Finding One's True Love

"I don't understand why everyone makes such a big deal about Valentine's Day here" my friend Katharina from Germany told me earlier.

A lot of people wonder that as well. Mostly single people. I don't think the average person who is spending their day with someone they adore is pondering thoughts about whether or not Valentine's Day is over commercialized. Unless they're edgy, in which case they feign disinterest but are covertly planning beds of roses or something similarly romantic.

While I think Valentine's day is a day of putting undue pressure on single people and involved people alike, I understand the attraction. Visions of romance and extravagance are not something that is altogether detestable. In fact, it's a delightful thought.

Today though I am alone, and I'm okay with that. I'm embracing a whole new affair. For the longest time, I'd say the thing that has consistently made me the happiest has been food.

Food is something that always elicits a provocative response from me...either I completely ravage the food because of the tastiness (95% of the time) or I find myself working through it when it isn't so good (the remainder). I cook from time to time, and I greatly enjoy the experience. Yet I find myself surviving on scraps and not embracing the more complex meals that I love crafting.

Yet today, Valentine's Day, I've decided to embrace my passion. Aided by an influx of cookbooks and viewing 2009's Julie & Julia (a sneaky awesome movie), tonight I will be beginning my love affair with two recipes from Jaden Hair's The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook - Baked Garlic Chilli Wings as an appetizer leading up to shrimp pad thai, all from scratch.

Photos to come from the experience. We'll see how I do. Hopefully this is the beginning of a more robust cooking life. My stomach is looking forward to it, and the warm embrace of a tasty meal on Valentine's Day.

Therein lies the rub

Me?!

9:21 PM. The precipice of Valentine's Day, with just a night's sleep keeping me away from the holiday for hearts. What am I doing? Wrapping up my complicated and romantic plans for my significant other? Finishing up the details on an amorous getaway for the weekend for myself and my love?

God no.

I'm writing a blog with an image of a train at the header.

Of course, it was not the point of this blog to announce what I'm doing. That would be a dumb blog fair readers, and I am not here to make you read a dumb blog (Most of the time). No, what I'm here to say is my opinion on the holiday that has been called such wonderful things as "the holiday for lovers," "the Hallmark Holiday," and "the world's #1 girl holiday." I could sit here and lament how ridiculous it is, how it's simply a holiday to boost the struggling candy and greeting card markets, how it doesn't represent what it truly should (but what holiday really does, pray tell?), etc. etc.

But I won't.

What I'm going to say is the opposite, point in fact.

As I was discussing with a friend today, pretty much everything is paradoxical by nature. Valentine's Day is no different. The cruelty of the holiday is it heightens the loneliness of a single person (both versions of the word in fact) by having so many people around them that are happy and together. Those people have someone to share it with, and predictably love the holiday. Thus the single person gets bitter, and starts throwing out terms like "Hallmark holiday" and then they drown their misery in beer, liquor, or milk (chosen depending on age, situation, and personal preference of course - I choose milk every time, goes down smoother and goes with everything).

Therein lies the rub of Valetine's Day. It's like what darkness really is - the absence of something. In reality, you aren't mad at this holiday, you are just upset about the fact you don't have anyone to share it with. As a person who has only spent it with one person ever (go me!), I know as well as anyone, but at the same time there is no reason to sit around and mope about it. Instead of bad mouthing this day to others, leave them alone with their joy (odds are there is plenty of that) and treat it like any other day. In reality, that's all it is to you and me, its just a day.

That happens to be a Thursday. What does that mean? My favorite ladies (Is that a weird term? Do I care if that's a weird term?) Amy and Lacey are coming over, and we're going to make a bunch of ridiculously delicious Chinese food, watch the OC and Lost, and bask in each others presence.

I mean come on. Everyone else is out at some overrated restaurant dropping tons of cash, and we're watching Lost.

Suckers.

Happy Valentine's Day World.