Love is in the air and BOCA had fun celebrating Valentine’s Day with a “Secret Cupid” happy hour! Team members surprised their match with candy treats and cards and then hung out together with some cocktails. Speaking of love…a handful brave BOCAteers shared their best/worst Valentine’s memories. Read on for all of the juicy details!!!
Taylor Byers, Account Supervisor
Best date by far was a surprise gondola ride through Newport Harbor! It was the full Italian experience and my fiance even had the gondolier drop a “message in a bottle” (which I still have framed eight years later).
Maybe not the worst date, but the weirdest date moment – I was in college and a semi-pro hockey player asked me to dinner. He proceeded to take out his fake teeth before eating. I had no idea losing teeth was a common occurrence in the hockey world until then (that was our last date).
Kayla Castro, Account Coordinator
My best Valentine’s Day experience is making sweet treats for my friends and family. My favorite was making heart shaped sugar cookies! They didn’t come out the prettiest cookies, but at least they tasted yummy!
Wendy Brittain, HR Director
Best date: I didn’t date much in college and I had a group of similarly-single friends who celebrated Anti-Valentine’s Day each year by picking a decidedly NOT romantic activity, such as bowling. It was nice to be able to do something fun without all the pressure that often comes with planning a Valentine’s Day experience.
Most awkward date: Back when Match.com was new, I went on a few strange dates. I once met up for breakfast with a guy in Sausalito. We had really hit it off through messaging and on the phone and he seemed fun. However, he barely spoke a word to me during our meal, which was odd. Then he asked if I wanted to walk downtown and window shop, which was surprising since I was pretty sure he wasn’t interested in me. I was curious to see where this was going, so I said, “Sure!” Eventually, we got to this quirky gift shop that had a wall of irreverent and funny greeting cards and we were laughing it up until he started crying. Like, really crying! Apparently, his wife had just left him for another woman and one of the cards struck a nerve. I felt horribly for him for so many reasons. He walked me back to my car and that was the last I ever heard from him.
Lauren Brown, Content Specialist
Most awkward date: In college, my boyfriend (now husband) and I went out to dinner for Valentine’s Day. We went to a restaurant near campus and sat down at the table only to be greeted by a guy that I had recently broken up with — so that I could date the other guy I was out with! Needless to sa,y he was not the most attentive waiter and the meal was super awkward. However, we made sure to leave him a nice tip and it was all worth it because I’ve been with the ‘other guy’ for 16 years now!