Breaking the silence.
I can speak again! Well... not that I wasn't speaking before... but now the conditions have changed. I'm free. I don't have to watch what I, or others say, around my girlfriend. Why, you ask? Simple, I say. You see, last Friday I threw her a surprise birthday party.
She never saw it coming.
A good handful of our friends were there, ready and waiting for her to arrive. I ordered a Strawberry Shortcake for the occasion; her favorite. As a side, I also had Pecan Pie. Also, her favorite. The pie also had a double purpose. My sister was scheduled to show up (though unfortunately couldn't), and she's allergic to strawberries. Besides, variety is good. The main event for the festivities was Mario Kart DoubleDash. But not just any DoubleDash... 8 player DoubleDash! I linked up two Gamecubes, to two different televisions, and it was good times. It wasn't easy, there were a lot of technical difficulties... getting the second tv to recognize the GameCube, getting the correct cable to link both GameCubes (I thought I just needed an ethernet. Who knew I needed a cross-over cable instead?), and a missing access point to one of the wavebird controllers... it was more complicated than it should have been. But it all worked out in the end. Afterwards we went out to eat, and all in all I have to say it was a good night. Marta really enjoyed it, and that's what it was all about.
Let me tell you, preparing this behind Marta's back was no easy task! I never realized how often I would have to check what I'm saying before I let spill a small amount of sensitive surprise b-day information. It was bad. Horrible. I wanted, every second, to just grab her by the shoulders and blurt out, "I'm throwing a party for you on Friday!" Thank God I'm a pillar of iron will... well... unless there's a shiny object involved, but c'mon! Who can resist a shiny object?
She never saw it coming.
A good handful of our friends were there, ready and waiting for her to arrive. I ordered a Strawberry Shortcake for the occasion; her favorite. As a side, I also had Pecan Pie. Also, her favorite. The pie also had a double purpose. My sister was scheduled to show up (though unfortunately couldn't), and she's allergic to strawberries. Besides, variety is good. The main event for the festivities was Mario Kart DoubleDash. But not just any DoubleDash... 8 player DoubleDash! I linked up two Gamecubes, to two different televisions, and it was good times. It wasn't easy, there were a lot of technical difficulties... getting the second tv to recognize the GameCube, getting the correct cable to link both GameCubes (I thought I just needed an ethernet. Who knew I needed a cross-over cable instead?), and a missing access point to one of the wavebird controllers... it was more complicated than it should have been. But it all worked out in the end. Afterwards we went out to eat, and all in all I have to say it was a good night. Marta really enjoyed it, and that's what it was all about.
Let me tell you, preparing this behind Marta's back was no easy task! I never realized how often I would have to check what I'm saying before I let spill a small amount of sensitive surprise b-day information. It was bad. Horrible. I wanted, every second, to just grab her by the shoulders and blurt out, "I'm throwing a party for you on Friday!" Thank God I'm a pillar of iron will... well... unless there's a shiny object involved, but c'mon! Who can resist a shiny object?