Singles' Awareness

I really do hate Valentine's Day.

This is the first year (maybe ever) that I've been in a relationship on Valentine's Day. Every year I wear black to mark this holiday because I think it's the most stupid way to get people to buy stuff for each other. It's purely commercial and completely "un-special."

Wiki says: Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.

Approximately one billion Valentines are sent every year. I find this absolutely ridiculous, even though I buy my fair share of candy and Valentines to send out every year.

There is so much pressure put on couples on this one day to make it so special. If it's not special then it's a complete disaster and makes the relationship awkward for a couple of days.

Here's something else that really ticked me off today:
My good friend, Shannon, and her boyfriend, Earl, have been dating a couple years. They live in separate cities as they are both still in college. For Valentine's Day, Earl is going to drive up to visit Shannon and they planned to go out to dinner at a local hotspot--The Melting Pot. Shannon made the reservation a month in advance, and was presented with a 4:30pm reservation. She decided to book the 13th instead because they did not want to eat so early. Today when she called to confirm their reservation, the restaurant had no record of it. They offered her an 11pm reservation to try and make up for it.

First off--it's so ridiculous that they were so booked up a month ago. Second off--11pm? Really? Why are you still open at 11pm? This holiday would be so much better if everyone would stay home, bum around in some sweat pants, and catch up with what's on their DVRs.

Online bill pay in my future?

For those of us who still write checks and pay bills by Snail Mail, the fact that stamp prices are going up is a pain in the behind.

On May 11, 2009 stamp prices will go up two cents to a whopping 44 cents. The Postal Service said the price increase was necessary because of rising production costs--WHAT PRODUCTION COSTS?? Under law, the price of stamps is not allowed to rise faster than the U.S. consumer price index, which measures inflation. Well when you put it that way...

Is it just me or have stamps been rising at a ridiculously high rate the past couple of years? Don't even get me started on this ridiculous economy.

It makes me wonder if constant this stamp rate increase will cause people to stop paying bills by Snail Mail altogether. I hate online bill pay. I just do. I don't know why, but I find comfort in writing checks, placing them in envelopes, writing my return address, and mailing them via the USPS. Now, I'm only 21 but being able to remember when stamps were a little under 30 cents makes me feel really old.

Needless to say I'm going out on May 10th to buy 37 books of "forever stamps." Should last me a little while.