My third date birthday

There's nothing more awkward than celebrating someone's birthday on your third date... except maybe celebrating it on your first date. I think I would re-schedule if it was on a first date...

There are so many variables to take into consideration:

• do I buy a present?
• what about the card... funny or sappy?
• should I make reservations at a fancy restaurant or keep it low-key like originally planned?
• does there need to be an event scheduled afterwards, like a carriage tour through downtown?

The first step was to find a present. I stopped by Things Remembered to see if anything caught my eye... but nearly every piece in that store had some sort of heart or rose tacked onto the side. Plus, you have to pick out an inscription, which always takes me forever when I order something from the Apple Store, and I only had 20 minutes to shop...

Why only 20 minutes? I was informed about the birthday a mere 24 hours before the date... and I'm a procrastinator.

I ended up buying a nice glass candle stand from Pottery Barn instead, with some miniature pumpkin candles to match. I thought it was simple, yet thoughtful. At least that's what my co-worker told me. The next step was to find a card!

I walked over to the Hallmark Store and asked the clerk where the birthday card section was... she pointed me in the right direction and said, "who is it for?" I responded with, "my third date." She laughed. I chose a Dr. Seuss card.

With present and card in hand, I set out to find an appropriate restaurant to celebrate this third date birthday via OpenTable. I found a 1,000 point reservation at a restaurant called Dogwood (score!!) and quickly reserved a table. Dogwood is a southern-style restaurant famous for its Grits Bar. I told the wait staff it was my girlfriend's birthday, because I really didn't want anyone to laugh at me if I instead told them it was a third date. That's not weird or anything, is it?

Anyhoo, she looked fabulous and dinner was outstanding. She loved the gift and laughed at the card. So after a very stressful afternoon, everything turned out to be drama-free, which was a pleasant surprise.

Moral of the Story: Ladies... seriously, in the future... can you just pretend you have plans with your friends on your actual birthday? You'll be doing single men around the world a huge favor, plus it's always better to appear popular! At least that's what High School taught me...