I'm really not sure what the point of Valentine's Day is - other than making money for card-makers, florists etc. If you're in a relationshp, then quite possibly you're going to have some stress about finding the right gift for him/her, organising a romantic evening or whatever. But if you're happy in your relationship, surely you don't need some officially sanctioned day to treat your partner as someone special. And a Big Romantic Gesture works just as well on any other day of the year - or maybe better, as it would be that much more unexpected. And with Valentine's day, there's always the problem if what you do doesn't measure up to your partner's expectations...
Oh, and for those of us languishing in singledom, it's at best irritating - big read hearts in every shop window, and no chance of getting a table for dinner. At worst it can bring on soul-destroying bouts of depression - the displays everywhere reminding you that you don't have someone, or of past happiness. It comes as no surprise that this day has an elevated suicide rate. (FYI, I'm somewhere betwixt these two extremes).
Last year there was someone I wanted to send a card to - just something to say "You have a Secret Admirer", noting more (that's all that my shyness(?) would permit me). Surely finding such a card should not be a difficult task... First there were all the "to my wife/girlfriend/dog" ones - not really appropriate to the situation. Next there were "I'm so desperately in love with you" ones - which would be rather overstating my case (and probably rather creepy for the recipient). Then I did find one with a fairly tolerable poem on the front - except that the final line inside the card was something like "... I want to get into your pants". Ah. I didn't even bother looking in the one that started "Roses are red, Violets are pluckable..."
In fairness, last year wasn't too bad. There was the small bit of excitement from sending the card (even if it never lead anywhere). In the evening, I busied myself in the kitchen making m00se and lasagne (a silly amount of effort just for one person, but that was, of course, the point). At 8 o'clock, I sat down with my food and, by the all-time most fortuitous piece of TV scheduling, watched Once More, With Feeling! (a.k.a. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Musical) for the first time. And just like that, all was right with the world.
February 12 2003, 10:56:39 UTC 18 years ago
The best friend and his girlfriend are pretty much anti-Valentines Day people - they see something of a sad desperation in doing something Big And Fluffy for the day, like it's to make up for ignoring one's significant other for the rest of the year. So, they're coming round to my house, and hopefully ScoobyDooFanFriend!Paul will be too, and we'll get roaring drunk and watch Lexx DVDs and play Dubious!Scrabble and Abusive!GameOfLife.
I'll laugh at my mum if she gets a card, cause it'll be from her crazy stalker ex-boyfriend, who doesn't seem to understand the concept of "ex" after about four years of ex-dom...
February 13 2003, 02:59:07 UTC 18 years ago