So its February 14th, you know what that means: the day Travis gets all cynical and denounces all romantic intentions in the world. Well you will be (hopefully) pleasantly surprised that I am trying not to be the essence of bitterness this year. Some people have told that the "respectable" thing to do would be to take a girl out for dinner, if for nothing else, to make her day special. Maybe you agree, but I have some reservations about this.

To give you some background: I go to a small Christian college where many people will meet their future spouses, and the overwhelming thought is that you should be pursuing this ideal. This is a school in which if you are seen going out to dinner with or talking to a member of the opposite sex you are confronted by a recently formed committee informing you that you should date this person. They also will give you a list of suggested wedding chapels and names for firstborn children.

So why not just take a girl out as friends? I'll tell you why. Ambiguity. Thats why. This mentality of dating has infiltrated all of us, whether we admit it or not. So if you go out to dinner with just a friend and it goes well, it could create a certain interest that was not there before. Who knows where this will lead, If it went bad, then would come the awkward silence that would be utterly apparent in the friendship. And then would come your friends, half of whom would say, "you guys are the perfect couple, invite me to your wedding." And the other half would say, "I think you could do so much better. I mean shes nice but weren't you 'just friends'." So there is the ambiguity. So, lets take a look at my options for this evening.

a) I could take a close friend out to dinner. [downside] Again, I reitirate the awkward silence that would come from this if it went bad or if it went really good.

b) I could take a acquiantence out to dinner, not someone I know well, but more a friend of a friend. [downside] The couple making committee would be on me mere hours after the date, informing me that I either date her or I remove my belongings from my room and leave school.

c) I could sit in my room and listen to sad music all night and weep myself to sleep. [downside] First off, I don't want to be a the weird loser who locks himself in his room at the thought of girls. Secondly, the price for counseling is going up, I don't want to go broke.

d) I could go out with my single guy friends, eat fatty foods, watch guy movies and do other manly stuff. [downside]

So, there you have it. I think its obvious (D) what I am doing this evening. And you know what, if you are going out with someone special, good for you! I commend your braveness. I will be enjoying my valentines day, so I hope you do too.

P.S. February 19th is a very special day in the history of The Vis, an anniversery of sorts. A special thing happened on that date in 1999. if you can guess it I will give you a hug or something. Write your guesses in my guestbook and I will reveal it on the 19th.