I WUV YOU

[leedy]

Damn, I really want this to be a poll, and was just about to upgrade my account PURELY TO GET THIS FUNCTIONALITY RIGHT NOW (I laugh in the face of delayed gratification) when I realized that I'd left my credit card at home. Which is normally a good thing, as it stops me spending gratuitous money that I don't have, but...

Anyhow. Here's the thing. It is St. Valentine's Day on Monday. Now, usually myself and the boy go out for dinner on this Speshul Day Of Wuv (*heave*), but it's never been a Huge Big Deal, and this year we'd pretty much decided to go out some other day when the restaurants were less crowded/overpriced. Many of my friends are of similar mind. However, at band rehearsal last night, we were discussing how much more work we had to do for Thursday's gig, and were checking when the rehearsal room was free. Sunday and Monday. Grand. Somebody remembers that Monday is Valentine's Day. Suddenly, blanched faces everywhere, cries of "Oh God, the mot will kill me", etc. It transpires that many of my bandmates have partners that they believe will be Very Very Upset if there is not a special effort made on St. Valentine's Day, and that going to an essential band practice will not be regarded as a good excuse. I, on the other hand, was all, "Oh yeah, grand, sure I think we're going out on Friday instead".

So, am I and my likeminded friends just cynical jaded old things who wouldn't know romance if it came up and bit them? Is it a big deal for any of you, or do you think it's just an excuse to sell cards? Should I be atoning for my St. Valentine's Day absence from the home by filling the house with pink candles and huge "I LOVE YOU, BRIAN" banners? Etc.

Comments

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

On Monday evening, I am giving a talk to the university's People and Planet group about sex and international policy. I am, as noted elsewhere, as romantic as a carrot; I think this is the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day. I suspect my lovely, lovely girlfriend will buy me flowers in the eternal hope that I will become as soppy as her.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

as romantic as a carrot

Hee!

[socmot.livejournal.com]

It's not a big deal for me...I don't need a corporation telling that I have to give cards and flowers on That Particular Day. As well as that, it makes economic sense to do your own thing, as opposed to going along with insanely inflated prices that last for 24 hours...

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

SO not a big deal. I'll be in London for work on Monday night, and so majea will be my Valentine. Mark and I are actually going away this weekend, and I realise that this could be interpreted as some sort of Valentine celebration, but really, we just fancied going away and this was the first weekend we were both free.

V-Day is a load of bollocks, really. I hated the pressure when I was single, and can't see the point of it now I'm in a relationship.

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about this, and I realise I may well be imposing my own prejudices on your situation, but are these bandmates men, by any chance? Because I have noted a distressing tendency among some men to portray girlfriends/wives/partners as Grand Withholders of Permission and Enemies of Fun. It's the attitude of 'oooh, I can't do that, the missus'd kill me' or 'not sure whether the wife'll allow me to do that' and good LORD it annoys me. Mark has been known to do this on occasion in my hearing and of course it forces me to punch him repeatedly in the head - I am your girlfriend, not your keeper, you are a grown man, and while I do expect a modicum of respect, i.e. letting me know if you're going to be out on an evening I think we might have plans, I am NOT some terrifying ogre who is out to prevent you from having a good time without me! GAAAAAH!

[leedy.livejournal.com]

are these bandmates men, by any chance?

Indeed they are, and yes, I do sense that, in addition to some genuine concern, there may be a bit of that "ooh, look at me, I'm all hen-pecked" thing going on. It annoys me too, I must say.

[pinguin.livejournal.com]

Yes! I know so many blokes who do that.

Then there are the other lot: we've been going out for 6 months, we see each other every weekend, telling me if you have something else on this Saturday night is a common courtesy, not the first step to wearing an apron when you do the washing up and referring to each other as "mother" and "father".

[mylescorcoran]

For us, Monday will be spent recovering from the train journey up to Dublin with our newly two-year-old daughter. Romance? Low key, I imagine, but heartfelt and certainly not at the behest of the Hallmark Corporation. I'm thinking I'll take Sam out to a nice Indian restaurant in Ranelagh later in the week if she's game.

I will, however, be making and presenting a home-made Valentine's Day card. 'Cos I always do. I think I even managed one two years ago when Rowan was 1 day old. It involved some scribbling on the back of an envelope for a "Congratulations You've Passed a Watermelon" card, but it was a proper Valentine's Day card nonetheless. Now that's romance!

[sammywol.livejournal.com]

I love the hand-drawn card tradition. Knocks spots of the Hall mark romance efforts! Love you sweetheart!

Dinner out in Cinamon Grass would be entirely acceptable too of course, though NOT on Valentine's as I have no desire to feel like I am in a school dinners' serving line again as they try to shovel as many punters through as they can. This may be a terrible slur on the customer service of this particular resaurant but is my over-riding feeling about the folly of trying to eat out on the 14th.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

Egad, there are people being CUTE and ROMANTIC in MY LJ!

(*aw, bless*)

That's one of the reasons I don't feel any great urge to go out to dinner on the 14th - that feeling that you're being herded through the restaurant as quickly as possible, the sooner to make room for the next victims of their Special Romantic Menu (the same as the usual menu, only printed in pink).

[jeejeen.livejournal.com]

While I definitely feel that it's just an excuse to sell cards, I must say that I love cinnamon hearts and heart-shaped jujubes. I'm contributing to teh 0ppress0r by buying v-day things, I know, but there it is.

I don't see any reason why you can't fill the house with pink candles and banners every day of the year. Don't wait for valentine's day!

That being said, we rarely do anything at all for Valentine's day. Sometimes I buy new underwear. This year, not so much, and Mark will be working anyway.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

I don't see any reason why you can't fill the house with pink candles and banners every day of the year.

Well, there's the fact that B. would wonder who had taken his girlfriend away and replaced her with Barbara Cartland...

[pinguin.livejournal.com]

Oh god, I hate Valentine's day. It's not romance if you have to do it to avoid pissing off your partner. I think romantic is like happy: if you try to stage it, it doesn't work. It needs to just sneak up on you.

And I'd agree with Yiskah about the "oh the missus won't let me out" thing. I worked with a guy who pulled that one like a million times and then we met his missus, and she was like "you must invite me out on one of your nights out. Steve always comes home so early. I'll come along and keep him going."

Huh. I don't think the boy does that though. I don't think it would occur to him to make an excuse - this is the man who goes "what?" when you kick him under the table at a family dinner to get him to shut up.

[distortionghost.livejournal.com]

i haven't noticed it ever, current relationship or not. not because i'm some heartless fiend, i just think if you need a specific day to celebrate love, you've clearly got yr priorities wrong in life.

(last yr i went to a gig at the sugar club, randomly getting let in free because i happened to be carrying my guitar and was hardly going to argue, then ended up going to fetch wine but ending up roaring shakespeare with a busker acqaintance on grafton st before getting exceptionally drunk with a mate of mine back at her gaff and listening to mew all night. was perfection :D)

[distortionghost.livejournal.com]

ugh... messy messy reply.

too tired for keys and cursors :/