10/24/08

Date Night!

- Renee Gannon

It seems like all you hear about these days is election this and election that, which makes sense because there's a big election coming up. Fortunately for you and anyone that is sick of hearing all the election talk, this article is NOT going to be about the election. I needed to take a mini vacation from the election stuff, and although I recognize how important it is, a girl needs to talk about other things from time to time.

Anyway, I'm writing about date night. When you are in a long-term relationship, you know the kind where you live together and see each other all the time, you tend to lose sight of going on actual dates. It's easy to forget to set aside "special" time where you go out, sans friends, and spend some quality time together doing fun things. This is why Renee and I (my girlfriend and I share the same name) have set aside "date night" every Friday after work.


We started this tradition a couple of years ago and for the most part, it's been going strong ever since. Now, when I say "date night" this is not your typical dinner and a movie. Oh no. We kick it old school-style. For example, we might head down to the ridiculously-touristy-but-still-fun Santa Monica pier for some soft-serve, funnel cakes and skeeball. First, we'll watch the sunset from the pier, then we'll spend loads of money on carnival style games then we'll take all of our winning tickets and cash them in for as many awesome prizes as possible. We've walked away with such gems as the sticky hand, glittery bouncy balls, the whistle-that's-shaped-like-lips and of course, the old favorite; a chinese finger trap. Then of course, we'd finish the night off by fooling around in the back seat of my car like a couple of teenagers. FYI, I drive a 2-door Honda Civic. It's hot.

Another time, we went to a bar and pretended not to know each other. We sat and chatted with a few strangers and then proceeded to "pick each other up". You can only imagine how sexy it is to hit on your girlfriend in a bar, surrounded by a bunch of strangers who have no idea what's going on. It usually leads to a discretionary session in the bathroom followed by "Hey, you want to go back to my place?" Role playing in public is one of the hottest forms of foreplay.

Another time, we went bowling up the street from our apartment. First, though, we sat in the car and drank boxed wine until our heads felt light and fuzzy. Then we skipped inside the bowling alley, played two strings (because that's about all our attention spans could handle), with intermittent cocktails during "special time outs". Turns out, I'm a horrible bowler when sober but I get better with alcohol. Renee, on the other hand, is a horrible bowler when drunk. I believe we ended our two-string run with an even score (if we remembered to keep score in the first place). Then, in our alcohol-induced love haze, we spent about an hour on the stuffed animal claw machine trying to win each other a stuffed token of our affection.

The point I'm trying to make is that Friday nights are an excuse for us to make out like teenagers, pretend to be strangers who just met, or rent a cheap motel room and pretend we're having a clandestine 1950's affair pre-Stonewall. Any place we've had a Friday night date at, chances are we've fooled around there.

So... I'm currently working on date plan for tonight. My girlfriend is totally addicted to lobster and I managed to smuggle 4 lbs. of Maine lobster meat in my suitcase from my Boston trip (shhhh... don't tell her). I want to do something fun and crazy and sexy but I'm so burnt out from working and traveling that my brain is currently fried. Help a sista out!

Any ideas?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

You go girl! Makes me want to go to Lesbian karaoke on Thursdays...

ReneeG said...

Omg! I LOOOOVE lesbian karaoke (or any kind of karaoke). You should hear my rendition of "Sister Christian"

Heather said...

Awwww. That's fun. For you. Not so much fun for the lobsters. I wish I'da thought of that when I was in Boston this summer...I love lobster. Can I come over for date night?

ReneeG said...

You can come over if you promise to bring Apes although I can't guarantee you'll actually get any lobster. My girlfriend is quite possessive of her shellfish and I am pretty sure she'll try to aggressively stab you with a fork if you try to eat any. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Landlady of Fat said...

How frickin' adorable is that??

Shannon said...

Lobster ideas:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/538855

or

http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=lobster+meat

Sweet Melissa & I have a date planned for tomorrow night and I have been looking forward to it all week long. This article just made me want the time to pass all the more quickly so I can get to the date that much faster and enjoy my time alone with the woman that I love.

|Queer Rose said...

OK, some advice re the lobster / tired situation:
First of all, freeze the lobster. Then, make your place ready for a romantic night in, light some candles and have something on hand for a nice light supper. Maybe you could have it in mind to tell her some stuff over supper - like about how you feel about her. And I'll leave the rest of the evening up to you. No reason why a date has to mean going out is there? Enjoy QRx

ReneeG said...

Thanks for the advice Rose... I would do that in a heartbeat except for one problem: her friend is staying with us while she looks for a job in LA. Did I mention we live in a one-bedroom? It kind of takes the romantic out of staying in, if you know what I mean.

Anonymous said...

I left a comment an hour ago but it didn't show up so forgive me if I'm here twice. :)

I love that you take the time to make sure your relationship remains a priority, that's what it's all about. We take turns buying tickets to one event or another and then asking the other on a date. She planned one for Nov. 21st and it's a surprise. It's just exciting to have something to look forward to. Once a week is so romantic. Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Okay, you guys are officially awesome - I like that you make out everywhere and go on cheesy dates...it keeps things super-fun. You seem like a couple we could actually go out with.

On the other hand, regarding the lobster...I'd take it down to my local market where, for a fee, they will cook it for you...and pick up some side dishes while you are at it.

Maybe I'd take the lobster apart, and do a lobster fiesta! Lobster with eggs in the morning (it's actually super good), at lunch with salad, and at dinner with some drawn butter and get sloppy....

Have a blast!

ReneeG said...

Juls... the lobster is, in fact, already cooked. I cooked 4 large lobsters and shucked the shells before I left to come back to LA and stuffed them in a container surrounded by freezer packs to keep them cold while they were in my suitcase. I was thinking of just coating myself in melted butter and laying the pieces all over my naked body. Was that TMI?

On a separate note, next time you're in LA, hit me up and we'll double date!

m.m.sugar said...

Am jealous! My partner lives 4,000 miles away. I wish we could have a regular friday night THING!
However, she will be here for the whole month of November and for the first time ever we will be together for our anniversary-our fourth. So, every friday night in November-we will also be, well let's say-enjoying our time together. The two old ladies are gonna rock!

Anonymous said...

I would definitely say eating seafood around some sort of water. like a pond or lake, or something like that. idk where you are at, but its sort of chilly now, so make it a picnic with a blanket to share. and wine and lobster go great together.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love the idea of date nights… especially after being with my lovely lady for 2 years now.
After being laid off a few weeks ago and the economy being so sh!tty; I’ve decided to have a mellow date night tonight as well. We’re eating leftover Thai, heading to the promenade to grab coffee and skipping over to Barnes and Noble. Should be a fun evening and also a great way to enjoy each other’s company J

I hope you two have a fantastic date night tonight!

Sweet Melissa said...

I love date night. We always say we are going to do the "stranger in the bar" thing. We will do this some day even though I am certain that when we do someone will try to beat me to the punch. I tell her this but she laughs & doesn't believe me. But..she gets hit on EVERYWHERE. I dropped her off at Rite Aid the other night for what I swear was less than 8 minutes. I drove three blocks, picked up my daughter, & went straight back to Rite Aid. I pulled up, eight friggin' minutes later...once again people, 8 MINUTES. What do I find? She is outside waiting for me but who else was there? That's right folks, the totally lesbo cashier followed my grrl out of the store & proceeded to ask my baybee where she lived, etc. It's crazy I tell ya!

Back to date night.....love em!!!