I believe I would consider myself a romantic person. There was a span of time in my younger life when I was a voracious reader of sappy, sometimes erotic, romantic novels (“bean flickers“, a raunchy term Jian would often call them). I would throw myself headfirst into these saccharine-sweet predictable stories, & let myself become easily bedazzled by the male hero character. I could imagine myself in those stories, as the female lead character, often painting wildly vivid scenes in my mind as I was reading those books. (I still do read those types of books sometimes, but let’s keep that as a secret between me & you.) I also enjoyed watching romantic movies (ugh, I hate the term ‘chick flick’). During that time in my life, I even tried to write my own romance story. I got into reading & writing Fan Fiction, & once attempted to write my own story. It didn’t quite pan out the way I had liked, so I ultimately kept my writing hidden & locked away from the world.
Yes, I would say I’m into romance. However, I’m not crazy about all of the fluff that comes along with it…fluff such as: candle-lit decor, overflowing bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolates, stuffed animal bears, etc.. I don’t mind a quiet dinner for two, or a surprise getaway, but it doesn’t have to be flashy, showy, or smothered in hearts & flowers (a reference I borrowed from a famous book trilogy). I prefer the subtle approach. That’s mostly the reason why, even though I am all about romance, I don’t particularly enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s more than just the over-commercialization of the holiday. Romance should be displayed every day, not just for one wallet-cringing, budget-busting day.
This is where I try, unsuccessfully, to segue into the next part of this story…my trip with Jian to Lake Tahoe, CA. We didn’t even realize Valentine’s Day would fall on a weekend, let alone this upcoming weekend. We had been planning for months to take my All-Wheel-Drive Audi station wagon (which my friends have lovingly named it the Storm Trooper) up to the mountains & play in the snow. Seeing so many photos on the Internet of other Audi car owners taking their cars to snowy terrain had made Jian & I quite envious. So, we put our feet down, & made the firm decision to do the same with my car. Using his rewards points, Jian was able to score us a swanky room at the Ritz-Carltom hotel in Lake Tahoe, on the North Shore area. We were so excited that we booked a free night’s stay at such an extravagant hotel that we completely forgot about V-Day. It wasn’t until we looked at the dates we booked, when it finally dawned upon us. What a pleasant surprise.
This spur-of-the-moment trip to Lake Tahoe, & staying at the Ritz-Carlton is just about the most romantic thing we can think of doing within our limited budget. We are not planning on ordering room service & spending the quiet evening alone in our hotel room. We are planning on eating at the swanky French restaurant inside our hotel, & then going outside to play in the snow, freeze our butts off, & get our pants uncomfortably wet. We are not skiers or snowboarders, but we do enjoy playing around in the snow, & the one winter sport I enjoy is ice skating. I can’t do any spins, jumps, or axels; however, I can skate correctly, skate well, & skate backwards. (I’d like to credit my two years of childhood ice skating lessons for those achievements.)
We aren’t going to put emphasis on Valentine’s Day (we hardly ever do, anyway). However, we do understand that it will be Valentine’s Day weekend, & we will enjoy spending our time together in the snow. I just hope we don’t get snowed in. Cheers.
Today’s song of the day:
Rabbits & Foxes 
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