Snow Fall and Valentine's Day

I'm sure that you all expect me to compose some sarcastically witty rant regarding the looming Valentine's Day, such as how it's a holiday for companies to prey upon naive romantics or how sappy lovebirds are merely in a constant state of self-delusion. Well, sorry to disappoint. This is _not_ one of those. :P

First, an aside: Listening to peppy dance pop on my iPod, I walked around Cambridge this past weekend in the midst of subzero wind chill and the random snow "dumpings," as I like to call it. (Imagine someone in the sky sporadically emptying huge trash barrels of snow. That's how it snowed this weekend.) I realized why I decided to stay in Cambridge. Strange, I know. So, the truth: As a tiny girl (in poofy dresses.... Don't Ask.) growing up in Taiwan, I loved Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales; I always tried to imagine how brick roads and buildings would look when covered in snow. When we relocated back to the US, we moved to the suburbs of Cleveland, nested in the middle of the snow belt. Snow was more than abundant. Too abundant, perhaps. All the cookie cutter houses seemed to be almost collapsing under the weight of the packed snow. That kind of snow was neither pleasant nor serene. Cambridge, however, have these perfect snow dustings and these perfect little brick houses and roads against this perfect lavender night. Such quaint storybook scenes make me embarrassingly satisfied.

So, anyway, during my walk, I noticed a lot of undergrads doing the usual pseudo-last-minute gift shopping. When the thought of "Aw, they're so cute. They still believe in the value of these grandiose romantic gestures." (in Chinese, of course) flitted through my head, I felt incredibly jaded. However, it's not true that I believe Valentine's Day to be retarded and useless. To say so would not only be lying and condescending but would also suggest that I'm bitter, which I'm not. While it is true that I'm basically only familiar with horrifying Valentine's Day "experiences" which has led to my associating the day with trauma or pending doom, I do think that Valentine's Day is good for modern people. Being so over-committed and ambitious, we're constantly checking e-mail, juggling schedules, scrambling at work, rushing to places, etc. This "holiday" reminds us to make time to show people for whom we care that we do care. Not with chocolates and flowers and reservations and cliche gestures, but simply via a intimate look and a couple of sincere words.