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Students begin the search for the perfect Valentine’s Day gifts for their sweetheart
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The Battalion
Many are looking for the perfect gift for their spe
cial someone this Valentine’s Day. In order to make the
gift-shopping process easier, here are a few tips on how
to get that extra-special gift for your man and make this
Valentine’s Day a memorable one.
“As a general guideline, guys like just about any
thing you give them,” said Nick Manriquez, a senior
biology major.
Manriquez may have a point, but a few things
should be avoided at all costs— absolutely no Kenny
G., Barry Manilow, or John Tesh albums.
Once a man was once severely beaten for admitting
to owning a Kenny G. album, and, yes, it was a Valen
tine’s Day gift.
Many guys would love to receive a new CD, so if
you are planning to purchase one, make sure it will not
get your boyfriend killed. Getting the right music can
be a challenge, but a little detective work can solve the
problem.
On one extreme of the gift spectrum, Paul Breaux,
a junior business major, recommended a year sub
scription to a men’s magazine.
“The great thing is that it’s cool and really cheap,
12 issues for 12 bucks,” Breaux said. Breaux should
not get his hopes up. His gift idea is a little like indef
initely sustained economic growth or world peace —
a nice wish, but not much more than that.
Breaux also mentioned that prepackaged
gift baskets at local supermarkets make fab
ulous gifts.
If your boyfriend is into physical fit
ness, there are a wide array of per
formance enhancing gifts for
is, bun: 0 f which can be found
nted afteft- at local health food stores.
;; Tfji Sometimes,
u xj names of the prod-
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part of pronounce. This is a
really makes a Valentine’s gift great.
’’What makes the gift memorable is the thought that
goes into selecting it,” said Ryan Petersen, a sopho
more civil engineering major. “Guys don’t want senti
mental stuff; they just want cool stuff.
“You know, more practical things, not like flowers
and chocolates. But the most important thing is that the
gift is not the typical gift you would buy for yourself.
It has to be something that shows they know what your
interests are.”
Petersen’s statement gets to the heart of what great
gifts are. A great gift is not about what it does but what
it says. For men, a great gift is one that lets them know
their significant other takes an interest in their tastes in
art, music, movies, food, and the like.
“You know, a great gift would be for my girlfriend
to take me out to dinner someplace,” Petersen said.
“That would be really cool for me. I love good food.”
More importantly, this is a great gift because it is
one that the couple can both enjoy.
With all this in mind, here is one last piece of advice:
The No. 1 rule in gift giving is — keep all receipts.
By Lauri Lea McDaniel
TBe Battalion
To give or not to give, that is the question. As Valen
tine’s Day draws closer, college-age guys across Amer
ica ask the question: What do I get my significant oth
er for Valentine’s Day?
“I don’t think guys are very creative, and most of
the time, when you are in a relationship, the guys get
the better presents because girls are more creative,”
said Kristi Gardner, a junior English major.
It seems Aggies are trying to find more creative ideas
for Valentine’s Day each year. Things like picnics in Re
search Park or romantic scavenger hunts are turning up
as trends this year.
“The most creative thing I have ever done was make
a Macromedia Flash Valentine’s Day card on the com
puter — basically, it is an animated cartoon — and
send it to my girlfriend via email,” said Eric Pede, a
freshman computer engineering major.
In years past, typical Valen
tine’s Day gifts consisted of
roses, chocolates and
mushy cards about
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However, one word
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price carefully. A small
bottle can cost as much
as a dinner for five at
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For more adventurous
lovers, many romantic and scintillating
gifts are available. For example, many books
are available for couples to read and get great
ideas for spicing up their relationship.
If you aim to create an erotic atmosphere, noth
ing works better than John Coltrane’s Ballads album,
some Barry White or the ever-popular king of “getting
it on,” Marvin Gaye.
While guys might enjoy these things, effort is what
KATIE EASTERLING/Thj; Battalion
love and romance. Today, however, students strive to
be different and search for new ideas.
“Last year, I took my girlfriend to Del Frisco’s
Steakhouse in downtown Fort Worth and, waiting for
us when we got there was a barbershop quartet to sing
‘Just the Way You Are’ by Billy Joel to her,” said An
drew Synder, a freshman international studies major.
Not all couples are able to be together on Valentine’s
Day, but a creative couple can keep the romance alive
by sending sweet cards, flowers and letters professing
their devotion.“I like my girlfriend, Abby, a lot,” said
Nick Foreman, a freshman general studies major. “She
goes to ‘that other Texas school,’ and for Valentine’s
day this year, I bought a bunch of little kids’ Valentines,
and on the back of each of them, I wrote something I
love about her. I am going to mail each of them sepa
rately so that when she opens her mailbox it will be
overflowing with letters.”
New couples can experience some awkwardness
unless Valentine’s Day activities are well-planned.
“This is my first Valentine’s Day to be with some
one, so we are still at a stage in our relationship where
we really don’t know each other’s likes and dislike$
very well,” said Heather Braman, a freshman zoology
major. “I am a simple woman. All I want is a set Of
those bears from Hallmark that have magnetic lips,
they are so adorable.”
However, in the case of new relationships,
the best way to avoid the awkwardness
would not necessarily be to give her a
(gift, but to do something memorable
together such as going on a picnic
Jto Research Park or a romantic bike
[ride around Lake Bryan.
‘One time, I gave my girlfriend
fots of little gifts by setting up a
scavenger hunt,” said John
"Williams, a sophomore political sci
ence major. “I kept leaving clues with the
? little gifts, and at the very last one was me,
'standing where we first kissed.”
Sometimes gifts are not the way to go.
jSimply seeing someone she cares about can
^make a girl’s Valentine’s Day special.
‘My dad was on a really long business trip,
and he was not due back until way after Valentine’s
Day,” said Roshmi Prajapati, a freshman business ma
jor. “Well, on Valentine’s night we got a call,
land my dad was at the airport. When we went
to go pick him up, he was waiting for us in a
jrestaurant in the airport, and the tab { le was set
jwith a candle-light dinner for me, my mom and
|my sister.”
In more serious relationships, some might
choose to get engaged on Valentine’s Day,
making it a memorable day.
“I would like to propose on
[Valentine’s day by putting her ring
[in the bottom of a bowl of conver-
'sation hearts that say ‘marry me’
on them,” said Eric Bean, a fresh
man biology major. “It would also be very cool if
somehow it could be televised.”
So guys, whether it is your first Valentine’s Day
with a special someone or one of many, just remember
that creative Valentine’s Day ideas can be found with
in the Bryan-College Station area. From a simple rose
to a romantic serenade, options are limited only by the
imagination.
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Aeros will perform in Rudder Auditorium tonight
By Kendra Kingsley
The Battalion
For Cosmin Bogdan, a member of the trav
eling Aeros team, spending eight to 10 hours
a day defying gravity is a way of life.
“Aeros is a lot of work,” said the Roman
ian-born Bogdan, who began dancing at age 7.
“I haven’t seen my family since last November
[because of the] three to four months we spent
choreographing the routines. It’s definitely
worth it, though, because we perform a
new kind of gymnastics most people
have not seen before.”
Aggies can be assured, however, tha
they will not be left in the dark when i
comes to one of the newest forms of expression
in the world of gymnastics. On Wednesday, Feb. 7, OPAS
is bringing Aeros to A&M. In the comfort of Rudder Au
ditorium, students can be the first in Texas to view one of
Europe’s most popular forms of contemporary choreog
raphy.
Combining gymnastics with high-powered aerobics,
Aeros was created by Antonio Gneechi to help Pantene,
an Italian company, market a new line of hair-care prod
ucts. This alternative form of dance soon gained global
recognition under the direction of three of the world’s top
choreographers — Moses Pendleton, Daniel Ezralow and
David Parsons. Pendleton, who is also a co-founder of
the internationally acclaimed Pilobolus Dance Theatre,
describes the routine as more than a field trip to Karyoli’s
gym (training site for the U.S. Olympic gymnastic team).
“An interesting kind of concept is to take those move
ments and with lighting and music, you make it look not
like a gymnastics display or an aerobics class, but
something that is just celebrating emotion and
creating — through light and sound — the il
lusion of flight,” he said.
Although the challenge of completing a se
ries of flips and vault routines may seem
like the most difficult part of the per
formance, the aftermath proves to be
the most strenuous elemenfof life
on the team. Matilda Hohensee, the
Aeros company manager, travels
with the athletes and sees first
hand the effects of such a de
manding schedule.
“The gymnasts all work very
hard, and they get very tired,”
she said. “Constantly perform
ing and traveling is very ex
hausting for the whole team. It’s
the biggest hardship they have
to face.”
Featuring 15 former
Olympic medal winners, in
cluding five world champions, the
gymnasts have encountered an extremely hectic sched
ule since Aeros’ conception in 1997. Italian television
program appear
ances, fashion
shows and sold-
out tours have made
Aeros a wildly pop
ular show in Europe
despite its rebellion
against conventional
dance. -
Unlike widely recognized forms of Olympic gym
nastics, Aeros combines a wide spectrum of energetic
movements that require muscular strength with graceful
litheness.
Ezralow, one of the team’s founders, describes the rev
olutionary performance as the crossroad between dance
and athleticism.
“[TJhey’re different worlds,” Ezralow said. “There is
this world, which is the world of the Romanian gymnas
tics team and this world [dance] which is a whole other
thing. [Aeros] is the marriage of these two worlds.”
In addition to presenting A&M with a creative genre
of expression, members of the Aeros team look forward
to revisiting the United States. Bogdan, touring the Unit
ed States for the second time, said he was excited about
performing.
“I love America, especially Beverly Hills,” said Bog
dan. “We enjoy performing here [in the United StatesO],
and think [the audience] will respond to the combination
of movements, aerobics and gymnastics. It’s going to be
a good show.”