Promptapalooza: Out with the Mizithra

Today's Promptapalooza was sponsored by the letter E, also Everwake from Everwake's Internet Adventures. Today's specific prompt is "Everyone has specific rituals that they follow, tell us about one of yours"

I'm really loving reading Everwake's posts that have been happening for Promptapalooza. They've all been high quality, honest, and hilarious. Case in point:

My favorite ritual is staying up late on an autumnal night, collecting bits of salt, spice, and incense in a purpose-made basket, and walking a lush, green, forested path to an ancient monument that overlooks the neighboring valley. From there, I sacrifice a virgin and say a few words to satiate the RNG Gods so that we might have yet another bountiful raid for our tanks, who are squishier than a bag of bread.

Everwake goes on to make comparisons between Rituals and Routines and their influence on not only gaming, but life in general.  It's a great read, you best go check it out for yourself.

As for me, it's actually my birthday today, which kind of plays into this topic quite well.

For the past 20 years or so, every birthday we all go see an IMAX film and then go out to eat Italian.  It used to be that it wasn't just any Italian . . . it was always The Old Spaghetti Factory.

Unfortunately, ever since moving to Texas we've discovered that the closest Old Spaghetti Factory is in Kansas, so we had to make the ritual a bit more generic, and that sucks to be honest because that Mizithra cheese pasta at the Old Spaghetti Factory is the best ever comfort food for me.

That is a beautiful bowl of heaven right there...

We've tried other Italian restaurants here . . . everything from Bucci de Beppos to Macaroni Grill and back again. It's like I've been on a gondola ride of failure and nothing quite captures the ritual as well as ye' ol' Spaghetti Factory.

This year was even more generic thanks to the pandemic going on.  We watched a National Geographic Documentary on King Cobras in place of seeing an IMAX film and had Olive Garden to go.  It's fine though . . . better safe than sorry.

HA! I really hope this doesn't sound like I'm complaining. It was a perfectly fine birthday, and I even got Dreams for the PS4 from the family as a gift.  Oh man . . . it looks SO COOL! I can't wait to explore it's creativity.

I guess what I'm getting at more is "the ritual" since that's the topic at hand. Ever since moving here that essential piece of the ritual has been missing and every year that Italian dinner feels a bit disappointing in retrospect. I don't even know why this became such a "thing" for me to do on my birthday, but it is. It's not like I believe that I will have a magically perfect year once the ritual is complete or anything. It's just become my thing, which is weird.

Next year will be my 50th birthday.  Yes, I'm that old. Perhaps that year is the perfect year to start a new ritual, something entirely Austin, Texas and Gamer dad at the same time.  BBQ and Dungeons and Dragons?  Chi'lantro and Gloomhaven?

Those Kimchi Fries are pretty much the most amazing thing ever to be honest . . .

I've got a year to figure it out and really should have changed the ritual a long time ago.

Happy Dueling!