Today marks the much-anticipated holiday of Valentine’s Day, or, depending on your relationship status, Singles Awareness Day (SAD). A typical Valentine’s Day date consists of dinner and a movie, but that can be done any other weekend night.
It’s time to break up the status quo, so on the night of Feb. 14, show your significant other you care deeply about them by doing something special.
For starters, you can ditch the couple’s dinner at Engrained. The on-campus restaurant in the Memorial Union has a “deal” going, with a dinner for two for $40. Now don’t get us wrong, we like Engrained and its mission of supporting local organic farmers, but it is Valentine’s Day. Go some place special, and if you’re looking for a deal, make sure it’s actually saving you money. A quick walk to Mill Avenue and the same $40 gets you a dinner at P.F. Chang’s or My Big Fat Greek Restaurant. If driving is an option, there’s any number of great restaurants in Tempe. Ethnic foods will say to your Valentine, “I’m interesting and cultured. Isn’t that attractive?”
If ethnic foods aren’t your cup of tea or you’re around the Downtown campus, head over to the First Amendment Forum over at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. There you can exercise your right to free speech and proclaim your love for your Valentine.
If you’re around the West campus, you could set up a nice picnic on Fletcher Lawn. Enjoy the pleasant weather expected to grace the Valley on Monday as we enter that wonderful period between the random cold and extreme Arizona heat.
Perhaps you live closer to the Polytechnic campus, or maybe a night of nostalgia is in order. Either way, we always enjoyed playing sidewalk chalk in empty parking lots when we were little. Let’s face it, the empty parking lots at ASU are mainly at the Polytechnic campus, so for our night of nostalgia, we choose you, Polytechnic campus.
If you are participating in SAD rather than Valentine’s Day, a trip to the Student Recreation Complex is always on the table. Perhaps there will be other single people there and you can chat it up while you lift weights and convince that girl on the treadmill that you are “ripped.” Just be careful not to get into a situation that might require a check-up at the ASU Health Clinic the next day. After all, you don’t want Valentine’s Day to live up to its initials.
These are just some ideas; make sure that you plan a lovely evening though. If you should actually go through with dinner and a movie, well, let’s say your Valentine may resent your sense of adventure with all of these exciting new activities on the table.
