Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Valentine's Day 2017

Heart shaped everything, bouquets of flowers, public displays of affection, salty, cynical singles, these are the sights of Valentine’s Day. Whether you call it that, Galentine’s Day or Single Awareness Day, today is the day for endearment.

I used to compare my experience with Valentine’s Day to that of a Jewish kid during Christmastime. Everyone was looking forward to celebrate something I took no part in. Because I didn’t celebrate, I couldn’t understand the culture. The songs made no sense to me, I couldn’t fully enjoy the rom-coms, I was pretty much looking in from the other side of the fence. I’m happy to say that this year, I’ll be on the inside. Oh, I’m gonna flex this year. I have to; this is the first Valentine’s Day that actually means something to me.

I never had any ill, cynical thoughts about Valentine’s Day (although Sunshine will tell you otherwise.) The Hopeless Romantic in me always loved the concept of a day dedicated to love. It’s a nice sight, the giant teddy bears (which I’ve grown to despise due to a bad experience), the flowers, the chocolates, it’s all beautiful. A good friend of mine once told me that when he hears Valentine’s Day, the first thing he thinks about is spending money. I’ll be a little more optimistic than that.
My favorite non-romantic Valentine’s Day memory is getting nachos at Moe’s with my friend because it was nacho Friday. $5.30 for a Billy Barou, clutch. That was a Springs thing. That Moe’s was located in the Coral Square mall and it was the only Moe’s in the city that had that special. It’s gone now, it got replaced by a spaghetti joint. The sting of being home on Friday and not anticipating five dollar nachos stings more than a heartbreak, I’m pretty sure.

It’s crazy because at this time last year I was very unsure if anything was going to happen between me and my current girlfriend. We were still in the “talking stage” and haven’t went on our first date yet. I remember asking her how her Valentine’s Day was to spark up conversation, but I was really making sure she didn’t have any Valentine’s whose names weren’t Deion A. Sainvil. This year it’s safe to say, we’ll both have a better Valentine’s Day this year. That is, if I don’t do anything stupid…