An Evening with Bilbo, Dave, Buster, and Izzy

Yesterday, we went to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  Now, I didn't see the first one and I only went to this one because it was Izzy's birthday celebration.  So really, you can't go by my impression of it.  It was gorgeous though, I will say that.

Then we went to Dave and Buster's.  First time I had ever been there.  It was loud and crazy and I didn't play a lot of games.  I did help Marv win a stuffed thingie out of the worlds largest claw game to give to Izzy.  The claw then refused to drop the present.  So we had to call a guy over.  And then, one it did drop it, it didn't want to open the door.  So the guy had to mess with it some more.  I did play a few games but I gave all my tickets to Izzy.  She wanted to redeem them for a particular prize and she had to get 7,500 tickets to get it.  With the tickets she won and then the tickets that the rest of us gave her, she did manage to get enough.  So it was like an extra birthday present.  

But both the restaurant and the theater were at the mall.  So we spent a really long time trying to find a parking place because, you know, the mall at Christmas time is nuts.  We ended up having to park really far away.  Which would have been fine except it decided to be winter.  I'm talking like 12 degrees and about six inches of accumulation at that point.  We were icicles by the time we got back to the car.  

We were supposed to go back to Izzy's house for more partying but the roads were shitty.  I think the city forgot it owned plows.  Which is crazy nuts because there's usually plows going by all the freaking time.  I have no idea where they all were.  So instead of going to her house we came home.  It was just too crappy.  Which sucks but seems to be a pattern were Izzy's birthday is concerned.  

Once I got home, I curled up with an electric blanket (that works off of the USB ports) and a cup of tea and it was very cozy.  Exactly what was needed on a cold wintry night.

And hey, if you haven't heard, Eric Arvin, a fantastic and amazing writer of gay fiction is in the hospital and in pretty bad shape.  He's going to be there for a while.  A fundraiser has been set up to help defray the medical costs, as well as the incidentals like hotel room, necessities, and food for his family and his fiance, TJ Klune (another amazing writer).  If you have a couple of bucks to spare, you can donate here.  If you don't, that's okay too.  But please keep Eric, TJ, and their families in your thoughts and prayers.