Bistros, Bros and bucket seats

Sometimes it’s great to have close friends.... and sometimes you’re wedged between two large men in a medium size SUV on an imaginary sixth seat.

I found myself in this situation at the beginning of June as Wyndi and I met a group of friends for a video game convention called “Dream Hack” and good food in Dallas.

(It’s not as nerdy as it sounds; it’s nerdier.)

The convention gathers a bunch of video game developers, technology companies, vendors and people who play games competitively together for tournaments and many interactive displays.

Wyndi was surprised to find that she enjoyed watching people playing videogames competitively because you could actually see the skill required in hand-eye coordination. This was particularly evident as we watched professional gamers play “Rocket League” right after I had played it on a free play machine and did far, far worse. (“Why didn’t you look like that when you were playing?”)

After spending time on the convention floor, we went to the immersive Van Gogh exhibit, which projects animation and music inspired by the works of Vincent Van Gogh all around the guest on blank walls in three different spaces.

The exhibit is often confused with the interactive Van Gogh exhibit, which unfortunately disappoints many wanting a handson experience.

We found the exhibit worthwhile after we figured out the difference, with many segments actually kind of breathtaking for Van Gogh fans.

We capped off the day with a meal at Boulevardier, a French bistro.

My friend, Danny, is a master at planning trips by picking out restaurants and chose that one because I wanted French food.

He was suitably perturbed when I chose a burger for my entree.

‘We pick this place for you and you order a burger.’

I gave him a bit of the prime beef, homemade bread and gruyere, bacon burger and he trailed off his complaint.

To avoid the frustration of driving in downtown Dallas, we took several Ubers, which had to be bigger to accommodate six people, including three plus-size dynamos such as myself and my friends.

After stepping out of the restaurant, we found a Nissan Pathfinder waiting for us, which technically has three rows of seats but the back row was narrower than the previous vehicle.

When it looked like we couldn’t fit for the short ride back to the convention hall, I hopped in the second row, which consisted of two bucket seats. This meant that my left thigh was on the edge of one seat and my right... upper thigh was resting on the other seat.

As my friends got in on either side of me, I had one simple request for the driver: ‘don’t hit any speed bumps, please.’

The driver, my girlfriend, and my friends and their wives treated my splayed leg car ride with all the respect it deserved—they took photos to share on Facebook and laughed the entire way back to the convention hall as I made some (apparently) pretty funny faces.

Since I’m telling the story in print, it obviously didn’t bother me too much and it made a memory to cap off a day full of them with close friends.

As I get older, I find that days and memories like these get more and more precious. Treasure them, even if you’re dangling between seats as you speed down a steep hill.

Paul Gaudette is the managing editor of the Dublin Citizen. He can be reached at publisher@ dublincitizen.com