V-Day
I have been chuckling to myself at the amount of dating site commercials that have been airing as of late because of Valentine's Day. Not only those, but jewelry commercials, flower commercials, and a new one I have never seen before, a Smartphone commercial claiming that flowers and jewelry suck, what she really wants is a Smartphone. Better, I guess, than the rest, but still!
I have never been a Valentine's Day kind of girl. My thoughts on the matter are I deserve to be treated wonderfully every day, and so far I have been quite lucky in being with people who did, and do just that. So Valentine's Day has never been that special to me. It is a sweet tradition, don't get me wrong, just one I don't place in high priority to celebrate. Although this year I want to make cupcakes! I mean really though, when do you need a special day to make cupcakes? Everyday is a day to make cupcakes!
Back in university when I had developed a new sense of feminism (see: went crazy for a little while), my friends and I did not celebrate Valentine's Day, we celebrated V-Day. It was a way to turn the holiday around for people who just weren't into all the candy and flowers, and make it into something a little more serious. It was a day to educate people about violence against women and young girls, and we chose to take part in this global movement by attending our school's production of The Vagina Monologues. We would all wear our statement tees (mine said "Freedom Zone: No Rape"), and buy vagina shaped chocolate lollipops to suck on during the play (ha!). A friend of mine even landed a part in the play one year, and her role was to act out a crazy orgasm on stage. It made me uncomfortable. Some feminist I was.
Oh how we thought we were part of something that nobody else had ever been a part of anywhere, anytime. I think that's the point of university though, to feel as if you are a part of something that no one had ever been a part of before. To learn something about yourself and go crazy with it for a few years. I am still that feminist woman I discovered in my first year of university, I am just very calm about it these days. As in, not everybody in this world needs to know my every thought and opinion on every subject known to man from a feminist's perspective. I tend to keep that kind of stuff to myself unless I am asked right out, or when it is relevant. And it has to be pretty relevant for me to put forth my views. I also still think that V-Day is a very valid day to celebrate, and for those who want to learn more, I will quietly and relevantly post the link
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Anyway's, I have gone on a tangent here, when I meant to talk about Valentine's Day. A Valentine's Day that comes to mind for me is one when I was around 20-years-old and I worked in a very busy take-out place. I was working by myself that night, manning the counter and the phones, and we were backed up a few hours with orders. Everyone loved this place, and everyone and their grandma who was looking for a little sexy time that night would either order a week before (because they were smart), or they knew to put aside 10-15 minutes to try and get through on the phone on Valentine's Day. I was receiving 50-60 orders every hour, and it was falling on me to calm people down who had been waiting hours for their food, or waiting on hold for me to take their order. In short, a stressful night, and I just wanted to leave. The final straw was when a woman screamed at me over the phone that she had been on hold for 10 minutes (it wasn't that long if I recall), and that I had single-handedly ruined her night and she hoped I was happy. Thanks bitch. Right back at you.
My boyfriend at the time did make it better that night when he picked me up with a dozen roses. He also cooked me dinner and it was delicious. I gave him the newest Gran Turismo with a heart sticker in the corner. I went home later that night and my mom was sitting by herself: it was my dad's bowling night. I felt so bad for her that I burst into tears and desperately tried to shove my roses into her hands. It was my mom who made me realize it really did not need to be that big of a deal, as she had a good, long laugh at me and told me I was silly for feeling sorry for her. She was enjoying a quiet evening at home. Now that I am older, I understand. She has always been quite an independent woman my mom, and I am happy to know that I take after her in that regard.
Does anyone have any plans for Valentine's Day (or V-Day), or is everyone like me and view it as just any other day?
