Can you believe it? I’m still reeling from this. Yep, SBF and I spent our 1-year together over the valentine’s weekend. It’s quite incredible for me, traditionally being a commitment-phobic oriented person. I don’t like watching some movies b/c it means that I’ll be committed to it for 2 whole hrs. heh.

To be honest, it can even goes as far as getting something small like a granola bar. I’ll have to look at all the options, read the ingredients (ensuring they don’t conflict w/my diet – if so, it’s an easy scratch from the options), look at price, flavour and my mood, and then make my choice. What if I get a bad one? Is the better one the cranberry spice or the sesame/flax seed? Just imagine me getting big ticket items, like my digital camera. Comparing all the options, it took me about 6 months to get it... then it was getting it for the right price! Sad sad sad. Luckily this obsession with OC* doesn’t transfer onto relationships, or else I’d be in REAL trouble!

Anyway, back to the weekend. Being the hopelessly romantic guy that I am, we spent the weekend together and took the day off on Feb 14. Actually my future roommate was visiting for the weekend, so SBF and I didn’t start our Valentine’s until Saturday. I had shipped SBF a homemade card with 3 types of chocolate to arrive at his work Friday. The significance of the chocolate was from last year when I first came over to his house w/Guylian Belgian chocolates, so I thought what better than to get him some more + some variety options. We had a $20 limit, so the 3 types of chocolate + priority shipping hit my limit right there! Luckily my card was made at home or else I would have gone over.

Saturday
Saturday was our cooking / video rental day. I think we spent the entire day around food: shopping for food, preparing food, baking food, frying food, cleaning dishes ahh! In the morning we went grocery shopping at 2 different places, one of which being Whole Foods. Even though this yuppie place had a lot of food that I could eat, I found it a bit too “shi shi” and pretentious for me. May be it was the sickly high prices or being around middle aged women with ghastly over-permed chemically treated hairdos, because the main thing I was truly excited about when leaving was the fact that I got a paper bag w/my groceries! We finished up at a Loblaws Superstore to get the rest of the ‘regular’ foods, before going back home.

It was here where SBF gave me part I of his gift to me – a 10 minute back massage at Backrub! I’ve never gotten a professional back massage before, so I am really excited about going. I’ve been giving amateur back massages for so long, and I wonder what the experts will do!!

Anyway, we used an alternative foods cook book and baked some oatmeal shortbread cookies that didn’t use flour or butter. Needless today, it was dry as sand and left it’s trail through my digestive tract. Boy oh boy, they were intense! To rub it in, we watched the world baking competition on the Food Network. Heh.

We also made our own vegetable soup/broth, putting fresh veggies and chicken bones into a soup and simmering it while we watched “Ray” and “Love Actually”. I have been digressing way too much already, but I want to say that “Ray” was about 1 hour too long – you know you’re in trouble when you’re only in 1952 and the 2+ hr soup broth is ready!). I really wanted to watch “Shakespeare In Love” too, but I left it at home by accident. I have to say that “Love Actually” was a really fun movie, in a Bridget Jones minus the pain of watching her blunders kind of way.

Finally, we were going to make Phad Thai, of which we decided to make for the following afternoon due to exhaustion!

Sunday
The following day we spent at a hotel. We rented a hotel room for the night, checking in at 4 PM to a signature suite at the Delta Chelsea Inn. SBF had a CAA membership for a discount there, which made it closer in our price range (but still a pretty penny :P ). The best part about this package is that all the members on the floor get access to a slick executive lounge, where cold and hot hor d’oeuvres were served from 5:30 – 9 PM! (or around then). They even had my favourite vanilla macadamia nut cookies that you’d get a Subway. Course, I couldn’t eat them, but still impressed they were offered.

After our appetizers, we headed to “Le Petit Liban” for an intimate and cozy dinner by their fireplace. This restaurant is in a converted house, so there’s lots of space but separated into small rooms, giving you a very intimate setting. I have a friend who works there that recommended it to me. The food was fantastic (see pic) and the service was excellent. It was just above the gay village, and with us were both queer and straight couples. I could feel more comfortable sitting there and holding SBF’s hand without feeling awkward or apprehensive of my surroundings (besides my general aversion to PDA…but c’mon it’s Valentine’s AND our 1 year AT a romantic restaurant people! Thow me a bone ‘ere! :P)

After our wicked dinner we headed back to the hotel and slept on a massive King Sized bed. The best part of the bed was that it had 8 pillows on it! 6 of them were down pillows, of which SBF is allergic to, which meant that I got ‘em all. My goodness, there was too much to snuggle/squeeze it was an overload on my senses!

It was here where SBF cracked out Part II of his gift. It was a mini wooden back massager! It was very handy and penetrating on the back muscles. I’ve been talking about getting something like it, and I guess he caught on!

Monday
Our day off from work was our official 1-year anniversary. It was very relaxing, and on our way back home I got a sweet pair of pin stripe semi-casual pants (on sale too!). I’ve always wanted a pin stripe pant, but one that wasn’t too formal where I couldn’t pair it with a cotton zipper top and striped sneakers.

Wow, what a weekend. If you made it this far w/o puking, congratulations! I’d say this entry is more for me to remember the weekend than anything. I know most couples don’t go as far as this, and I’d say they’re sane and aren’t as crazy as SBF and I...but I have to say, that’s probably a main reason why I work so well with him. What other guy would be keen on doing something like this with me?! :P

Take care,

RE

“…And I wonder this, could tomorrow be so wondrous as you there sleeping?” -d. matthews

*Opportunity Cost, NOT “The O.C.” TV show! Geeze people, basic economics here!