D-DAyTE

Uh oh. Here is comes. The big one. THE Hallmark Holiday event of the year:
VALENTINE'S DAY.

The match.com must be sprucing up it's weekend deals because one of the sidebar headlines on my "home" page said: "It's nearly boyfriend season..."
...

Boyfriend SEASON? This gives a whole new meaning to the term, "manhunt". I suppose this 'season' they are referring to revolves around Valentine's Day. Now I know in this day in age full of forward thinkers and PC pilgrims Valentine's Day is supposedly regarded as a the day to tell EVERYONE you love that you love them. Singles and doubles alike all rejoicing in a day full of love and togetherness yada yada yada...
Bullshit.
Valentine's Day is the day when all those who are coupled can rain down their superiority over those who stand alone. It's their time to look down at us from their towers of partnership silently proclaiming, "Look at us! We found someone to put up with our crazy!" The fear of this 'couples wrath' is very real for some singles out there--men and women. I think that's why the headline "It's nearly boyfriend season..." rang so soundly the alarm bells in my head. Because as the fateful 14th day of February looms closer, the Valentine's Day scramble starts to get more and more frenzied.

In early January the pressure is nearly none. The hype of New Year's Eve debauchery is just dying down, and resolutions are the biggest lies we're telling ourselves. Then all the sudden you look up, and it's the last week of January...Stores are starting to become infected with fake holiday decorations in all shades of red. By the first week of Feburary the commercials on TV have started to pop up. Jewelry ads, candy ads, vacuum cleaner ads...then, crunch time--the week before Valentines Day. Now weekly sitcoms are gearing up for their Valentine's episodes. Sappy romantic "date movies" show up in theaters, practically unannounced. Now the 'red scare' has seeped out onto the very streets. All over town window displays, flyers, and those odd roadside signs that advertise for "Christian Singles in LA" "Jewish mixers" "Gay gatherings" "Speed Dating" etc. with just a phone number underneath, crop up on every corner. And heaven HELP you if you accidently walk by a florist. All to dig the fear of singledom on Valentine's Day deep into your soul. As if being single on Valentine's Day equals eternal solitude.

Then the day comes. Those who have vehemently sworn their indifference to the day and all it stands for are usually hit the hardest. While those who have been scouring their 'little black palm pilots' for anyone AN-E-ONE, find themselves not so bothered by the idea of having a date with a hot bath, a joint, and a box of self-bought chocolates (at least you'll get the ones you REALLY like). Then everyone goes to bed and when we all wake up it's the 15th. It's all over. Maybe you'll have a day of suffering through recounts of other people's romantic tristes, fights, sexings, and/or trips to the hospital but other than that, the day of reckoning has passed. Boyfriend season has closed.