[Quick, go to Wildfire! Get the chopped salad (minus the chicken and bacon)! It�s fabulous...]

One friend called about twenty minutes before the designated meet-up time at the restaurant bar, asking if we were already there. He was on his way to the same b-day party as the other friend and wanted to make a quick appearance to say his hellos and meet two of my favorite three guys.

Guess who�s off the shit list.

After a great dinner, the other favorite guy of mine (really, must I say it�s Benito?) picked us up and took us on a tour of a videogame company.

Dad and Boy will be talking about this for months. Not only did they get to see where the action goes on, see storyboards and layouts for upcoming games, wander the halls where super bad-asses work, and go to their break room where the cokes are 25 cents each and all of these old arcade games are set on free play where Boy beat Benito (a.k.a. The Game Aficionado) at a few games, but Boy also got to play two games that aren�t yet released.

I got in a little gaming action too, holding my own in an arena shoot-out and going old school with a good showing on Galaga and this driving game that advertised Tang and 7-11 on its billboards.

Holy crap, will they have a lot to brag about when they go back home! Dad works with a bunch of guys who play Half Life like crazy, and he�ll get to tell them about this upcoming game and the cool things my brother was able to do with it. Boy�s in high school, so he�ll get to brag about playing an ultra-violent football game (that�s rated M for Mature) so he and his chucklehead friends will have to find someone old enough to buy it for them when it�s released.

Anyway, it turned my somewhat sour mood into a something grin-worthy, seeing everyone have such a good time and to being with people I like so much. It made for a very nice night. �