His Valentine's Day: The Proving Grounds
Your friends have been complaining about how they’ve been seeing you less and less. Your girlfriend has been hinting that you should move in together. Your friends and your girlfriend aren’t exactly chummy, and it’s a headache at almost every turn. Valentine’s Day is coming up like a bat out of hell, and you’ve got to plan something—that much is clear. You don’t want to settle for just anything though. How to approach this situation like a man?
Wait a second; you and her have been together long enough by now that it’s perfectly reasonable to test the dynamism of your relationship, and Valentine’s Day provides the perfect cover. Will she last the test of time? Is she seriously into you?
Read about a perfect Valentine's Day from the woman's perspective here.
Where to go
Unit 2-3, G/F, Po Lung Center, 11 Wang Chiu Rd., Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, 3106-0220, www.paintballhq.com.hk
What to do
Get together a minimum of eight people (the more the merrier—guys or girls) and make your reservation two weeks in advance. Be sure to call prior to your arrival, as opening hours are subject to change.
You’re going to compete in an adrenaline-fueled gunfight to the (make-believe) death. If your girlfriend doesn’t independently come to the immediate understanding that this is a perfect opportunity to not only bond with your friends, but also prove her adaptability, perhaps she’s not really daring or exciting enough to continue committing your time to.
First game should be straight up “elimination:” last team standing wins. The second game should be slightly more tactical, to test her in a different firefight setting. The classic “Capture the Flag” should provide you both with ample opportunity to give and receive orders, offering a good gauge of your fundamental communication skills as a couple. Let her decide on the final game. Put her in the stressful, character-defining position of leadership. With over 11 different game formats, this will give you another window into who she truly is.
What present to give her
Firstly, the opportunity to shoot any of your friends she doesn’t like, she should enjoy that. It’s only natural that they be allowed to defend themselves by firing back at her.
Secondly, the opportunity to shoot you for endeavoring to place her in such a position. She should take some small pleasures from this too. Until, of course, you return fire.
Finally, if your relationship survives the first round, you should happily commit to a meal. If you come out as winners I’d venture so far as to say you should offer a full body massage. After the thrilling rush of paintball, share champagne over a late lunch while relaxing on a beach somewhere. Sai Kung is the place I’d take her—for a dip in the ocean followed by some fresh seafood for dinner. Up to you, though.
The End Results
I expect that your girlfriend and your friends should be best mates by the end of six rounds of paintball. She’ll probably acquire a fiendish paintball hobby, and develop deadly accuracy, thereby ruining your enjoyment of the game forever. But I guarantee that if all goes according to plan, never winning another paintball game again will be well worth it.