What do Chelsey Canavan. Katie Gaillardetz,, and Jackie McCarrick all have in common? Good answer: Olympic level personalities, intelligence, beauty, slamming bodies, generosity, and no Y-chromosome. However, the best answer is the three lovely ladies just so happen to be the luckiest girls in the world—or at least at UNH.
Fairy tales do come true, and this one began last year with two dudes and one exceptional idea. On Feb. 9, 2009 Jon Fincke and myself thought it would be great if we took two girls who we had never met before on a Valentines date. I would love to discuss in depth the magical night that occurred, but will sum it up quickly so I can talk about this years V-Day date. Jon asked his date in the Dimond Library and I asked mine on the Gables Bus. The men paid for dinner, the men were handsome, the ladies were dashing, we had a blast, our night was filled with non-stop laughter, conversation, and stuffing our faces with some of the finest cuisine in Dover. We all had an incredible night.
This year Jon and I were able to pull one of our other roommates into the crazy world of random group dating. Our roommate Steve Wakelin was nervous and rightfully so. It is not natural for a guy to walk up to a girl that he has never met before and ask her on a date. She will instantly be wondering, “What are this creeper’s motives?” This year, with Valentine’s Day on a Sunday, we decided to go on our date on the Saturday night before. Once again, there was a five-day window to make the move.
Jon and I faced something that neither of us had experienced in the First Annual Random Valentines Day Date Extravaganza Bonanza: rejection. Jon was given a “maybe” that later became “I have a boyfriend of three years.” His next attempt, at Philbrook, was successful. Steve, not to be outdone, had beginner’s luck, getting a “yes” on his first try at Holloway Commons. My first attempt; I gave her a cupcake and she gave me a no. Second attempt was digging the date, but she couldn’t do Saturday night (we are having a date later this week). Third attempt… and boom goes the dynamite; Jackie McCarrick had no idea she said yes to what would be the greatest Valentine’s Date she’s had this decade.
Fast forward to 6:15 p.m. The men arrive at Woodsides J to pick up Chelsey Canavan, a junior communication major who runs on not only the track team, but also in hearts of every man she encounters. Chelsey had the pleasure of being Steve’s date. Jon then drove the four of us to go pick up his simply stunning A-plus, Katie Gaillardetz. She walked out of Serc A and was met by Jon and a handmade card. She became weak in the knees from Jon’s level 34 charm spell, so it was a good thing she did not have to stand when she was sitting shotgun in Jon’s silver Volvo station wagon (a.k.a. The Station Weapon, because it sounds badass).We had five juniors in the car when we went to get my date, who lives in Williamson. I got out of the car with card in hand and started screaming her name. She opened the door and as we exchanged hugs, I handed her the card. I had to explain the metaphors and symbolism behind my attempt at creativity. She reads at a junior level. I opened the door for her. She got in, putting Steve in a Chelsey and Jackie sandwich. I to had to fit in the backseat. I am not a burly man. Imagine the build of a female Norwegian figure skater mixed with Adam Brody. After the first attempt at closing the door resulted in a bruised right hip, I knew it was time for my date and I to get closer. I did eventually close the door, but never had my bum cheeks on the car seat. As a glass half full kind of guy, I tried to look at the fact that my thighs were getting super-duper strong and I had an excuse to get real close to Jackie.
Portsmouth has many nice restaurants, but due to my tardiness in getting a date we were not able to book any reservations anywhere from 6 to 8 p.m. We decided to wing it. However, after being told at the first couple of restaurants that our party of six would be looking at a 2-hour wait, we needed a Valentine’s day miracle.
My brother Sean went to UNH and now works and lives in downtown Portsmouth. Steve, Jon, and I needed some help and lucky for me my big bro is… well I will let you be the judge. He told us to come to his apartment so he could call some places. While in his apartment he made a couple of phone calls, but all delivering the same response: a long wait. He then asks if we tried Agave, a nice Mexican restaurant. We told him we had and they were booked from 6 to 8 p.m. It was 7:15 p.m. when he called Agave and because my brother knows people at the restaurant we were able to get in without a wait by the time we arrived. If him bailing us out and getting us a great place to eat was not enough, shortly after we sat down, he arrived. We didn’t know until the end of the meal, but our waitress told us that my brother had already paid for the six of us and left a very generous tip as well.
From the moment we sat down at the round table there was never a dull moment. It was constant conversation and laughter. We talked about family, school, sports, movies, television, crazy facts about each other and more. I was blown away by how great the date went. Going into the night the girls did not know that the other random guys and their dates were going to be there. All they knew was that their date had the courage to ask out a complete stranger.
What do Steve Wakelin, Jon Fincke, and myself all have in common? Good answer: Rock-hard bodies, great heads of hair, chivalry, modesty, excellent work ethics, and talent in a smorgasbord of areas. However, the best answer is we all were lucky enough to have had the best Valentine’s Day dates we ever could have imagined.
Three roommates plus three random girls equals one perfect Valentine's day
Published: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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