there are many definitions of "romance." everyone has their own idea of what "romance" is and how it can be executed.

naturally, when a man decides to propose to the woman he loves, he generally wants to make a grand romantic gesture. it is thus the man's prerogative to decide the degree of romance and the degree of the gesture. a skywriter? the ring in an eclair? red rose petals sprinkled everywhere? in front of an entire restaurant? all alone in a candlelit room? there are almost endless ways to sweep a woman off her feet with a proposal.

having a dj propose to her for you in a karaoke bar while she is completely wasted off of her free 21st birthday shot(s) is usually not included in the definition of "romantic." i might be mistaken... she may have thought it was incredibly romantic. she may have also thought it was romantic when he turned to his fraternity brothers, requested high fives all around, and yelled "I'M GETTING FUCKEN MARRIED!" who am i to judge? i'm a mere cocktail waitress trying to reach around you to grab that empty shot glass before you knock it off the table in your drunken excitement because you found "bed of roses" in the karaoke book.

by the way, if you sing "earl had to die" twice in one night, it doesn't matter what the pretty brunette cocktail waitress tells you -- it's not appropriate. oh, and if you decide to sing it a third time and the dj WALKS OUT, i would think that would tell you something. and don't bribe your friend with shots of alcohol she's never heard of to sing "strawberry wine" a second time. chances are that the aforementioned cocktail waitress and the snarky bartender are rolling their eyes and preparing insults for when they exchange banter next. i'm just saying, heads up.

speaking of which, i popped my karaoke cherry tonight with "paradise by the dashboard light" with dj sammy because the place was so dead. it was godawful. if i could get those eight minutes and twenty nine seconds back, believe me, i would.