The Feb 14th Edition

Dare I point out that Valentines Day is right around the corner?  I dare.

I guess, as a girl who has been single for a while now, Valentines Day should be a holiday where I feel a little bummed out about not having someone to shower me with flowers and little stuffed creatures. Honestly though, the reality is the complete opposite -- I look forward to my single-girl Valentines Days.

I've passed plenty of Feb 14ths in committed relationships, which leads me to believe that I must have celebrated the holiday at some point with someone who i cared somewhat about. But, as much I've wracked my brain, I cannot remember a single Valentines Day that involved dinner at a nice restaurant or a box of chocolates. In fact, I can't remember a V Day spent with a boyfriend.

What I do remember, however, are all the Valentine's Days I spent with my friends. I remember the year that a bunch of my girls and i went downtown and saw Ryan Montbleau play at the Knitting Factory. And the year that my roomies and  I all made up excuses to go in to work late, then cooked a huge V Day brunch with mimosas, chocolates, and LOTS of bacon.

 
In college, my roomie and I decided to participate in that feminist/Valentines Day/college tradition: The Vagina Monologues. It was a great experience, though I walked away firmer than ever in my belief that the stage was one place I was definitely NOT meant to be. Also, I realized that red was NOT my color:

Then there was the year that I decided to follow Assembly of Dust through four dates of their Northeast tour, which happened to fall over Valentines weekend. The guy I was dating at the time was pretty unhappy that I was leaving town, but, hey it's AOD! I spent Feb 14th in Northhampton, MA at the Pearl Street Music Hall. The band covered Van Morrison that night. And after the show, I remember driving for-ev-er looking for a hotel room, because every place I stopped at was booked with couples on romantic weekend getaways.

Last year, my girls and I decided to go to Costa Rica. Angela and I spent Valentines Day on a crisis-filled journey from Queens to Miami to Fort Lauderdale to San Jose. The two of us celebrated the holiday with a lunch (comped by the fantasically crappy Spirit Airlines) at a Chili's in the Miami airport. Our Valentines Day dinner was a granola bar in the San Jose hotel room at midnight. Still, it was one of the most joyful V Days I can remember, because we were so happy to have finally arrived in Costa Rica.

This year, I will once again be celebrating a single-girl Valentines Day. And, once again, I'm looking forward to it. If Ang can avoid another airline crisis, she'll be arriving from Michigan on the 14th. There may be a dance party. And not a pajama-gram or stuffed farm animal in sight.