It's official! After an exhaustive review of the facts, and careful examination of the bylaws, the IDNAC* has definitively concluded that our evening last Sunday with Joe and Carla qualifies as a date night. In question was whether or not David and I could count two date nights in the same weekend (along with other ancillary aspects of the evening such as location, number of people involved, etc). We're very pleased with the ruling, and thankful to the committee for their thoughtful consideration of the matter (except for you, Simon). With that out of the way, on to our date night...
Joe and Carla are wonderful friends of ours who had a beautiful baby girl (Jazmin) this year on Cinco de Mayo. We used to go out with them fairly regularly - especially to see Marvel movies as soon after release as possible - but 2019 changed things for all of us. David and I have been consumed with work, and their lives have been fundamentally transformed with the addition of baby Jaz.
For much of the past year, we've been in a mode where Joe would text to see how we're doing, and we would respond that we're working too hard as usual and that we'd LOVE to get together sometime soon. We might exchange some ideas about getting to together "maybe after X" or "sometime for Y", but invariably it never happened. This year, we vowed to change that. No more vague plans... we'll JUST DO IT!
So, we made firm plans for dinner and a movie at their house on Sunday evening, and that's exactly what we did. We started the evening with take-out from The Claim Company Scott and David both had the Blackened Chicken & Fresh Berry Salad, while Joe and Carla had a turkey burger and a good ol' fashioned cheeseburger, respectively. We would highly recommend the salad, as it is a substantial meal with a refreshingly bold blend of spicy and sweet. The burgers are also great there, and both Carla and Joe thoroughly enjoyed theirs.
However, the highlight of dinner wasn't the meal, it was the quality time we were able to spend with Joe and Carla. It was really nice catching up with both of them, hearing all the great things that have happened in their lives since we last saw them, and the exciting things they have in store for 2020.
It was also an absolute treasure to get to know their adorable baby Jazmin. We hadn't seen her since she was about a month old, and at that time, she was so tiny we were afraid to hold her! Now, 7 months later, she's a real little person, with her own personality, who is happy, curious, friendly, and beyond cute! We thoroughly enjoyed holding her; having baby-talk conversations; letting her explore our watches, glasses, buttons, and faces; and making smiley faces at each other. It was so much fun! She's the very definition of "a bundle of joy!"
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, it was baby's bed-time and we gave her our hugs and kisses goodnight. That was just about the time we took the selfie to capture the moment! After Jaz settled down for her beauty rest, we moved on to phase 2 of date night... The Joker.
Talk about a stark contrast in mood! This is a deep, dark, and highly captivating film that depicts a mentally deranged man whose mission in life is to "bring laughter and joy to the world". Of course, he does nothing of the sort. Fueled by a cacophony of disturbing thoughts, and a lifetime of abuse and bullying that seems to follow him everywhere he goes, his sense of humor devolves into a twisted and terrifying mixture of anger, obsession, and violence. Joaquin Phoenix gives an amazing performance in this role, and it's no surprise at all that he won best actor in the Golden Globes (which happened to be that very evening).
We were all blown away by the movie, and would highly recommend it - as long as you're in the mood for a deep, dark, and disturbing experience. For DC comics fans, there is rich color in this film to add to the origin story of the Joker and Batman. We are by no means DC experts (except for maybe Joe), so we'll leave it to them for the debates about how well it fits into the various aspects of previous DC story-lines. Regardless, it's a great movie, and one that stands on its own merit.
That was our evening, and it made for a very enjoyable date night! Thanks to Joe, Carla and Jaz for hosting us, and thanks to the IDNAC for qualifying the evening!
Next date night... coming soon!
* The International Date Night Advisory Counsel is comprised of the following members who may or may not have actual awareness of their involvement:
All decisions of The Counsel are binding unless otherwise determined by the Date Night participants. Counsel member participation is not required for decisions to be rendered by The Counsel. No animals were harmed in the making of this or any other decision.
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