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Cheap Dates: New paperback lives up to its name
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Book offers helpful date ideas--cheap
By Shari Kaplan
Who says that dates have to be expensive to be impressive? Probably the same person who claims there's nothing new under the sun.
Author Steve Smith enjoys debunking both theories--to the relief of men and women everywhere--with his new book, Cheap Dates: Fun, Creative and Romantic Dates That Won't Break Your Budget.
Although he lives slightly south of Los Gatos, the Scotts Valley resident wrote most of the manuscript--now a 208-page paperback from Prima Publishing--in the cafe at Borders Books in Old Town, quietly ensconced with a laptop computer and a multitude of notes.
As co-owner of Cornerstone Fitness, a corporate fitness management company with many Silicon Valley clients, Smith found himself driving through and attracted to Los Gatos several times each week, and still does. While working on the book, which came out a few months ago, Smith used the town as an impromptu home base.
"Instead of going over Highway 17 during rush hour, I would pull over in Los Gatos and make myself at home in Borders. You can't help but feel inspired, as a writer, in a bookstore!" he says.
Steve Smith: Creative dates on a budget
The book's original inspiration came much earlier for Smith, now 39. During the years he pursued a bachelor's degree in commercial/industrial fitness management at Oregon State University, he recalls having little time for, or experience with, the social scene. He spent most of his time either in the classroom, the library or the baseball field--the latter because he also played ball for a time with the Cleveland Indians' minor league organization.
"It wasn't until I attended a discussion on dating relationships at a campus life fellowship meeting that I learned the importance of the 'friends first' approach to dating--an important step often left out of today's relationships," he adds.
During his baseball travels, Smith had quite a bit of free time between games. He used it to do more research on the finer points of dating. "I talked to people in malls and coffee shops to find out about their favorite dating ideas and experiences," he says. "I was taken aback by how many people struggled to come up with even one unusual or creative date."
That's not a struggle readers of Smith's book will have. A glance at the table of contents alone can give hope to the most creatively challenged dater. The chapters are loaded with ideas, including Smith's favorites: the Sidewalk Cafe Date (a "bistro for two" on the sidewalk in front of one's own home), the Dazzling Dessert Date (a post-dinner scavenger hunt that leads to a delicious dessert) and the Your Lucky Day Date (secretly paying ahead at each destination so it appears to one's date that the couple keeps "winning" free meals or admissions).
Almost all ideas are reasonable in cost, which Smith says is helpful to students and anyone affected by the current economic downturn. There is, however, a chapter titled "Splurge Dates" for times when moderation goes out the window.
"No matter what stage of life you're in: a teen beginning to date, a single adult in pursuit of meaningful relationships or married and committed to the 'long haul'--you're never too young or too old for creative dating," he says.
And what kind of social life does Smith himself enjoy? An active one, but not without a goal: "I'm dating with the idea of finding the right person and continuing to date as a married couple," he reveals.
"Cheap Dates: Fun, Creative and Romantic Dates That Won't Break Your Budget" is available at Borders Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
