Singles Awareness Day

i apologize...this post really has little to do with s. africa, except to say that most everyone here has a girlfriend or boyfriend (or several)...tracking devises (in the case of girlfriends), as a friend so rightly put it. so if there's one thing the US has over SA, its the fact that i had way more support for my state of bachelor-hood there than here. in any case, on to the topic...

remember back in the day when you used to start essays with "webster defines xyz as..." (ok, maybe u didn't but i was a not-so-good essay writer and constantly needed webster to define xyz for me and serve as my topic sentence)? well, its 2008 and webster has been replaced. so i say to you: wikipedia defines this day many people celebrate on feb 14 as "the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending cards, flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs. yea, its a christian holiday u pagans. anyway the whole thing is a scam to me. wikipedia actually has a nice history and blurb about it (good read). but what it boils down to is that this day is a hallmark and de beers holiday.

why can't i show my "love" any other day of the year? or buy flowers at other times of the year? why do you make me (or other guys) feel obligated to go all out and find the best restaurant, the best card, the best flower arrangements, the best diamonds, just to please the lady? the way i look at it, i (myself, me, just me) should be more than enough for any girl; no need for flowers and candy and jewelry (this may explain why i don't currently have a girlfriend, but thats beside the point...). i thought this was only a western thing before, but its pretty wide spread around here as well. I keep getting asked what am i doing for v-day? who's the lucky lady? and i tell them: "Get Thee Behind Me, Hallmark!".

this brings me to my next point: why can't we celebrate this day the way the japanese and koreans now do. according to wikipedia, this day "has emerged in Japan and Korea as a day on which women...give candy, chocolate or flowers" to their men. damn straight. how 'bout some recognition the other way, huh?? show a little appreciation. ok. fine. seriously, no need to give in to hallmark either way. i really have nothing against you lovers out there (or at least not too much), but sometimes this day and its preparations can get out of hand and its just simply unnecessary. in fact, its gotten so out of hand that people refer to it now as singles awareness day; why don't y'all with significant others just rub it in our faces and we'll just sit in our coaches and watch cnn and afmag and order chinese take out and take it.

i would like to offer a much better celebration of feb 14. really this day should be celebrated for what it is. the true essence of tomorrow and why i cannot wait: it is the official FIRST DAY OF TRAINING CAMP. yes that is right. american baseball is right around the corner and pitchers and catchers report to camp tomorrow. although prospects for my team (the ex-world champions St. Louis Cardinals) are a bit dim, i still will follow a lot of the action. probably not the best thing as it's probably gonna cut into my sleep time, but whats sleep when you've got baseball to watch. so lets celebrate feb 14: Baseball Begins Day.

post-post: as promised, I dedicate this post to mina. the apple of my eye. the finisher of my sentences. the completer of my life. the lo in my ve. (disclaimer: im only joking. foreal. no hate mails, please).

for another good read, check out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/opinion/13alsanea.html?th&emc=th