Blogocentric Formulations

Not The Best Romantic Surprise

So fun fact about me... it seems that no matter how well I plan things out, something always goes wrong. Especially when it comes to romantic surprises for my wife. It's certainly not for lack of desire or effort; something just always seems to go wrong in one way or another. The latest was last night.

THE SETUP -- My wife had today (Wednesday) off work. Things have been tough for this first semester of her working full time in her own classroom (long hours, not a lot of time for intimacy between us, etc.), so I decided that I would take advantage of her free Tuesday night and Wednesday by taking her to dinner and getting us a room for the night aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

THE PLAN -- She was going to get ready at home, and I would show up with flowers, take her to dinner at Sir Winston's (a 5-star restaurant on board the ship), then surprise her with the room, which I'd previously decorated with rose petals, candles, bubble bath, etc. There were chocolate covered strawberries, sparkling cider (neither of us drink much), etc. You get the idea.

THE REALITY -- When I showed up to pick her up, she was half-asleep from an exhausting day at school. Sir Winston's was out of several of their entrees, leaving only the more exotic items like veal, duck, lamb, rabbit, etc., which my wife refuses to eat. We decided to go to the more casual cafe on board instead. During our meal, the power went out twice, the food was horribly overcooked, and the waiter forgot about us for 20 minutes. We got to the room - a suite with a harbor view that also had wet carpet, no air circulation, and dirty sheets. She fell asleep almost immediately (around 10), only to be woken up every 15-20 minutes by drunken sailors and soldiers shouting and laughing and running in the hallway, who were having some kind of USO party/celebration. We ended up checking out at six in the morning and driving back to our apartment so we could get some sleep.

Thankfully, my wife is a very understanding woman and knows it's the thought that counts, but this kind of stuff always happens. Suave and flawless my plans are not; and things never go as well as they do in my stories! . Tonight we ended up going to a movie she wanted to see and eating at a restaurant she really likes, which was perfect. Maybe I should just stop with the elaborate, extravagant plans, eh? LOL

On a completely separate note, I have to question the choice of venue for a Navy party. A bunch of sailors are on shore leave for the first time in who knows how long ... and the USO thanks them by throwing them a party on board a ship?