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Valentine’s Day date disasters: proof being alone can be better than poorly accompanied

Valentine’s Day is the universal day of love, marked with giant teddy bears and flowers parading around town.

However, the famous day also houses memories of disaster for some, whether the issues stem from a misunderstanding or the incorrect measure in footwear.

Kyler Genereaux, a sophomore in political science, ended a casual date night with a few regrets.

“I took a girl ice skating but wasn’t as good as I remembered,” Genereaux said. “I got skates a size too big so I ended up falling on my face three times before she finally suggested we go get some hot chocolate and pretend like that never happened. How I didn’t up with a bloody nose I will never know.”

Dillon Ellis, a freshman studying nursing, also felt the pain of a night going awry.

“One month before prom, my date canceled on me,” Ellis said. “Then I was in a scramble to find another date to avoid going stag. My friend knew of one girl that was without a date, so I asked her to the prom the same way I had asked my original date.”

Ellis said when the day of the dance came and they got together for the date, his new date was “grinding out insults on (his) ex,” which he found off-putting. He said the more time went on, the more reserved she became.

“When we picked her up for the actual dance, she was down to one-word sentences. Once we were at the dance, she disappeared,” he said.

Ellis said he spent around 20 minutes trying to find her, and when he did, she was with his ex-girlfriend and a few other girls.

“My friend’s date decided to go talk to her, and that quickly turned into a screaming match. I ran over and broke it up and took my date to the dance floor,” he said. “We danced for half of a slow song. She was back to being silent, so I asked if she was OK. She started bawling and screamed ‘Listen, I just can’t be with you right now. Give me a break,’ at which point I threw my hands in the air and said, ‘That’s not the point. I’m leaving,’ then just walked home.”

Aside from a quarrel between mismatched lovers, there have also been simple issues on dates, particularly on Valentine’s Day, when a waiter took a wrong turn.

English major and sophomore Taylor Jenkins witnessed firsthand an awkward Valentine’s Day dinner in this way.

“I was on a date with this guy, and we went to Olive Garden because I mean, hey, it’s Olive Garden,” Jenkins said. “We went through the whole dinner. Everything was going great, you know. We were going to go see a movie. It was all going to be a good date and then dessert came. He was checking his phone and my dessert was set in front of me and there was an engagement ring on it. This was our second date.”

After seeing the ring, Jenkins proceeded to excuse herself to the bathroom.

“I grabbed my stuff, and I booked it to the bathroom, and then I just went out the front door,” she said. “I never came back because I was like, dude, who proposes on the second date? I don’t even think he knew my last name. He called me the next day and said, ‘Hey, you know, I was worried about when you left last night, and I was wondering what went wrong,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh’ and he’s like,’Yeah, then I saw the ring on your plate, and I got it.’ And I was like ‘Yeah, sorry.’ He’s like ‘No, me too. That was supposed to be sent to another table.'”

Jenkins’ advice to having a smooth Feb. 14 is for guys to take it easy on the cheesy romanticism and for the ladies to not expect so much.

“It’s just a day,” she said.

sadiejherrera@aggiemail.usu.edu