No longer as truthful as should be deserved, some names, places and events deliberately vague to protect identities that aren't mine

Friday 14 February 2014

VD (might wanna be careful with that)

Honestly 90% of the stuff I see concerning Valentines is from single people bemoaning that they’re single/how insufferable couples around this time are /how fake it all is/how they hate it/etc  I see very few posts from people in relationships relative to the amount of sickly stuff you’d think they were posting.
 
I’m not a fan of Valentine’s, but I don’t hate it.  Even when I have a boyfriend more often than not I’m not in the same country as him to celebrate even if we wanted to.  I don’t need a day to remind me to do something nice for my partner, if I take them out or cook something special or whatever for them I’ll do it because I want to see them smile, I don’t need any more reason than that.
 
I have only a handful of issues with Valentine’s and these could quite fairly be applied to any holiday
¨       The colour scheme.  Don’t get me wrong, I like red, especially deep reds, but RED EVERYWHERE is oppressive.  Like the blue/pink split you can get in Disney stores or the like to say boys/girls, it’s just a horrible onslaught on the eyes more than anything else.
¨       It’s busy.  I avoid going out on Valentines simply because EVERYONE is going out on Valentines.  It’s hard to get a booking anywhere, places sell out weeks in advance.  Places overcharge for whatever valentines package their offering, or else offer those last minute cheap deals that are oversubscribed by people who forgot to organise anything and they’re inevitably grossly subpar.  Restaurants are terrible, the wait staff are understandably sick of demanding couples who want to know why their perfect evening isn’t the sole focus of the venue, as previously stated, you’re usually paying over and above the odds, it’s not special because every other person in the place is there for the same reason and probably dressed up too, and most restaurants are eager to rush you because the more sittings they can get in the more money they can make.  I’m not blaming the restaurants or the staff for this, it makes perfect sense, I just don’t want to be in that environment.
¨       The complaining.  There are two types of complaining.  One is from the couples, who are upset that their valentines didn’t match up with their perfect fantasy vision they had in their head.  To be honest the people that make these complaints normally make them throughout the relationship, they’re just those kind of people so I ignore them fairly easily.  But most of the complaining comes from single people who start bitching sometime before Christmas when the winter boy/girlfriend season kicks off, and usually don’t stop until at least the end of February when Easter merchandising and Spring menus finally kill the tail end of the Valentines ‘period’.  Also it’s acceptable to be single then because it’s the interim between the winter-partner and summer fling seasons
 
In my mind, there are 3 acceptable ways to spend Valentines Day and these are great ways to spend any evening or weekend regardless of what time of the year it is
¨       With friends, watching movies.  The staple of bitter single people everywhere, but misery loves company and friends love bad movies.  Put on Bridget Jones’ Diary and sing out ALL BY MYSELF with full pride while devouring pints of ice cream.  Try not to make blue soup.  R E S P E C T.
¨       With your boy/girl, curled up on the sofa at home, watching dumb movies.  Cook something that takes a little bit effort but isn’t stand out special.  Put on your most oversized hoodies and grab the blanket or strip down to your skivvies and wrap your arms around each other for a nice quiet night in where you don’t have to do anything
¨       Spend a fortune and go to one of those period costume balls the likes of which you only see in movies.  They’re limited in terms of people, it’s different to 99% of people’s plans, they last all night so you don’t feel rushed, and you get to dress up in a really fun way.  Even if you hate dressing up it’s something quirky and different and a good bucket list item for most people.  But this option usually has a price tag of several grand if you’re going to do it properly, so stick with option one or two

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Why I'm smiling

Everyone knows it's when I'm smiling you really need to worry, and here's why.

If I'm angry, or upset, sure I might do something terrible.  Because at that moment in time I won't care about the repercussions.  I've disassociated myself from my normal emotions on the matter.  That's not to say the shock of those won't hit me later and even though I'll know why I committed those actions at the time, I may actually come to feel guilty about them once whatever blinding extreme emotional state has passed.

If I'm smiling, that's the dangerous time, because then I am acting out of calculated premediated thought.  I have considered the consequences of my actions, I am well aware of what I might bring down upon myself or those around me.  I have weighed them in the balance and I have not found them wanting.  I am perfectly settled on whatever course I have set me on and I have already prepared myself to face the fallout.

That is why just because I am smiling does not mean everything is okay, or you should ever let down your guard.  When I smile I am acutely conscious of both myself and what is going on around me, and you forget that at your peril.