XOXO

I'm neither a huge fan of nor a huge hater of Valentine's Day. I think it's a little weird to have one sanctioned day for really commercialized and cliched gestures of love, and I do really despise all the sexist advertising that accompanies the date. Men, the only way you can show a woman you love her is to buy her diamonds, red roses (better plan ahead), or tacky stuffed animals? Women, if you don't get one of these approved gifts, you better act like a child and pout because that's what women do. Gross. But there's something sweet and lovely about couples doing something little and nice for each other on Valentine's Day, like making a nice card, going to dinner, and spending time together. Who could hate that, really?

Once, I went on a first date on Valentine's Day. Weird, yes. Planned, no. The guy in question and I had been sort of working up to it for a while. It was obvious we liked each other, but he seemed shy and I was preoccupied waiting to hear back on grad school applications, so nothing had happened. Finally, he asked me to go see The Royal Tenenbaums with him the next night and I agreed, so the date was set. The next morning, I got an email from him--I probably still have it, hang on. Yes, my email is like a junk drawer.

Friday, February 14, 2001 2:45 a.m.
Subject: VD
From: Anonymous ex-boyfriend (spoiler alert!)
To: Kaijsa

I'm going to bed, but Jon Auer is on the radio singing "Baby Bitch." Happy V.D.?!

It literally took me an hour to realize what he was talking about. When it finally dawned on me, I proceeded to feel weird about the date all day long. And what was up with the question mark and exclamation points?

Before the movie, we went to Starbucks for some coffee. It was all going fine, we were having a conversation about something, and then at the same time, we both looked around and noticed that literally every table had a snuggling couple in it. My date kind of smiled, shrugged, and grabbed my hand. It was funny. And then we held hands for the next five hours. So it was a good date. We were together for about six months, and then I started my master's program. I still wouldn't necessarily advise a first date on VD, but in my case it was pretty fun.