Birthday Night Out: Dinner at Daisies, VR Games, and Team Feliz
A birthday night out with pasta, wine, and my first introduction to VR (something that would make me want to share VR with others, throughout the rest of the year). I was always a part of Team Feliz, but happy this is now something official (we have t-shirts).
An extended trip to St. Louis to pick up a chandelier Liz purchased, previosuly. This was a crazy day, with us racing thunderstorms, hitting up antique malls, and experiencing all the joy and terror that is City Museum (where I slid down a 10 story slide).
Also: Scrimshaw.
Part of the same trip (above). But the kicker to this day was that I actually SAW A PUZZLE JUG in the wild! It was an exhilarating experience to spot this thing, and to also talk to the shop owners about how amazing this item is.
After a very quick week, I got to present our team’s submission to the Grubhub Hackathon. We made it through the first round to the Finals, and… we ended up winning second place!
Drinks at Aviary with Julie and Bob
Ever since our date night at Aviary, Liz and I have wanted to share the experience with others. It’s a great place to go, and especially fun to both partake and discuss all the drinks available. A very enjoyable evening with lots of great conversation.
The Portland trip was really something else. This was our treat to ourselves, to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. It started off really, really rough… with us in a sub-par rental, wondering how we would last a week in the place. Luckily, we moved to a hotel and spent a blissful week having some great breakfasts and exploring the city.
I got to explore downtown Portland a bit more on my own, hanging out at an arcade, Powell’s, and then joining up with Liz for Ramen. We bar hopped a bit in the evening, and got some delicious pizza for a late dinner in our hotel room. A lovely way to cap our long anniversary vacation/celebration.
Early Morning, Breakfast at Valois, and an Unexpected Meeting
It’s hard to describe how absolutely incredible this experience was. TL;DR – Bob encountered someone he’s been wanting to meet in person, and said something he’s been wanting to say. This is a decades-long thing, and the fact that it happened today… and the fact that I was present when it happened still boggles my mind. I was reeling for most of the day, after this chance encounter… and looking back, I’m still amazed it happened at all.
A White Halloween in Hyde Park
We had snow for Halloween, which was a bit unusual. A lot of our neighbors decided we would stay out/up into the evening (there was a bit of trouble last year, with some teenagers leaving the area later at night). While we got fewer trick or treaters this year, due to the snow… we got lots of visits from neighbors, while we were on our porch.
On top of that, we got free chili, chai, cookies, and a small dram of scotch to boot! The more I get to hang out with our neighbors, the luckier I feel that we are living where we are. We live on a great street.
Hanging with the Family in Indy
My dad recently had work done on his eyes, to improve his vision. Since we couldn’t think of a good gift for my parents for the holidays, I decided to roll it into a larger group gift… and took folks out to a nearby VR place. Had a fun time introducing them to the various games and experiences we’re now familiar with, and made for a fun afternoon.