Saturday, February 10, 2007

I Heart Nothing in Particular

Valentine's Day.

I don't really get it. I haven't gotten it EVER, I think. All my memories of Valentine's Day involve getting insta-valentines in grade school which were signed by people's moms, or of the migraines that come after eating too much bad chocolate.

But let me see if I understand: There is this one *special* day in the frigid month of February, conveniently a month where sales are otherwise low because nobody wants to venture outside, where anything deemed romantic is twice the price. People wait for this day so they can buy cheap chocolates (or expensive chocolates that are cheaply made), roses (at an exorbitant cost), and fine dinners for their sweethearts. They are madly in love for this one day. And then everything goes back to normal. Cha-ching!

Now, I don't want to nag on anyone who really enjoys Valentine's Day, because as many of you know, I will take just about any excuse to have good food and sweets with my Better Half. But do we really need an excuse? Can't we just do that because it's a really fun thing to do every night... ahem.... every once and a while?

To be blunt, I fully resent the way that love is hyper-commercialized on February 14, and I resent even more that people build up to one day of partner appreciation only to fall right back into the daily grind. It seems to me that it would be a whole lot more productive if we could all learn to appreciate our sweethearts every day, all year, as much as possible. There will still be fights, there will be awkward moments and strains, and there will be times when you want to smack your head against a wall until your true love stops pissing you off. Sometimes you will think to yourself, "Now, why did my little pumpkin just wipe up a tar-like substance with my favourite tea towel?" or perhaps "Why is my sweet muffin talking loudly to someone on the phone while I am sleeping when they could do so quietly, or even in another room?" or my personal favourite, "Where did all the cookies go? Sweetie, why are you covered in crumbs?"

But cripes, that's all part of it, and there's no reason why we can't all be a little more creative when it comes to loving our loves. I think boycotting a day of commercial sweetness is a great place to start.

Or, if you want to partake, make it a DIY Valentine's Day. Craft your own valentines, make your own meal, knit some socks, make some candles, set up a treasure hunt in your house with YOU as the treasure.... Whatever pops into your super little brain. Because we spend enough time buying into things we don't need (and I fully speak for myself here) to give into a day that cheapens love.

Whew. Sorry about that. Sometimes I get carried away in February. Maybe it's all that red. Makes. Andrea. Mad.

And speaking of loving your love, my BH and I made chocolate chip pancakes today to celebrate nothing in particular. Now I have too much sugar coursing through my veins, but I think a good round of laundry and knitting will take the edge off. And it's my producer Dean Watson's birthday, so I have to think of some fabulously creative and mildly embarrassing gift to give him. He will be playing tonight at Maverick's with his band Lure, if y'all want to be entertained by a great band and a too-drunk-to-stand Deaner. And who knows, I might show up with a baby hippo or a tin can on a string because I couldn't think of anything suitable in time.

Dean has been working like crazy to get me some mixes for the new songs we've recorded, and I am totally smitten with the stuff he's sent me. The latest song has a synth in the background, which is too quirky and too cool for me to fathom.* I only have three, count 'em, THREE more songs to write until we have a nice full-length album done. Can you imagine? I can't. And I am waiting for confirmation on the date of the CD release party, but I won't leak the details until I know for sure. All I can say is, if things work out, it will be quite a party. I am looking at September for the show, even though the album will be finished much earlier. This way I can go to India without having to think of music stuff, and I will still have time to rehearse a band and do some publicity before the big day.

I hear the distinct sound of my BH cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. I would leave him to it, except that it's my mess and that would be uncool. So, until next time: I name today Official Baby Hippo Day. Take your honey out for a night on the town.


*Although I am "branching out", I am still a folk musician at heart. Synthesizers are kind of like the motorcycles of folk: dangerously fun, and hard to manoeuvre safely. And loud! And they often have large men in leather on them!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Andrea,

Where are all the cookies, and why are there crumbs around your mouth?

love you...