This may be the first time I’ve had an entry in mind before a title for the entry. It’ll be interesting to see how, exactly, it pans out.

Overheard around dinner time:

Shane: “She broke a dating etiquette law.” (If I spelled that right, I’m impressed).

Brian: Some boring crap that nobody paid attention to.

Shane: Starts to say something else, who cares.

I decide to ask what ettiquette law his date had broken. I think I was just hoping for another excuse to mock him for having opened a can of soda he dropped and then being amazed it exploded and he lost three quarters of his drink (how an engineer can be surprised at this, I’m not sure).

“She ordered a meal that was $4 more than mine when I was paying,” Shane told me.

I couldn’t think of a response to this but Brian did.

“Why were you even paying for her in the first place?”

Shane had agreed to pay for the date in exchange for companionship, not a bad deal for him, you’ll agree, especially if you know Shane. Personally I don’t see the big problem in paying if the girl doesn’t mind — especially at the beginning of a relationship, as it aids in the swooning process — but Brian seems to think it’s a sin of some kind.

Personally, I don’t see how a guy on a first date can look at a girl and go “okay, so you owe $10.50.” Although strangely enough I can see Brian doing it.

Anyway, my main point is if this “etiqutte” law exists, I sincerely doubt it applies to theme resturaunts. Buying some crappy food at Olive Garden that costs a few dollars more than whatever else is not going to break the bank. I think this rule might more be aimed at lobster to burger imbalances. Not, uh, pasta to pasta with extra sauce or whatever Olive Garden serves.

It’s such a small thing it’s not worth getting worked up about. Heck, maybe next time you go to eat she’ll just get french toast and about a gallon of water and even things out.

Do normal people really pay attention to these things? It just seems so trivial. Fortunately for me chicken fingers tend to be reasonably priced no matter the restaurant.

What would happen if you offered to pay and just got a free bread basket? That would be awesome.