happy valentines day

Today was the seventh Valentines day we spent together (if I count the Valentines we shared while going out, before our marriage!)
And guess what. Nothing happened today- we both had classes and tons of work, and I had class in the evening. Hmm. Now that I think about it, I think I had class last Valentines as well-- Oh boy, Dr. F and Dr. A (and they are a couple!) never let us celebrate Valentines good and proper! After I came back, I said we should just order pizza instead of warming up the stew & rice, as we always do, because I didn't feel like doing the dishes. Maybe this will count as something special.

As time goes by, we take such "special" days like Valentines with less vigor. I think we used to go out and do stuff more actively when we were still dating. The most interesting Valentines day we had....was our first one. We were in....Prague, I think. It was just after I had finished my masters thesis. While still writing the thesis, we had a trip to Prague+Budapest planned, and it just so happened that we were in Prague. :) So, we bought a bar of chocolate, and walked around the beautiful town munching on it. Another Valentines day, the day was so cold, that we just rushed back to his parents house (where he was living), and gave each other handmade cards which we created out of A4 papers and pictures from magazines.

After we got married, we stayed home, and chilled. But this doesn't mean that our relationship got bland, or we stopped appreciating each other. Rather, I think we stopped going outside to celebrate, because we love the comfort of doing things at home, privately. We would just buy a bottle of wine, put on our favorite romantic comedy, and sip away. It's cold outside anyway, we'd say. And besides, the streets would be crowded with other couples. The restaurants and cafes would be looking to rip us off with their "special prices" for Valentines. So, why not stay home? The food might not as fancy, the coffee would not have the pretty cinnamon-hearts-on-foam decoration, but we would save tons of money and we'd be warm!

And I think we tend not to celebrate such "special" days, because honestly, we know that every ordinary day we spend together is special, without us having to give each other extravagant presents or have dinner at fancy places (not that there is any, in our town, even if we wanted to eat out and celebrate! sob sob). It's just this serenity that makes me happy-- what else do I need, other than to have my partner at home, doing his work and planting wet kisses during intervals? I would poke his toes and make him stop reading, just for fun. We would decide to stop reading and do yoga together. Sometimes, we cook in the middle of the night and (with a certain guilt) gobble up the food, giggling how "because there are no adults in this house", we get to do whatever we want. That's present enough for me. Oh, but since I did pick up two cards at the bookstore, I should go nudge that-guy-who-is-reading-about-Jews-in-America to write something in it for me. :)

Ah, the picture over there-- those are roses from a random street vendor. I like roses, but I wouldn't necessarily want my partner to give a bouquet, because I prefer other greens planted in a pot, so that I don't have to throw them away when they wither.

And this one, was taken in London. What a cute balloon. The lollipops I gave my students today looked exactly like that one. (and the candy tasted like watermelon)

A random fact for those people who only know Valentines: in some Asian countries (like Korea), only girls give chocolate to boys. Then, a month later, on a day called "White Day" (I have no idea why the day is named thus) boys will give girls candy. I've heard that a Japanese candy company actually founded this day to sell their products, and the day traveled across the ocean, to find a great market in Korea. If you walk around the city areas on either day, you will find tons of baskets filled with chocolate and candy, teddy bears and random trinkets that look cute. I think I got one of such baskets once in my life, and I remember thinking, hmmm, if you had asked me what I wanted, I would have said a book (what kind of a geek am I?).  What if you don't get anything? There comes a day called "Black Day", when the angry-and-sad people-who-curse-those-damned-couples, will go out for Chinese food. That day is called the black day, because the dish you order that day is basically, black.


So, Valentines is over, and I spent it like any other day. No, scratch that. I had a busier day--Thursdays are terrible. But, I just got an email from aeropostale that they are offering another 14% off of sale items online. I should go check if I can pick out a t-shirt or two. :)