Before I begin my boring post, I want to touch on a few convos had with many friends over the past week over Valentine’s Day. In the “Valentine’s Day is bogus” camp are those that think of Vday as a commercialized marketing tool void of any meaning–a way to get people to spend money on overpriced dinner and flowers. In the “Valentine’s Day makes me feel pathetic” camp are those that think you HAVE to be with someone on Valentine’s Day or else you are a loser.
And then there’s me. I don’t get what the big deal is either way. Working in retail, I’ve come to realize that all holidays or days like Mother’s Day and whatnot are ridiculous if you let them be. If you let it become about meaningless gifts, then that’s what it will be. Essentially, I hate all holidays/celebrated days because I do work in retail and I hate how every holiday we try to squeeze as much money out of people as humanly possible. It kind of takes away from any sort of “meaning”
That being said, I think any day, holiday or whatever, is what you make of it. If you think its all a load of crap, it probably will be. If you feel like youll be a lonely pathetic loser without some dude there to give you roses and candy, then youll probably fulfill your prophecy.
I’m not usually a pollyanna, but because I’m easily disappointed and get my hopes up all too frequently, I’ve learned to accept this as the best way to deal with days like Valentine’s. Appreciate the people you have in your life–significant other or otherwise. Spent $2 on a card. Share a good meal. It’s as simple or as complicated as you make it, I guess.
NG and I planned our Vday together–weekend in Yosemite, with dinner on Vday at the Ahwahnee Lodge. It wasn’t anything we hadn’t done before, but getting away from the city, and having a nice quiet dinner in a low-key atmosphere, really was the perfect way for us to spend the day together. NG bought me a vintage amethyst heart necklace (the story is that it once belonged to a vegas showgirl who married a big band leader and collected vintage jewelry pieces like this) that was unexpected and beautiful. We were lounging around in the lodge. I was lying down, watching tv. And next thing I know, there was a necklace dangling over my head. Apparently, NG had kept it in his pocket the entire time, afraid I would somehow discover it on my own while packing things for our trip. I love it, but mainly I love it because it came from NG. Everyone can puke now.
My gift to him, on the other hand, was pretty stupid. I gave him a book of poems and a little pez dispenser. The Pez dispenser had meaning, but I won’t get into that.
Weekend in Yosemite was, as always, relaxing, amazing, breathtaking. I’ve been so many times, but each time, I feel as if I discover or see something new. I’ve never seen Yosemite completely covered in snow, but I have to say that I love it probably more than any other season I’ve been. Way less people allows the beauty of the natural surroundings to really shine.
We stayed in Curry Village again–in the heated hard-sided cabins, and cooked a lot in our room using a hot pot that I somehow saved from my college days (and brought to SF of all things). We also spent a lot of time hiking through snow and experimenting with the dSLR he bought me for my birthday. I’m still trying to get used to the camera, having used a manual SLR for so long.
For the most part, it really felt as if the park, and the wilderness, belonged to us. While hiking at the base of lower yosemite falls, I felt so surrounded by nature–the falls, the ice falling from the cliffs (the water freezes before it hits the ground so when you stand near the falls, the mist feels like snow), the view of the treetops–I felt as if I were transported to some other world where it was just me and NG–and in that world we were just 2 tiny people wandering through all this greatness. Hard to describe.
And as always, leaving sucked, even if it was sweetened by the colossal ice cream that NG bought for me on the way home–the same ice cream that made me feel queasy for 90 miles, but was so worth it. I wish I could find a good balance in my life between what I have in SF and what I experienced, and always experience, in Yosemite.
But back to Vday–it was a perfect vday. Nothing too fancy, nothing too over-the-top, just spending time with someone I care about in a place I absolutely love.
