So, the Girlfriend and I returned from Hawaii early Sunday morning, and what with a brutal case of jetlag and the disconcerting effects of re-entering the humdrum after 10 days in Fantasyland, well… we both kinda forgot about Valentine’s Day this year. And you know, I’m fine with that. Not that I have anything against Valentine’s per se — the idea of a holiday to celebrate love and romance is fine, in principle — but in practical fact, it’s really just another one of those consumption-oriented holidays on which you feel pressured to spend money you don’t have (especially just after returning from 10 days in the most expensive state in the union!) on stuff you don’t need. Seriously, I have a banker’s box down the Archive filled with little plushy critters that are holding hearts and wearing red t-shirts with endearing messages on them, and they’re all adorable and were much appreciated when I first received them, but now they live in the dark shadows of a box in the basement, no doubt dreaming of the long-ago day when they were plucked from the shelves of the Hallmark store and how everything used to be happy and bright but now that’s all gone, and how sad is that? How can I possibly sentence more innocent plush toys to that Phantom Zone existence? What kind of monster would I be?

Cough. Ahem. Wow. Not sure where that came from. Anyhow, I may be content with not doing much of the traditional V-Day thing today, but I also don’t want to come across as a total curmudgeon on the subject, because I don’t feel all that curmudgeonly about it. So in the spirit of acknowledging the day without really engaging too deeply with it, I’ve got a video I’d like to dedicate to my eternally patient traveling companion (and new roomie!), as well as to all you lovers out there in InternetLand. This is most romantic song I could think of today… well, okay, actually it’s the first song I thought of, but whatever, I think the sentiment still applies… Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!