Hunger Date Night Games 101

Recently my beloved wife and I were blessed that our eldest daughter was available to babysit the younger children.  So we took advantage of sneaking out for dinner and a movie.  There were a couple of things that made this particular date night great and there was one thing that made it less than thrilling.

Our date night took us to the local mall and we decided to grab a bite prior to the start of the movie.  We attempted to go to one of the “real” restaurants on the lower level and were told that there would be a 20 minute wait.  A 20 minute wait?  You’ve gotta be kidding me.  There were about 10 people waiting to be seated, at least 40 tables open and we were being told 20 minutes.  Yah, right.  So, we canceled our name on the waiting list and headed upstairs to the food court…

Ah, the food court.  So many choices with so little time.  Well, we settled on a little Italian place that served pizza and calzones.  You know, I truly feel that there hasn’t been a really great calzone made in Utah County since Mama-K’s Pizza went belly up in the 90’s.  Somehow my judgment lapsed and I really thought to myself that this time it would be different.  So we ordered two calzones and two sides for $8.00 each.  With anticipation I watched as the person behind the counter took and shoved my breadstick side into the oven.  I watched as he created my wife’s side of spaghetti.  And I watched with horror as he took two of the three calzones that were on display under the heat lamps and shoved them into a microwave.  And thus all my hopes and dreams of a really good calzone were shattered into a million little pieces.  Flavia Weedn once said, “If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.”  Oh how I wish I could pick up a piece and begin again, but unfortunately the meal I ate will probably preclude me from trying again for at least another decade.

 As we were munching our fresh sides and gagging on our horrid calzones we had an unexpected, yet welcomed, surprise.  Two of our friends came walking past, Luhi and Fauneil.  (When my wife and I were married in the Manti Temple, Luhi was one of only two friends who attended our ceremony.)  They were on their way to watch Hunger Games at the exact same time we were.  Fortunately for them they chose Orange Julius for dinner instead of where we did.  Needless to say, we were very envious of their choice to just have drinks and greatly wished we had been that smart.  (You can’t tell what was the “less than thrilling” part of our date night, can you?)

So we get over to the theater with the hopes of finding a decent seat.  The theater is fairly empty except for our friends so we put Luhi and Fauneil on notice that we’re going to sit behind them just so we can kick the backs of their chairs.  After a short discussion we all decided that this wouldn’t be a good idea and that it would be much better if we just sat together and caught up on old times.  Before long it was time for the movie to start – or should I say it was time for the 27 minutes 30 seconds of trailers to start (yes, we timed it…).  I have one thing to say about the trailers: “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.” Really?!?  You’ve gotta be kidding me that this is the best Hollywood can come up with.

Hunger Games was everything that the book was.  The handful of added scenes forwarded the audiences understanding and was a good fit with the spirit of the books.  The books are written in first person as the events are happening to Katniss – a style of writing that is not conducive to movie adaptation (tell me the last time you watched a movie that required listening to the thoughts of the main character in a voice over to help you understand their world…).  All in all an excellent movie that will definitely be purchased when the movie comes to DVD.

So, what’s the moral of Hunger Date Night Games 101?  If you are looking for a quality calzone, avoid the food court – if you’re looking for a good evening, spend it with friends doing something fun.  You really can’t go wrong with good friends and good entertainment.