Romantic or Plain Waste?

Last Valentines I read on the newspaper of a man who rented a whole billboard along the LDP to propose to his beloved right on Valentine's Day. It costed him RM40k!!! along with a diamond ring that costed RM4k. If I'm the girlfriend, definitely I'll be literally swept of my feet... I'll bet most women are envious of such grand gesture & what a way to propose! However, the practical side of me (that happens with Geminis... split personality - so bear with me... haha) thinks that it is such a waste of a good RM40k. Even if money is not a problem for me, or I come from a family with a gazillion RM, it's still a waste... to me... I mentioned this to my husband; whom from my introduction in my previous blog, is the last person on earth to be a romantic; readily agreed that it was rather OTT (Over The Top). I was not surprised by this reply, in fact I rather expected that he would have said that. However his next remarks was quite interesting & made me ponder. If he had that much of money to burn, he would much rather use it to buy a RM40k local car, tie it with a large ribbon & with a proposal message. Irregardless if the woman says "yes" or "no", that car is hers. Blow it on a billboard & all you have are memories, some photo and RM40k lighter. Secondly, if he wants everyone to see proclamation of love, wouldn't a whole 2 pages spread in a local newspaper / even pay for the front page would have a greater effect? Everyone that reads the newspaper / even glance at the newspaper at the newsstand would know of it. The whole nation, North, South, East, West & East Malaysia would also know about it. Talk about "indecent exposure"! Then I thought, why stop there? How about some airtime on the radio / TV? Am sure a few seconds on the airwave would cost around RM40k as well. Cool heh... Lastly, that man's money = the couple's future money together. Imagine blowing it on a billboard when that same amount can be used as a down-payment of a RM400k home! Asked to choose between a nice & cosy love nest vs. a temporary advertisement on a billboard, which would you pick? (and I'm asking the practical woman in you - not the irrational half) In our "zealousness" in condemning the RM40k wastage, I can't help feeling deep down a small voice saying... "...but I don't mind getting that kind of proposal..." "...but isn't it romantic... I'll remember that event for life..." "...but I do love being treated like a princess / queen... important enough to splurge on a billboard with my name plastered on it with proclamation of love" Then I turn to my husband and said, "despite what I said just now about the more practical uses of RM40k rather than wasting it on a billboard, being a woman, I still find it romantic & wouldn't mind if someone were to do this for me too..." If I'm worth it, what is RM40k! I wonder if women are a walking mass of contridiction... We love to be pampered, but if faced with such questions, can we still accept our irrational fantasies of romance? At the end of this discussion, I belief there is no right or wrong here. It is just differences in opinions / views. Some may find it romantic, to some (like my hubby) finds it a plain waste & me...??? If I have so much money that RM40k is like 40sen, why not indulge in a little fantasy? After all, we only live once... ;-)