That magical place that smells like the sea
Before I get to the main reason for this post, I have to ask, why does anyone even fucking CARE about this Anna Nicole Smith chick?! She was a Z-list "celebrity" who lived a life resembling a train wreck. So why is it that when I try to get the news I have to wade through the manure regarding her life and death? Have people become such zombified ignoramuses that they care more about a drugged-out, overweight ex-playmate than a blood-hungry tyrant running our country and waging uncalled-for war, sacrificing over 3,000 of our brave soldiers lives absolutely needlessly???

Apparently so.

Anyway, St. Valentine's Day is this Wednesday. This "holiday" always splits my "friends" right down the middle. Some recognize that it is a Catholic Feast Day that has been co-opted by Hallmark to make money. Other, more lonely types, tend to favor using it as a chance to wage battle in the name of their "vendetta" against love, or whatever.

Coincidentally, my kid sister is currently asking for my help regarding her college course on Shakespeare. They are studying Twelfth Night, which features some wonderful commentary on how humans view "love."

"Love" is depicted as something sudden and irresistible in this particular work, something that attacks the individual from the outside, much like a disease. It's extremely difficult to shake, get rid of or cure. People endure great suffering as a result of it. In the first Act, the character Orsino describes it as an "appetite" that must be satisfied and, later, the character Olivia refers to it as a "plague." Love makes the characters desperate and violent.

Of course, a lot of this has to do with melodrama and self-centeredness, which are things the people in my life are, apparently, soaking in. But, when one is lonely, one tends to dwell in such nether regions. I can't necessarily tell you how to overcome your cravings for "love." It typically involves making yourself more "attractive," which is something that most I have encountered tend to be completely and frighteningly clueless about. Hygiene is pretty big. If you stink then, seriously dude, you're not getting laid. This is why people with dread locks are to be avoided. When people dread their hair it's because they know they won't have to wash it. If someone is so fucking lazy that they go to these lengths to stop washing their own hair, they are definitely not someone to which you want to subject your privates, taking into account their inevitable pubic infestation. Avoid them at all costs.

Polyamorous types are to be avoided as well. Not solely because they are Polyamorous. I have no problem with that lifestyle. In fact, I envy it. I would gladly fly the Poly flag if my current lover decided that it would be acceptable for us. Unfortunately, I have met hundreds of Poly types in my lifetime and I wouldn't want to fuck a single one of them. They make great company, to be sure, and are generally more interesting to talk to, but the lack of attention paid to outward appearance - teeth, body odor, weight, hair, clothing, etc.- is appalling in this particular community. I've been told it's not like that all over the country, just here, but I have my doubts.

When you're young and immature, you don't want to compromise "yourself" to make a relationship work. But that's precisely why you can't make one work for you. Relationships always require compromise, on both parts, which should, in turn, lead to personal growth. This is, of course, after you've made yourself attractive to the opposite sex. I've experienced a helluva lot of sex in my lifetime and have enjoyed a number of long-term relationships. I know what I'm talking about.

I've been in a fantastic, enriching relationship for over four years now. There have been times when hypoxia has wanted to kick me to the curb. There have been times when I've wanted to throw hypoxia down a flight of stairs. There have been a few occasions when we both were ready to give up on the whole thing. But we didn't. We recognized the strengths in our similarities and our differences. We've grown into an amazingly strong couple. We still fight occasionally but, for the most part, we get along superbly.

This doesn't mean I give a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut about this impending "holiday." I don't. It's completely meaningless as far as I'm concerned.

But it is deedlebug's birthday. And it is my one year Anniversary as a UPS Driver.

Oh, and it's also the four year Anniversary of the first time I banged hypoxia. *Heh*