I must say...I'm beginning to see the brighter side of Valentine's!
Not that I'm overly grumpy about the occasion. I'm just not an advocate to be honest. But frankly speaking, I'm amused how Valentine's seems to be a major 'working' holiday here in this country. One shall not be clueless. I mean, You'll definitely know it's Valentine's Day...I mean you'll really know.
SIGNS you should be aware of:
1. Valentine offering combos in restaurants, not to mention, valentine songs from the 80's in the background while eating your value meal and being surrounded amass of extra sweet couples.
2. People in suits walking in the metro holding bouquets of flowers and other Valentine's paraphernalia like red balloons, chocolate, stuffed toys...and did I already mention flowers?!
3. Office mini shindigs. Officemates giving you stuff (your boss giving you stuff, your female co-workers giving you stuff), or worse, a company sponsored Valentine dating game. Believe me, some companies do that...*wink *wink.
4. Chain letters on Emails about Valentine's. Send to 10 persons and you'll be with the one you love in 3 months. Send to 20 persons and you'll be with the one you love in 1 month. Send to 30 persons, and you'll be with the one you love in a week. Send it to gazillion people, even to self-generated email addresses, why don't you, and you'll be with the one you love in a few hours time. Don't send it...you'll be an old spinster forever...DAMN this chain letters!
Friendster greetings on your testimonial page, text messages!
5. And of course nothing beats, the dreaded heavy traffic jam after office hours, due to concert gigs; and sort of compulsory dinner dates as if all restaurants will go kaput tomorrow.
Hence, waking up this morning, without any expectations, I just wanted to survive this day which may have a massive tendency to display visuals of public mushiness. I hitched a ride with my equally dry and stone-cold dad to work looking disheveled as ever. Looks like, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, thinking of the expected wishes of my mother.
Usually, the driver drops him off first at King's Court in Makati before actually driving me to my office. But lo and behold as we entered the sleek circle driveway of the building, I saw an arrangement of buffet styled food with balloons, tables and chairs.
"Someone's having a party" I mumbled.
Then my dad said, "Ah, that's a free Valentine's blowout of the the Building Administration."
"A what?!" I reacted.
Well, it's kind of over the top for the building administration to actually put up a buffet feast...and I mean..a feast for all the tenants of the building. It was neatly organized, and the food could accommodate hundreds. There's soup, pancit, puto, bread, lumpia, different kinds of kakanin, Unlimited supply of flat tops chocolates, cookies, coffee and softdrinks. haha, things like this I could use my XRAY vision with.
"You've got to be kidding me." At that time I'm sporting already a glazed and drooling look. After we dropped my dad, I schemed, with our driver to drive me to work and wait for me there till I get myself logged in. Shortly afterwards my escape route, I rode back to my father's office to attempt to partake on a massive feast.
If Valentine's is becoming to be like this, selfless and universal, then I'm all for it!
As I arrived at the driveway, people are starting to fall in line, early bird employees from their drivers, men and women in suits from different companies that are tenants of the building. I was immediately greeted by the gracious organizer, "Happy Heart's day" and I said gleefully that would make anyone puke "And to you too!" I restrained myself not to even ask if the food is for free.
I went inside Pancake house to surprise my dad who is having breakfast with Tito Dodie. It's as if it took him some time to register that yes, his daughter, was currently walking and hounding him in his office grounds. I made a little nudge here and there which technically made me their legitimate representative to that sumptuous buffet.
It was a collective and unifying experience. The people there were pleased and more touched than receiving randomly placed cards and chocolates.You can tell. It saved them a breakfast meal, and some even took take outs for lunch. It was a well thought endeavor by the building admin, and what's surprising is that it was never expected from them. It's not quite normal for any building administration or a company for that matter, to put in Valentine's shindig in their budget, but they did. Now that's plane selfish, genuine and very collective. Now that, is what I call Valentine's.
That's another more appealing face of what Valentine's day is all about. Valentine's shouldn't single out different types of people, sporting different relationships with themselves or whoever. It shouldn't pressure anyone to conform and compromise. It should be a day to act free love, of different kinds of love. And it need not be mushy to the extremes.
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