When you work as much as those in the gaming industry tend to, it's easy to overlook the value of the simple pleasures in life. Personally, I struggle with the basics: eating healthy, sleeping, and exercise. My relationships suffer and get pushed off my list of "necessary to-dos".
It's often my wife who reminds me that simple things like drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep, eating throughout the day, and connecting with family and friends more regularly can increase my happiness. I am often jealous of the joy that a simple lunch, a phone call, a massage or a card brings her. I tend to be a bit more high maintenance in that area; requiring explosions, fart jokes or videos of chimps doing ungodly things to toads in order satiate my appetite for temporary happiness.
So, upon finishing up Cars 2: The Video Game, a couple of friends and I expressed the desire to "hang out" over our obligatory time off after the project. Not content with the usual "Come over to my house and we'll drink and play games", and seeking time to bond, we devised a plan:
What if we followed our significant others' example and spent a day doing what they might do with their closest friends?
Immediately, ideas were brainstormed. Not all ideas were pursued, and some ideas will never, ever be mentioned again, but with the finality that only high fives and chest bumping can bring, two things were for sure: Tim, Devon and I would call the day "What Would our Women Do?" Day and it would start with pedicures.
So, pedicures were had by all. Conversation was delightful and appropriately light. We kidded. We gossiped. We giggled. Our attendants at The Nail Room were quite pleasant, and noted our conversational skills. Tim was exceptionally complimentary to the employees with quotes such as, "This pedicure feels fabulous!" and "Oh, what a treat!"
I was embarrassed of my Quasimotoe(c) and Shire feet, and Devon was initially apprehensive about his skin socks turning off anyone who glimpsed them. I have to say, they creep me out, but he managed through the embarrassment quite well by being the first to proclaim that he would love to have his toenails painted.
I, for one, cringe whenever I see a man with digits decorated, but with Devon's courageous upping of the ante, Tim and I accepted the challenge with declarations of our own. Each would get his toes painted in a unique color.
Blog Trivia!
My challenge to you is, can you determine whose toes are which color in the photo below? The first person to answer correctly by emailing me wins a prize. Sorry, significant others may participate, but cannot win. :(
Cringe X3
After our pedicures, we were famished. So, next stop: A sensible lunch. But where? We bickered over the best possible place to go, but finally settled on The Beehive Tea Room as delectable finger sandwiches, salads and quiche seemed like a perfect solution to the goal of a sensible lunch.
The atmosphere was cozy and intimate, affording us the opportunity to bond. We immersed ourselves in discussions of matters both personal and public, from games to women, from finger sandwiches to visits to the urologist. Ahem...
Sensible indeed...
After giving our stomachs time to settle, and tiring from frivolous conversation, cookies were in order, followed by a bout of frenzied shopping. We made our way to RubySnap:
Note that we bought enough cookies for our significant others to partake in them.
Caroline and Maggie: If you didn't get any RubySnap cookies, you might want to have a talk with your men. Devon bought a LOT of them. The ride to the mall was long though...
We felt the Woman's Day cover was appropriate.
While the outlet mall was the desired destination for shopping, time was of the essence, so we settled on Fashion Place Mall. Have you seen this place lately? Uh...Mall Heaven.
This girl can shop -->
It's time for a drink.
This girl can shop -->
It's time for a drink.
And finally, to cap our day off, it was time for a drink. But, we didn't want the normal bloating feeling we get from beers. No way. Only cosmos would do at this point. So, to the Red Door...
BFFs LOL
BFFs LOL
Our day coming to a close, we reflected. We had laughed. We had confided. We had bickered, but never bitched.
Ultimately, we felt relaxed. We were at peace. Our friendships had reached a new level. We pondered whether our menstrual cycles would align.
And then, we toasted.
To our ladies. Thanks for showing us how to spend time well, and for inspiring us to do so. We owe you and we love you.
Being a diva is hard work.
I'm feeling crampy, so I think I'll take some Midol, drink some water and lay down for a bit.
Ultimately, we felt relaxed. We were at peace. Our friendships had reached a new level. We pondered whether our menstrual cycles would align.
And then, we toasted.
To our ladies. Thanks for showing us how to spend time well, and for inspiring us to do so. We owe you and we love you.
Being a diva is hard work.
I'm feeling crampy, so I think I'll take some Midol, drink some water and lay down for a bit.