V-Day

No matter where I am, no matter what my immediate romantic situation may be, no Valentine's Day passes without an inventory of Valentine's Day's previous. Being a sentimental person, somewhat obsessed with the past, this recollection routine is impossible to avoid. On the contrary it provides some good laughs and smiles for those years when I wish I could sleep through all the mushy fuss.

There was that one year in high school that I spent a good half hour in the middle of the night trying to open a water-logged balcony door, to let in my then boyfriend who had so graciously climbed the side of the house with a bouquet of flowers and now stood freezing in the pouring rain, all the while, my dad knocking furiously on my door, suspicious that a boy was in the vicinity. I never did get the door open and if I recall correctly, he climbed down and went home, the flowers lying soaking in the February rain. One nearly full February 14th was spent on a computer, working at Justflowers.com, assuring people that there arrangements would get to their loved ones on time. A blatant lie considering that many of the orders were still hastily being placed with local florists by other singles looking to make some extra cash. I still feel guilty about this one. One of my favorites was when I was little, no more than seven, and we took a family trip to Toys-R-Us. My sister, brother and I each got $10 to spend on anything. At the time $10 felt like a fortune and I ran through the store as if being timed, furiously deciding what to buy. I got a heart lollipop from a boy named Herman who had the same birthday as me when I was in fourth grade (he later asked for it back because I refused to go to the movies with him, unfortunately I had already eaten it) and last year I spent one portion of the night sprinting home from the subway station, so as not to miss 24 (I remain a season 1 fan only).

This year will be another one to recollect considering that February 14th is celebrated a bit differently here. On Valentine's Day in Japan women give men chocolates, not the reverse. And since it is customary, I have been told, in office situations, etc. to give, tomorrow I will give chocolate to many older men I barely know and whom I barely speak with considering the language gap. Any return gift will come on March 14th, White Day, when men are to give women gifts, though these gifts are not limited to chocolates. Now that I think of it, I am a bit surprised that Hallmark has not done something of this nature to drag the holiday into two days. Either way, still it is nice to give, even to those you don't love...or necessarily friend for that matter. But, to all those who may read this that I actually do love and friend, happy Valentine's Day, I wish you a joyous day, full of chocolates from random, foreign co-workers and stories worth looking back on.