v-Day
I wasn’t going to do a v-day post this year, but then I saw this on XKCD a few days ago and could resist…
V-0 2007
It’s no good thinking you’re going to get away with bringing home a box of Milk Tray from the local garage this Valentine’s Day. Here are some sites that will make you look like you’ve put some thought into your present.
(from cnet.co.uk)
It’s this kind of reporting that adds pressure to the increasingly “Christmas like” - Singles Awareness Day sorry, I mean “St Valentines Day”- the day where couples the world over celebrate not being single by showering each other in expensive, pointless and completely unnecessary gifts… while all the single people just try to ignore the total overloading of pink stuff which replaced all the plastic snowmen in the shops a few weeks ago, and will thankfully soon make way for acres of overpriced chocolate eggs…
Now, why do the media/shopkeepers of the UK (and no doubt it’s the same in other countries where this pointless “holiday” is celebrated) force you to show your feelings for that special someone in your life on one particular date, and as a result use the rules of economic supply and demand to charge far more for the same stuff - especially if it’s limited like tables in small restaurants…
If you’re lucky enough to be in a relationship, you should be expressing those feelings on any date in the calendar - why do you all think that February 14th is somehow more romantic than any other Wednesday? Please explain why you do what you do on that date - and please don’t just say “because society expects it”.
Edit: Post title changed due to comments made that maybe it was a bit too dramatic…
Musical Musings (V-Day/S.A.D. Post)
Well, looking at the site logs, it’s clear that people are already searching for things to do for Singles Awareness Day (also known as Valentines day to those people who are not so “romantically challenged”)
In past years, I’ve covered a fair bit about the history of Valentines, some gift suggestions from major on-line retailers, including music players, mobile phones, blank DVDs and the like…
Last year of course was the suggestion of “things to do if you’re single on V-Day”
This year, I’m not going to reiterate things I’ve covered before (for those, see the category archive) - I’m just going to mention a few quotes from songs - which I think sum up my situation…
Everybody needs somebody to love (from The Blues Brothers)
Lonely, I am so Lonely, I have nobody, to call my own (Akon)
Hmmm… seems to be a fairly short list of songs written to express the misery of being single… in contrast to the vast number written about being in a relationship - but I’m not going to forgot this from 2005…
Sometimes it seems that everybody has somebody to love, except for me… oh well, here’s to another quiet 14th Feb…
Less than a month to go…
Yes, it’s that time of year, having gotten through the 5 month shiny-things festival that Christmas has become, it’s time for the stores to coat the “seasonal goods” aisle with pink stuff and start pushing this years “must have” romantic gifts… (or at least the stuff people weren’t gullable enough to buy last year when I highlighted some of the other wonderful gift suggestions from some of the internets geeky retailers)
However, keeping an eye out for a new level of tackiness in such things is always entertaining, so if you’re looking for the perfect gift for the techie in your life - you could probably do worse (and better) than the recycled keyboard keys fridge magnets from Firebox.com - yes you could spend your hard on money on the keys off someone’s knackered keyboard so you can spell short messages of love on the surface of your fridge…
Oh dear…
The Last Valentines Post
This should be the last post on the subject of valentines… (at least, for this year)
Last night, after going to see a movie, I decided to do a late-night grocery shop - and bizarrely, Tesco was full of couples! Why?? Do people think “it’s Valentines day, so I’ll take my girlfriend grocery shopping”.
At least by the time I’d gotten there they’d already stripped all the pink hearts off the shelves and replaced them with a display of cheap CD’s - I was expecting them to go straight to the calorie-laden chocolate-fest known as “Easter”… so it’s a pleasant surprise that they’ve found something else to do first.
How romantic. I think I was the only “single” in there!
To finish, a few roundups of other valentine posts:
7 Films not to watch with your Valentine
Who needs a man when you have credit
Star Wars Valentines
Happy SAD.
As the “V Minus” countdown reaches it’s inevitable conclusion for 2006 the most depressing day of the year will be upon us again. So I say it’s time for use singles to be utterly selfish and not wallow in self-pity, but do something for no reason other than “to enjoy it”.
Today, take every opportunity to remind your “attached” friends of the ball-and-chain that every 14th February presents, being forced by society (and the greetings cards/chocolate/fresh cut flowers industry) to buy extravagent gifts for “that special someone” - and to be made to feel bad if you’re not extravagent enough.
To those of you in relationships, maybe your partner is happy with nothing more than a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates from the supermarket as an expression of your feelings, but for many others it seems that if you’re not pushing your credit card to it’s limit, you don’t really care at all. “What you only got me a bunch of cheap flowers - where’s my pink iPod with my name engraved on the back?”
The stores pushing this mountain of pink are so much to blame, as I’ve highlighted over the last couple of weeks, the ideas for Valentine gifts this year include expensive hi-tech items, like cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players and the like - Valentines has moved on from the days of a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates. Now you’re expected to spend big money, like you would for Christmas (which you’re no doubt still paying for, it only being February) or a Birthday.
So, today is the day for all us “singles” to be thankful that we don’t have to be drawn into this over-commercial celebration of death (see last years post for the bloody history of St Valentine) - and instead can spend the day being totally self-indulgent and doing what we want to do.
Poor people, shackled in a relationship on Singles Awareness Day - how can that be right?
Of course, this post is being written with toungue firmly in cheek - seriously, If you’re happy in a relationship, good for you.
Now, firstly, I actually wrote this post a couple of weeks ago - triggered by the onset of St. Dwynwen’s Day this year - so here is my prediction for the number of V-Day cards I’m gonna get this year.
Zero - same as the last 5 SAD’s. I’ll add a comment to show if I was right…
So here I am celebrating my 6th successive SAD without a hint of any kind of relationship - and yes, I’m bitter about it. >:(
The thing about today that makes me really sick, is that the media and greetings card companies make such a big thing about it - I mean the cards have been in the shops since, well Christmas really… if you’re going to be all “lovey dovey” - please don’t do it around me. Get a room.
Now, to all those single people out there, join me in this day of self indulgence - use the freedom that not having a relationship gives you - go get a really good (defined as lots of guns and explosions - it’s just a shame “Doom” hasn’t been released on DVD yet - maybe one for next year…) all-action shoot-em-up movie on DVD (preferably something with no romantic sub-plot at all), turn down the lights, turn up the sub-woofer and enjoy.
Even better, if you have some other single friends, go out and do something as a group - whether it’s seeing a movie, getting drunk, being bitter about past relationships - or even all three - go for it.
Useful links (note, many of these sites contain adult language, and as such are not suitable for minors, and some are definitely not safe for work!)
SAD Sites:
=>http://www.miccah.com/xiaoxin/lie.htm
=>http://www.wgn.net/~elson/me/columns/
=>http://www.fuckvday.com/ (Refresh the front page a few times before venturing into this site - warning, this is definitely NSFW but the “art gallery” is worth checking out!)
=>http://www.westworld.com/~elson/me/columns/evol.html
Suggested Films:
=>Die Hard / Die Hard 2 / Die Hard With A Vengeance [1990]
=>Rambo Trilogy (Three Disc Box Set)
=>Sin City [2005]
V minus 1
Thanks to Ollie for this tale and an important reminder to us all about booking restaurants.
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