My Valentine's Day Date

Ok now, don't get all excited - it's not what you think.

Story #1:
So a few weeks ago, a friend of mine told me that her boyfriend had broken up with her. Now they hadn't been dating long, but I had seen them together and it really seemed as though they had hit it off. She felt that way too, and for a while so did he, and then all of the sudden, he got weird and broke it off with no warning and no reason. Needless to say, this was heartbreaking for her.

Story #2:
This past summer I reconnected with a friend from middle school. This friend and I used to carpool to dance class multiple times a week, so we were pretty close. She updated me on some of our dancer friends I had lost touch with, and a month later, I had a voicemail from another dancer friend from my past who had gotten my information from the first dancer friend. Dancer friend #2 ("DF#2") left a lovely and sweet voicemail and I never called him back. I meant to - I really did. But time went by, and then it felt weird to call because it had been so long, and so I didn't.

Fast forward to this past week when DF#1 let me know that DF#2 is in a dance company that would soon be coming to Boston. That gave me good reason to call him and so I did. We chatted for a while, and made plans to meet up for coffee while he was here. I explained that as much as I'd love to see his performance, $40 for a student ticket was too much for me. He said he'd try to get me a comp ticket.

Story #1+#2:
Then I got it in my head that it would be fun to invite my newly-single friend ("NSF") to this performance. I asked DF#2 if he might be able to get 2 tickets, and he said he'd look into it. He was unable to secure 2 tickets for Thursday, and instead got me a single ticket for Friday which solved the problem of me seeing him, but not the challenge of figuring out what to do with my NSF on Valentine's Day.

The answer? Finale Desserts. Any place where the desserts cost more than the appetizers is good in my book. The challenge is that because I called today to make reservations, the only reservations we could get were at 5pm. Not really a problem, though, since I am usually starving by 5pm on Thursdays after I babysit.

So we have this dinner/dessert plan and life is good, and then DF#2 calls me to tell me he can get us discounted tickets to his show for Thursday and asks if I still want them. Ummm... yes.

So my non-date Valentine's Day night will involve two single, straight girls going to a romantic dinner/dessert, then to a dance performance, and then taking DF#2 out for a drink. That's a much better way to spend the evening than alone doing homework.

*** Update: The night was great. Dinner was good, dessert was amazing, and the show was breathtaking. ***

Life is good.

They're back!!!

It is the time of year when my absolutely most favorite treat is available!

Go directly to Trader Joe's.

Buy some.

Your mouth will thank you.

Parade!!!

So I went down to RI yesterday for the 4th of July. I spent the day with my cousin, her husband, and their 3 boys. The men in the family decided to participate in the Green Hill Annual July 4th Parade, and my cousin and I set up chairs on the lawn and waited for the parade to come by.


My cousin told me that the parade was pretty small - just a boombox and banner at the front, followed by a few bikes, some walking people, and perhaps a wagon or two. Well, apparently the parade grew since they last saw it, because this year it was HUGE. I swear that we must have been the only spectators, because everyone else was in the parade. There were bikes, wagons, cars, trucks, golf carts, John Deere lawnmowers, walkers, and dogs. There were even a few people who threw candy into the "crowd." pretty awesome.

Also awesome are the decorations on the unicycles and bicycle that my cousin's family rode in the parade. They are seriously awesome (both the people and the decorations).

Holiday Spirit

Maybe it's that on the west coast, there's no snow, and so people just don't get into the holidays so much. Maybe the anticipation of long winters make east coasters do funny things. Either way, I have to say that I saw more holiday cheer being spread by cars in an hour this afternoon as I stood in the window of the tire store than I did in my entire four years in San Francisco. The two most notable I have shared below:

The first car actually drove into the parking lot and stopped, so I could get a good look at it.

Though this photo does make the idea of a Reindeer Car look kind of cute, imagine it on an old, beat up Chevy... Less cute, more rediculous, but I did appreciate the effort.

Entertaining though that was, it was the Car Menorah that got me to do a double-take. Yes, it is for real, and yes, the lights can be lit just as the real Menorah lights are lit - adding one each day until they are all aglow.


All in all, it was a good day. I got to take J & M to get ice cream (always a fun adventure), I got new tires, AND I got lots and lots of drive-by holiday cheer. Here's hoping my drive up to Maine on Friday will bring me many more such moments of entertainment.