date makeover: "dinner and a movie"

It's an American classic, like the hamburger or the Ford Mustang.  However, unlike the hamburger, it costs more than a few dollars, and unlike the Mustang, it's not a one-time purchase.

The Dinner and a Movie approach to dating is completely acceptable in some circumstances.  If it's what I like to call a "feeler" date (Do I like this guy, or am I just bored?), it's actually good because it's a familiar setting.  However, it's crucial that dinner (or coffee or random window-shopping) takes place, mostly because it's really hard to get to know someone by silently staring at a screen emitting particles of light for hours at a time.  

In the early stages of a relationship, it's alright to partake in this somewhat canned version of a date.  However, after a while, it starts to get expensive, even if you are splitting the tab.  (You don't have to "go Dutch" per se--what normally happens on our dates is one person pays for dinner, the other for the movie. That way no one person has to foot the bill for everything.)  Think about it: dinner for two at a semi-decent restaurant on a Friday night can be upwards of $25, and the prices of movie tickets skyrocket so frequently you'd think they're tied to the oil market somehow.

So, the JD and Olivia solution to this problem is as follows:

1) Eat at an inexpensive restaurant.  Example: El Agave is a Mexican restaurant in Montevallo. We've eaten there for a combined $8.64 without even trying to be cheap. And that was with JD eating steak tacos. 

2) Carmike 10 on Lorna Road in Hoover.  Learn it.  Love it.  

Colloquially known as simply "the dollar theater," this place is the Mecca of poor college students, families with large amounts of children, and just about everyone else who likes the idea of spending 87.5% less on movie tickets (a.k.a.--everybody).  Of course, it's not perfect.  The movies are anywhere from 3-6 months behind, the carpet is stained, the concessions stand still charges ungodly amounts for its popcorn and poorly carbonated beverages, and the bathrooms induce rapid prayer.  However, let us once again say: it is a dollar.  A DOLLAR.  You can pay for your tickets in change and it's not that big of a deal.

Advantages to seeing movies at the dollar theater:

1) It's a dollar.

2) If the movie turns out to be ridiculous and you decide to walk out, it only cost a dollar.

3) If you get done watching the first movie and kind of want to see another one, you can do it. It's only a dollar!!

This is just a cheaper way to accomplish a traditional date.  After we cover more of the basics, we're going to move on to more creative ideas for spending time with that special someone.

*side note*: if you end up trying out any of our ideas, we'd love to know. Leave your experience in a comment!

--Olivia