duane reade is my boyfriend

"Soul mates only exist in the Hallmark aisle of Duane Reade Drugs." - Miranda, Sex and the City

Ohhhhh the Valentine's season is well-upon us. I'm all for people showing appreciation for their significant other, whatever the level of significance, but I do think it is such a Hallmark (or Duane Reade - love him... if I only lived in NYC, the Walgreens and CVSs of the world would lose me forever to the dark side) holiday. Don't couples already have a "special day" of sorts, AKA an anniversary? Does the world need one random universal day to commemorate relationships, or flaunt the lack-thereof to others?

I remember being young back in elementary school and loving Valentine's Day. It equaled conversation hearts, lots of cute little Valentines that had been torn apart lovingly at the perforations, pink + red galore, and but of course, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate...

But now, it's all about pressure... the guy trying to buy flowers at an inflated Valentine's Day only kinda rate (which, I'll admit, never go without being appreciated... just making a comment here...). Making reservations where there may be a special inflated multi-course rate (where even reservations on OpenTable require a credit card, for goodness sake). It's the time of year where the number of male customers in Victoria's Secret far outnumbers the female (very true - I just experienced it first-hand at VS yesterday). Or the day when all the singletons of the city unite for one day to just enjoy life. And chocolate. And wine. And um yeah. Ah me. Drama.

I got an email from BirthdayAlarm.com (great service, if you've never checked it out) that included in some Valentine's-esque trivia. Interesting points (with some interjected commentary by yours truly) included:

• Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then, sweethearts.


• 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day. (Wow, an expensive day to have a faux-beaux!)


• More than 50% of cards are sold the week of the holiday, with the largest and most elaborate Valentine cards sold 48 hours before February 14.


• About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.


• In the United States, 64% of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine's Day with their sweethearts. (No comment...)


• 70% of those celebrating the holiday give a card, followed by a telephone call (49%), gift (48%), special dinner (37%), candy (33%) restaurant meal (30%), and flowers (19%).

Some V'day Superstitions:

• To be awoken by a kiss on Valentine's Day is considered lucky. (Guess 2007 will not be LJ's year of luck)


• In Great Britain, a woman would write the names of their sweethearts on small scraps of paper which would be placed on clay balls. The balls were dropped into water with the belief that whichever scrap of paper surfaced first would be the name of the man destined to be the future husband. (Hmmm... does that imply the remainder are just dead-weight?)

I've had good Valentine's Days myself, but even when I'm in a relationship, the need for that one random February Day always seems questionable. But celebrate we will... for life is short but sweet for certain...