I’m happy for you and not jealous at all: V-Day couples activities
So Valentine’s Day is here, and you get to spend it frolicking around with your other half and basking in mutual affection. That’s awesome. No, really. Everyone at the Thresher is so happy for you. Especially me, whose Valentine’s plans entail a very romantic Zoom call with my long-distance partner. Though I can’t participate myself, I’ve rounded up some activities for you lucky little monsters to do with your sweethearts. Go forth, enjoy, and remember to send your single friends an apology Venmo on the 15th.
Purple Glaze
Located in Rice Village, Purple Glaze allows you to paint and decorate premade ceramics, which will then be fired into functional and personal keepsakes. Make surprise gifts for each other (couple’s mugs, anyone?) or collaborate on a joint masterpiece. According to Purple Glaze’s website, pieces are ready for pickup in five days.
Murder By The Book
There’s nothing more romantic than supporting independent businesses. A great pick for the amateur sleuth or bibliophile, Murder By The Book is a specialty bookstore that’s been around since 1980. They boast a huge collection of crime and mystery novels and a super charming ambiance. You and your honey can pick out books for each other, then go home to cuddle and read. Also, they sell puzzles!
A Lego Valentine’s
This one’s for all the cuffed engineers, which is a miracle in itself. In the daytime, enjoy a stroll around the Houston Botanical Gardens to check out their new exhibit Nature Connects, which is running through Feb. 19. The exhibit features larger-than-life sculptures of plants and animals made entirely of Lego bricks, and tickets are only $8 with your Rice ID. Back home, work together to build a Lego bouquet or pair of roses for a nerdy and longer-lasting twist on the traditional gift of flowers.
Cidercade
A $10 entry ticket gets you unlimited plays on over 275 arcade games, including some real classics. There’s lots of opportunities to play co-op or head-to-head, so you can either test your teamwork or remind your boo who’s boss. You can grab food from on-site food trucks and hard cider (hence the name) from the bar. Heads up: Cidercade is 21+ starting at 7 p.m. on Valentine’s Day.
Movies with a Twist
A movie? For Valentine’s Day? Groundbreaking. But, hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If you’re looking to spice up your date night film-watching, head to Moonstruck Drive In for a retro vibe (and maybe hit a 50’s diner for V-Day dinner) or Rooftop Cinema Club for a spectacular view — just don’t forget a blanket. Both theaters are showing “The Notebook” on Feb. 14, and Rooftop Cinema Club is also doing “Love & Basketball.”
More from The Rice Thresher
A peek at the polls: political participation through the years
Waiting on election results isn’t new to Rice students. The 1916 presidential election saw students waiting for the Houston Chronicle’s news for three days; when the results were finally announced, Woodrow Wilson’s reelection drew incoherent shouting, rah-rahs and a congregation in the quad.
Renee Wrysinski crafts circuits for change
As a child, Renee Wrysinski fit the standards for a future engineer to a tee, even getting an early start on model design by building Legos. Fifteen years later, she would win first place in Circuit Showdown, a televised engineering design competition for college students hosted by distributor Mouser Electronics and media company eeDesignIt. Wrysinski, who studies electrical and computer engineering, secured $10,000 and equipment donations for herself and the university.
From Alabama to Bahia, Hordge-Freeman examines emotion
One night in Brazil, Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman was driving back from a late dinner with friends when a military police officer stopped her and ordered her out of her car. As he aimed a rifle at the side of her head, she said she remembers standing there, shaking, unable to hear anything but his voice — not even her friends shouting at her. This anecdote is one of many Hordge-Freeman shares in her first book “The Color of Love,” which examines how racial hierarchies are reproduced and challenged in Black Brazilian families.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.