Love, Satan, and sliders

Welcome to Valentine's Day, also known in some circles as Satan's Holiday (and not to be confused with Halloween). Like most people, I've had a checkered career with the Hallmark-branded occasion. On one such night, an casual evening out (and accidental in that I'd forgotten it was Feb. 14) with a woman I had assumed was throughly unavailable (she had a boyfriend) turned into the start of an intimate relationship (she disliked her boyfriend).

However, it all ended (she went back to her boyfriend). So that Valentine's Day memory is somewhat barbed.

On another V-Day, someone I'd been seeing let me know that my services were no longer required. Check, please!

Peaks and valleys, to be sure. Impossible to ignore, Valentine's Day can be an emotional challenge whether one is involved or outvolved; it's like New Year's Eve in that respect, only potentially much more stormy. Those in a safe harbor this time of year - whether romantically attached or not - should count their blessings and spare a kind thought for those caught up in turmoil.

Lots of couples are dining out tonight, while others are scrambling for dinner reservations. My current policy is to avoid eating out on V-Day; the occasion turns into Amateur Night at many restaurants what with the crowding and the overtaxed staff and the consequent decline in service. To say nothing of elevated expectations. A quiet dinner at home - nothing necessarily fancy - is much preferred here. For those determined to step out, I suggest a fun, postmodern spin on the V-Day dinner: White Castle, replete on this day of days with tablecloths, candles, roses, and tiny square hamburgers.

You still have to make a reservation, though, so get on it if you're going.

(Cross-posted. With tiny hearts.)