all height based, Liz will be the one doing this.”

Liz got the headset on, and was able to walk out on the plank with less hesitation than me. She also tried out a few of the other variations, like the Fireman routine.

I eventually got the headset back on, and did the Fireman thing. It wasn’t too bad (though my knees did shake a bit, each time I landed). I eventually got the hang of flying around.

We tried a few other things as well – a zombie bar fight, Beat Saber, and Fruit Ninja. We didn’t really get much past the intro games, and it seemed like this was a decent first “intro” for us.

I remember trying a VR headset (pretty sure it was the Vive then as well) back in 2016. But the thing I experienced was nowhere near the realism of what we saw tonight. It really was a very immersive, incredible experience – all around.

Back at home, here are some of the gifts I got. First up, a custom T-shirt for Team Feliz. Liz and I have this old running joke about Team Liz vs Team Felix. My shirt is on the right. Liz got one for herself as well.

Her shirt is on the left. :|

In addition to our new house work shirts, I got a copy of Far Cry, New Dawn – and Elizabeth McCracken’s new book “Bowlaway.” I really haven’t read much the last year or two. But here’s hoping that changes. When I saw McCracken had a new book out, I wanted it. Because I’m a big fan of her writing.

Happy Birthday to me, and go Team Feliz!

As a side note, moments before this photo Liz slapped my butt and said “Take a lap.” This does not bode well.

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There’s No “I” in Team