Today is YC's and my 22nd wedding anniversary. She always says that she doesn't have as good a memory as I do and can't remember dates, milestones, or details of events. She likes it when I remind her and then she says she has some recollection and the memories come back. So my anniversary present to her this year is to remind her of our first date.
I actually don't remember the date of our first date - so much for me having a good memory. We hung out in a group of friends for a few months before we started dating. The date we celebrate for our dating anniversary is July 29, 1994 because that day she agreed to be my girlfriend. But we were out with friends and this occurred at the end of the night when I took her home. This was not an actual date but we considered it the beginning of our relationship.
Logically, our first date should have occurred the next day or shortly after. We went to watch a movie at the Eaton Centre - when they still had those small screens. The movie was Forrest Gump - of course it was her choice. I don't usually like movies like that but I was just happy to watch a movie with her. Tom Hanks won the Oscar for Best Actor and the movie won Best Picture.
After the movie we walked to Chinatown (Spadina) and had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. This was my choice because I wanted to show her this restaurant that I was raving about. I would go there for lunch as I was attending U of T at the time. I called it "The $3.50 Place" because for $3.50 you could get a plate of rice with meat and vegetables (good portion size), plus hot and sour soup and a spring roll! It was an amazing bargain and it tasted good too.
What the hell was I thinking?! Trying to impress a girl by bringing her to the cheapest restaurant I could find??? The $3.50 Place was great for university students on a tight budget but for a first date, it's probably the worst choice ever! But she acted like she didn't mind. We enjoyed each other's company and we had a fun dinner conversation. I remember laughing a lot and I remember talking about each other's families. Subconsciously, I think we wanted to learn about each other's families because that might be an important part of our lives in the future.
Later on YC did tell me that the restaurant was a stupid choice on my part. But she still stuck with me all these years after I took her to the cheapest place on Earth. And I knew she had to be the one after she agreed to go on a second date with me even after that poor restaurant choice. I smartened up and we went to dinner at the top of the CN Tower for our 3-monthiversary.
YC, my love, I hope you enjoy this memory. I will cherish it always. Happy Anniversary.
Big Oh
