The Valentine's Day Edition

"This morning I woke up
From a deep unquiet sleep
With ashtray clothes
And Miss Lonelyheart's pen"
—Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, "Lost Weekend"

I've never had a romantic Valentine's Day. I've only had one significant relationship in my life, and that was with a CPA. While I loved him and love him still, we never had a memorable Valentine's together. That is, I literally cannot remember anything we ever did for the holiday.

As such, you might think I despise this day like so many other single people, but to be entirely honest, I've never really cared about it at all. Never having been particularly lucky in love, I think a syrupy, gushing, over-the-top Valentine's Day would just make me puke, even if it were with someone I love. I've been feeling a little low this year, though I think that I'm in a lonely phase in general, rather than being done in by the holiday. Also, I've been hitting the booze prettly hard since the beginning of the month, which is why I haven't been able to completely shake the cold I've had for a couple of weeks now and why I've been stalled in my book writing efforts.

Of course, considering all of the people in Iraq and around the world whose lives and families and bodies are being blown to pieces, the ambivalent mooning of a fat American isn't particularly significant. However, though I accept this as a truth, it doesn't make me feel any better.

"Papers in the roadside tell of suffering and grief
Fear today forgot tomorrow beside the news of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrowed talk, just blown away"
—Duran Duran, "Ordinary World"