It's Coming... (Insert Jaws Theme Here)

Wednesday is coming, and whether you call it Valentine's Day or Singles Awareness Day or Dia de Diablo, it's impossible to ignore the approach of this so-called "holiday". So I've decided to share a few thoughts on this upcoming, erm, event.

It has been said "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." And, I don't deny it, I don't NEED a man. I can open my own jars. I can kill the bugs in my apartment without screaming. I can fix my toilet, repair holes in the drywall, hang my own pictures, and fix most anything else around my home that needs to be taken care of. I can take my car to a mechanic and ask intelligent questions in hopes of avoiding being ripped off. I understand sports without explanation and I can burp loudly enough that I don't suffer withdrawal from lack of masculine presence. But it sure would be nice to have a guy around anyway.

I really hate jewelry commercials. They make women out to be shallow and pleased only by expensive gifts, while they imply that men have to purchase women's affections. Take, for instance, the slogan "Every kiss begins with Kay". As far as I'm concerned, that implies that women are prostituting themselves for jewelry. Based on what I know about the diamond industry and the incredible violence and exploitation it is guilty of, I don't ever want to be given a diamond!

I realize that a dozen red roses on Valentine's Day is supposed to be an incredibly romantic gift, but I'd rather have a bunch of daisies when I'm having a bad day than a bouquet of generic roses to fulfill a "requirement" on a prescribed "holiday". Besides, daisies are so much happier than roses, anyway.

Every year I give valentines to my friends wherever I'm living to show them how much I appreciate their day-to-day friendship and support. I don't place much stock in Valentine's Day for its romantic value, but it can be a great chance to tell my friends how much I love them. After all, romantic relationship come and go (more go than anything else) but your friends are always there to giggle with you over crushes, sympathize after the bad dates and fights, and help you drink to your exes when they're gone.

So enjoy Wednesday, no matter what title you give it, for whatever kind of love you want. I'll be singing Outkast's "Happy Valentine's Day" to myself.