uh, what day was yesterday?

could it be that the stars in the sky are always shining? could it be that the rainbow is always there in front of your eyes? could it be that the birds are chirping and whistling happily? are there blue skies (i mean the sky) on you? does your smile never grow weary everytime you are alone thinking ... ?
-- part of a friend's e-mail

"valentine's day is over-rated." ooops. you may or may not quote me on that one. my cinema buddy, who happens to be in a relationship, beat me 'to saying that. let me just repeat that...

valentine's day is over-rated. say it isn't so and/or accuse me of just being bitter, we'll surely have a debate.

yesterday was like my birthday, you know. even before my "wake up" alarm could go off, my phone was already sounding off incessantly to alert me of early morning valentine greetings from people who care. throughout the day, valentine messages kept coming in... through my phone, through my emails, through my friendster account, and even through instant messaging. awwww... it feels good to be remembered. i kept track of the number of those who greeted me yesterday and realized that it's at par with the number of those who greeted me on my birthday -- greater than the number of those who took time to greet me on christmas day. he he he. wow!

there's no doubt that i'm loved (and i love, too), but i don't need an over-rated valentine's day to remind me of love...

every day that i wake up to is a shower of love. every night that i fall asleep to is a blanket of love. every hour in between is a reality for love. yeah, yeah, if i don't stop this, i'll end up writing poetry -- which happens to be not the purpose of this post (i'll share poetry some other time).

what i'm driving at are these: why feel the "love" or make other people feel the "love" only on valentine's day? why do people expect you to have a valentine's date? why am i expected to conform to valentine "norms" that make me feel love is more of being commercialized than celebrated?

xxxxxxx: happy valentine's day, val!
me: happy valentine's day, too. who's this?
xxxxxxx: xxxxxxx. i'm here in up. can you be my date later tonight?
me: oh, i see. nope. bz.
xxxxxxx: you should have time for love. it's valentine's day, you should go on a date.
me: nope, i don't date.
xxxxxxx: what if i make you?
me: you can't make me. i'm sure of that.
xxxxxxx: what keeps you busy, by the way?
me: (no reply)

bah. persistence is not always rewarded... not even when it's valentine's day. once i know what i want, i can't be expected to settle for anything else... unless you have the power to make me change my mind, ha ha ha.

to everyone who did not get my valentine's day greetings: if i didn't greet you yesterday, that's more likely because you didn't greet me in the first place. (i only greeted those who greeted me, he he he.) just as well. valentine's day is not a red-letter day on my calendar. i hope you understand. in fact, i hope you see the 14th of february the way i do: just an ordinary day and definitely not like birthdays (unless you're a valentine baby, hehehe).

p.s. i'm such an incurable romantic, i don't really buy the valentine crap. love is sacred and should not be commercialized. you can make me feel giddy on other days... with sweet gestures that have nothing to do with flowers, chocolates, jewelry or dinners in fancy restaurants.