Trust me, I'm a romantic

I really dislike commercialized Valentine's Day. I am a positive person. I just see the entire holiday as a mere frivolity.

Not in the sense of doing nice things when you are a kid, or for your kids or for any other person that you care about for that matter. But I don't like seeing entire store displays constructed to house chocolate, teddy bears, and long walls of pink and red cards. Let’s not even mention paying an exorbitant amount for flowers.

I like flowers. I like receiving flowers. I normally dry and save the flowers I receive if it is from someone really important. I want flowers on any other day but Valentine's Day. Then it seems more like the person is sending flowers not because they should, but because they want to. A dozen on Valentine's day is equal to the price of three dozen any other day (except maybe Mother's Day) - so it is also the logical way to go.

I like cards and love notes. I just would rather have them born of an honest desire.

I am a romantic. I want bubble baths with wine, dancing and dinner (or hell, dancing in the middle of dinner) but I want them out of the blue on a random Tuesday. I think there are so many chances throughout the day, everyday, to let someone know that you value them. I'd rather be able to appreciate those moments, than force down something cliché on February 14th.

I usually spend months thinking of the perfect gift, even if it is small. That being said, my rules for Valentine's Day gift giving are:
- Nothing specifically themed.
- No flowers, chocolate. candy, or anything of the like.
- Something that cost no money at all is best, but otherwise under $20.
- Action or doing items are better than "thing" items.

A new day, a new office, a new job

I moved offices today at work, because I happened to luck out and keep my job (or a job I should say... because my new job will be a cluster of somebody else's job and the other things that roll through the door.) I packed four boxes of my experience so far and hauled it one floor up to re-filed in an unfamiliar place, among unfamiliar people, in an unfamiliar role.

The walls now surround me are entirely bigger than I deserve and I'm just hopeful (and a bit scared) than my ideas are at some point worthy of filling them. There are some pretty good sized stains on the carpet though - so maybe it is more than I deserve, minus 2.

Every office/job move up until now came with more padding it feels like. It definitely came with more people I knew and surely it came at a happier time in the working world. Maybe that is normal in the average career progression, you trade more experience for less padding.

Everyone is also much more important than I am. Many levels above me. This makes me question if I should be wearing a suit to come across as more capable. The good news is however, that although my new neighbors are in the same building, they haven't really seen much of me before... and this makes it possible to break the normal rotation of corporate dress. I can repeat things I have worn in the recent past if it is the only thing I can come up with in the morning and they will never know.

And that takes the edge off of the start of my giant new undertaking that semi-begins tomorrow and that partly began back in October, with a slight pause of "What the hell is going on here?" in December.

And amidst the stumbling that this week might bring, I have to come up with something wonderfully understated for the first time for someone on this painfully confusing holiday weekend...more on that later.