I Heart The Winter, Actually

So we did. She made reservations to Positano's Italian Restaurant in Bethesda earlier in the week, so after relaxing Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, we dressed up and made the fifteen-minute drive to Bethesda (which turned into more like 20 minutes since the streets there are so confusing). Positano's turned out to be an exquisite meal, though a lengthy one since they were so busy that night. A Caesar salad, agniolotti, and veal? Don't mind if I do. This was real Italian food, and I confirmed my suspicions that I love it.

After Positano's, we had about 10 minutes to get a few blocks further downtown to the Round House Theater, where Gina had picked up tickets to the Christopher L. Mee play "Wintertime." As we were helped to our seats, an overstated French accent boomed over the loudspeakers, urging us to turn off "all zee silly, annoyeeng sings zat beep and make nawees." That, coupled with the fact that we were two among the six youngest people there, made us feel a bit out of place. I guess we should have also noticed the signs on the inside doors proclaiming that "this play contains partial nudity."

The butts didn't show up until the second act. Overall, the play was pretty fun and easy to follow. From my limited theater knowledge, I thought the players did a fine job. There were a couple of ubiquitous "stage" moments filled with symbolic door-slamming and cup-breaking, but the points Mee made about love, the way it can bring out feelings of jealousy and anger while still being love, and the desire the characters had for being first in someone's heart were pretty dead-on. I'd say one of the two most embarrassing points of the story--the ones that put Gina into fits of embarrassed and nervous laughter--was when the main French character, Francois (whose voice had admonished us to turn off our electronic devices before), started doing an over-the-top striptease for another character's gay lover. The second was after a faux memorial service in which all the characters finally agreed to be happy with each other, which spurred on some rending of garments and mooning of the audience to a spicy salsa beat. Yeah.

I enjoyed myself; it certainly wasn't a typical evening. Gina's already told me that next year, it'll be my turn to try to top it. At least I've got about a year to plan it.

I left Kensington Sunday morning and arrived in Blacksburg in time to participate in Wesley's Valentine Dinner, in which we finally discovered the secret identity of Otey's Valentine! A good time was had by all, and I was simply glad to have had such a great weekend. I was reminded of three things:

1. My girlfriend is super hot.
2. I'm a pretty lucky guy.
3. I'm not a fan of seeing old ladies' butts.

Cheers, ya'll!