I knew when I agreed to go out on a date with Andy at the end of January that it was a risky move. You see, I was already aware that Valentine’s Day just right around the corner and that it would be awkward with a new relationship. But, just before Valentine’s Day, I realized that I really liked Andy and that we should celebrate this fine national holiday. I had come up with the greatest gift idea for him – the Air Blazers Lego set (builds helicopter and various kinds of planes). I knew Andy would like it because we had discussed how we both played with Legos as kids and about how he has been working on his pilot’s license.
Andy came over to my house the Friday night before Valentine’s Day. We both couldn’t wait to open our gifts until Saturday so we tore into them. I think he went first. Then Andy gave me a heart-shaped box of chocolates to open. I thought that was my only gift. But, he suggested I eat a certain chocolate. Thankfully, I looked at it before I plopped it into my mouth and I realized that a pair of emerald earrings was carefully placed in the carved-out bottom of the chocolate. You may not see me wear those earrings that often because I’m a matchy person and I only wear the emerald earrings with a green shirt. I suppose Andy will also have to buy me rubies, sapphires, etc. so I can fill the holes in my ears on days where I’m wearing red, blue…. Just kidding, sort of.
Here is what Andy had to say about Valentine’s Day on his blog:
I could have used a lot more sleep this weekend, but then there are only 24 hours in a day. Other than that, it was a great weekend. Saturday was the first Valentine’s Day since 1994 that I got to spend with a gorgeous woman (actually, I would say the first ever, the one in 1994 wasn’t gorgeous). We didn’t do much, but we had a great time doing it. We spent several hours baking brownies from scratch, along with making frosting for the brownies from scratch and homemade ice cream. While they all turned out great, it was a lot more work than I expected. But then, it was the activity we were after, not the finished product. We also went to Knuckleheads comedy club at the Mall of America with Vanilla Gorilla*, his wife and three of his friends. That was also a good time, but could have been much better. The comics weren’t all that talented, and I’d seen the headliner at least twice before. There was way too much in the way of F-Bombs and sex jokes. The mark of a talented comic is the ability to get laughs without delving into these two crutches. In the end, I can’t complain, as the show was free. Vanilla Gorilla won 20 free tickets to the show, so it didn’t cost any of us a thing. My date had never been to a comedy club before, so it was fun to take her. I look forward to taking her to Comedy Sportz sometime, to show her that comedy clubs can be a lot more fun. CS uses local improv comics and they keep the comedy clean, clean enough that I’d have no problem taking an 8-year-old to any of their shows.
My wonderful girlfriend got me a cool Lego set for Valentine’s Day. She remembered that on our first date I mentioned that as a kid I loved Legos. The set she gave me had more pieces than all the sets I had ever gotten before put together. It was fun to put it together. I built a helicopter. She helped get it started on Saturday, and I finished it tonight.
*Vanilla Gorilla is Andy’s best friend, Dale.
Posted: Thursday, July 8, 2004