ON SOLITUDE

This past Saturday was Valentine's Day. I spent it like every other Saturday - not doing much. I watched some movies, played some games, read a book. It was honestly enough to make me forget it was Valentine's Day.

This was probably the first year (at least the first year in recent memory) that I didn't spend the whole day feeling sorry for myself because I didn't have any date-related plans. (Granted, I felt sorry for myself because I spent so much on getting my brakes fixed, but I suppose that can't be helped). I talked with an RA that night and he was very disappointed that he didn't have any date-related plans of his own, going to far as to offer to watch "Planet Earth" with me. (I watched the NBA Slam Dunk contest instead.) But the RA was down and I was not...what is the difference?

Am I so numb to being alone that it doesn't affect me the way it used to? Do I not care about Valentine's Day more than I care about any other Saturday? Was National Lampoon's "Vacation" enough for me to forget about my crippling loneliness? Answer to all three: sort of.

I am dealing with being single probably better than I ever have before. I try not to mope about it to friends the way I have in the past. And Valentine's Day...sure, it's nice, but it's not the end-all be-all day to show affection some make it out to be. And Beverly D'Angelo was very attractive in Vacation...and she's terrifyingly unattractive on "Entourage" now. Seriously. Yikes.