The Valentine's Day Machinery
A week from today is Valentine's Day. Most women in relationships look forward to it, most single women dread it. Why is this one day every year stirring up so many emotions for so many women? Men only have one emotion when it comes to Valentine's Day: annoyance. They have to buy a present and they have to book a table at a restaurant that will only offer overpriced set menus. But worst of all, they have to pretend they are enjoying themselves.
Valentine's Day is receiving more and more attention in Europe but it is still nowhere near the machinery it is in America. Once the New Year has begun supermarkets greet shoppers with an explosion in red! Flowers, greeting cards, teddy bears, champagne bottles, perfume, and so much more. The color smacks you in the face to remind couples to get ready for the day of love and to remind singles to feel sad and depressed for being 'alone'.
On my first Valentine's date in Los Angeles, we went to one of those overpriced restraurants on the water. As soon as we got out the car, a photographer blocked our way to take a romantic posed photo of us. $20 gone. Then we sat down in a dining room with tables for two only. Elbow-to-elbow with the patrons at the tables next to us, we pretended to be alone in this very unromantic setting. The dinner was $70. Per person. No drinks included. We wanted to whisper sweet nothings but had to shout to hear each other over the crowded room and all the tableware clonking. In the end, it was an exhausting evening that was nowhere near the eye-gazing experience I had expected.
Starting with the following, Valentine's Day we agreed to celebrate the day before or the day after - when prices where normal and people were less insane. Who cares if we don't celebrate it on the 14th? Exactly! Nobody does!
So what about all those single girls? When I became single again, I suggested to a few friends to meet at a bar on the 14th to have a singles' get-together. All my non-American female friends were immediately up for it. Also all the American guys joined in. Only my American female friends said they'd rather stay home on a this day because they feel depressed. A day that was completely manufactured by capitalism and hyped by the media, pushed thousands of women into a deep hole. I am sure therapists were working overtime that week.
Ladies! Don't let this day make you feel sad or depressed. Instead, celebrate that you haven't made the WRONG choice and go out with your girlfriends for a drink. Life is too short!
Valentine's Day is receiving more and more attention in Europe but it is still nowhere near the machinery it is in America. Once the New Year has begun supermarkets greet shoppers with an explosion in red! Flowers, greeting cards, teddy bears, champagne bottles, perfume, and so much more. The color smacks you in the face to remind couples to get ready for the day of love and to remind singles to feel sad and depressed for being 'alone'.
On my first Valentine's date in Los Angeles, we went to one of those overpriced restraurants on the water. As soon as we got out the car, a photographer blocked our way to take a romantic posed photo of us. $20 gone. Then we sat down in a dining room with tables for two only. Elbow-to-elbow with the patrons at the tables next to us, we pretended to be alone in this very unromantic setting. The dinner was $70. Per person. No drinks included. We wanted to whisper sweet nothings but had to shout to hear each other over the crowded room and all the tableware clonking. In the end, it was an exhausting evening that was nowhere near the eye-gazing experience I had expected.
Starting with the following, Valentine's Day we agreed to celebrate the day before or the day after - when prices where normal and people were less insane. Who cares if we don't celebrate it on the 14th? Exactly! Nobody does!
So what about all those single girls? When I became single again, I suggested to a few friends to meet at a bar on the 14th to have a singles' get-together. All my non-American female friends were immediately up for it. Also all the American guys joined in. Only my American female friends said they'd rather stay home on a this day because they feel depressed. A day that was completely manufactured by capitalism and hyped by the media, pushed thousands of women into a deep hole. I am sure therapists were working overtime that week.
Ladies! Don't let this day make you feel sad or depressed. Instead, celebrate that you haven't made the WRONG choice and go out with your girlfriends for a drink. Life is too short!
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