My thoughts exactly....I never got the hype. The last Valentine's Day when I was dating, was a snoozefest. I came over, exchanged a few gifts, and then sat around and watched TV...a few weeks after she turned into a complete psychopath, and that was that. The only decent memory of Valentine's Day was with the ex wife...hotel room, booze, and lots of sex.
About 5 years ago I went out too hard and will never be able to top it (had nothing to do with backdoor action I swear). It involved the south pacific, a chartered yacht, an island restaurant and diamond earings. This year I might cook a nice dinner and give a longer than usual back, shoulder & head rub. Perhaps flowers as well seeings I just bought myself a new projector that exceeded my budget by a grand. Haven't told her yet, it arrives in a few days.
No matter how shitty my life may seem, I'm glad Durbanite is here to remind me that it's all about attitude. My current plan is to take the girl out to Andina in Portland for awesome food and cocktails, afterwards I'll give her some lingerie I've got picked out. If by some freakish accident the girl and I are not together on that date I'll go out to the bars and pick on the girls who's self-esteem is in pieces because they are alone on such an auspicious day. Honestly, Valentine's is like another New Years, all the single people are drunk and sad, looking for validation in someone's arms... Go get 'em Durbanite.
Best valentines day: The wife and I got a hotel room and banged like rabbits. Went out to a nice dinner (can't even remember the restaurant), came back, and continued to bang like rabbits. The next day I took her shopping and told her she could spend as much as she wanted, which put her in the mood for more banging. Of course, this was back when we were living off of my pathetic social worker salary, and we were fairly poor. This year, we're seriously considering buying a hot tub, which would be an excellent valentines day gift. As for me, I just like those chalky valentine heart candies. Yes, I am the one person on the planet that likes those things.
Last year I surprised my girlfriend by setting up a reservation at one of her favorite restaurants and prior to arriving at her place (this is after driving a few hundred miles as well), I stopped by the restaurant and dropped off a handmade card and bunch of roses to be placed at the table prior to us being seated. She surprised me with a hotel room for the night. She won that one. This year I will likely do something similar, but since I haven't seen her since our one year anniversary, there will be jewelry involved (nothing ridiculous) and another hotel room- this time on me. I don't believe it is worthwhile to blow all of your romantic load on February 14th alone so I spontaneously give her chocolate or a card (crayons beat Hallmark 100% of the time) and some flowers. I know some flower distributors so I can get big bouquets for damn near free.
A bartender once told me "I see the most people hook up on Valentine's day. All the girls come out thinking how hopelessly single they are and the men pounce on them." And this is how I met the girlfriend. I actually had a date, and it turned out badly. I convinced the roommate to go out, we got half way there, and he said "Let's just go home and watch a movie." I said fuck that, and went out by myself. And got really drunk. And met the girlfriend. Now we have a reason to celebrate this stupid holiday. If I end up marrying her, I'm going to try and get a wedding date on her birthday, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. Shit, I'll settle for my birthday. Having Valentine's day as your anniversary is the easiest date to remember, ever.
Anybody other than me really really hate to go to a nice restaurant on Valentine's Day? It seems that they always overbook. They have a special "Valentine's Day Menu" that has inflated prices and mediocre food that they can serve quickly to turn the tables more rapidly to make an extra couple bucks.
Valentine's Day is my oldest son's birthday, so we will spend it eating cupcakes and watching movies. My ideal Valentine's Day? Doing nothing. Maybe going dancing, but likely not. Really just focusing on laying together and watching a movie or playing video games. I don't want to go out and spend money on a meal, jewelry is wasted on me because I can't wear it to work though I do like it and think it's pretty, and if I want something, I buy it for myself anyway. Though he could get me a fluffy bathrobe I guess.
When me and my girlfriend first started going out, every little event was important, valentines day, birthdays, etc. So we had to make a big deal out of it, then she quickly realized it sucked. So all we'll end up doing is lie on the couch with a few drinks on Valentines day, she'll be complaining she has to study for some nursing exam, and that's the end of that. Then a few days later we'll end up going out for 25ยข wings and then to a movie, not bad. I really just hate the buying the gift part of Valentines day.
I've been lucky. None of my "relationships" ever last longer than the time it takes me to pull out a $20 and send her back to her corner with a moisturized hand and a story to tell.
I'm not so sure i would call it " lucky". I mean, sure, it's the cool thing as a man to deny having any feelings whatsoever, but having an emotional bond with someone special really changes things.
Easy, same thing every year. Dinner @ home, wine and a card. Seriously, a nice card with some sappy shit (that you wrote yourself) goes a looong way with most girls. Don't overdo it, just say the shit you're usually thinking but don't usually say. It took a while to figure this one out, but I (and most guys) don't give 2 shits about cards. I just open them and hope a check falls out. Going out to eat is a fucking joke. Any place nice is going to have overpriced shit, or a huge wait.
My worst Valentine's day, a few years ago, ended with my wife vomiting on a variety of front lawns in Beverly Hills. We had long ago sworn off going to dinner on Valentine's Day. Restaurants are over-booked and the waiters are under-appreciated by once-a-year-diners. It is the worst night of the year to eat out. We were working on opposite of sides of town and struggling to think of something to do. "Ahh Haah" we thought, "the most relaxed place to spend Valentine's day would be to meet in the middle with our gay friends in West Hollywood." They were all too young to be in committed relationships -- the perfect place to avoid the V-Day BS. Sure enough, they are up for it, and we meet for drinks. Strong drinks. And my wife's been too swamped at work to eat. At around 9:00 pm we are all done and we commence walking to our cars. It is apparent to me that she's in no condition to drive. She convinces me she wants to eat something and she grabs a quiche and we sit down. Next thing she's in the bathroom. My office in Century City is only a mile or so away. Like someone ascending a mountain in stages, we make it block by block down Santa Monica Blvd., turning into Beverly Hills so that she can vomit on the front lawns while I pray that we do not come to the attention of the BH Police. We eventually make it to my office, she sleeps it off for a few hours and we retrieved her car and drive home at 3:00 am.
I'm not usually into Valentine's Day but this time around I'm kind of excited. The boy and I aren't into the holiday at all. I think it's gotten a little out of hand with overpriced roses and dinner and diamonds. But I'll still mark the day with a little surprise for him... I'm going to take my man's true love out and totally pamper her for the day. Yup, that's right...I'm taking his best girl out for a pedicure, facial, massage, and haircut. Total luxury. She's going to love it. I can't wait to see his reaction when we come back from the salon. I'm sure he'll smother her with kisses and affection and compliments. He won't be able to get enough of her. It's going to be nice to see those two together and happy. Good to know the way to a man's heart is through his dog.
This is what I'm doing. My girlfriend is huge into Egyptian stuff/culture. I'm giving her a drawing of a scarab beetle holding the sun and with "the sun rises and sets with you" written in Arabic script along the bottom (throwing a modern twist to it) along with some flowers. Why? She's a huge romantic (as am I) and recognizes the fact that Valentines is a stupid holiday.
The best Valentine's day for me was just last year, when I dumped my ex and kicked him out. That was pretty ideal, considering the absolute joy I felt the rest of the day... Ideal Valentine's Day? Surprisingly, I am not really into VD(harhar). Maybe I'll get a little ridiculous with the dinner I make and the wine I drink. Then I will probably have amazing sex, but these things happen almost every other day I am with someone worth a fuck, so it's still not really celebrating the day...