Will you be my valentine?

Would you believe that Chris and I are going on a date tonight?

By certain people's definition of a "date," we've only ever gone out a handful of times. The first time we dressed up and "went out" to a restaurant was after we'd been "dating" for a whole year. (We went to a pasta restaurant where they turned our leftovers into a tin foil swan.) I'm more of a homebody, and Chris hates spending lots of money on those kinds of extras (especially when he was living on student loans). It was nice finding someone else who was also happy quietly spending time together.

I think the most "dates" that we went on was when we worked our way through the book Ten Great Dates Before You Say "I Do". We went to a steakhouse on our first "date" for the book. We laughed at how we were both reading through a book and filling out quizzes in a dimly-lit room full of awkward first-daters and power-broking men in polo shirts.

These days, we're more likely to budget any restaurant money for going out with friends occasionally. Our plan for Valentine's Day was to cook something special-ish and maybe rent an old movie. But then some certain punk friends of ours sent us a gift card for a restaurant. Enough for both of us to go out for dinner. And it arrived yesterday. And then it turned out that Kelsey's was still taking reservations for supper time today.

And so, we're going out tonight? On Valentine's Day? And then Chris suggested that we dress up? And maybe we'll rent some kind of black-and-white screwball comedy from the 1940s? It's pretty out of the ordinary for us, and I'm liable to totally be a big curmudgeon there and be complainy about the slow service and all the people everywhere, but it just might be fun because it's different from the usual. (Also: it's probably for the best if I leave the house. Says the woman who is still in her pyjamas.)

In other news: We booked my comps exams! They'll happen right after Easter. The end is in sight! (At least for this stage. Bring on the dissertation, because at least it will be different!)