The SUPER EXCITING FRIENDS Celebrate Singles Awareness Day.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate Valentine's Day? Ok, maybe "hate" is too strong a word, but I think it's a load of crap. Although there is some basis in history behind St. Valentine's, it's mostly about spending too much money on garbage. (Yes, I know that you can argue that Christmas is far more commercial but don't bother because I will plug my ears, rock back and forth and sing "lalalalalalala".. in otherwords, I don't care.....)

The history of St. Valentine's day is murky at best. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. There are several other scenarios involving Valentine assisting people out of Roman prisons and ending up in prison himself.. sending his girlfriend a romantic letter signed "from your Valentine". Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. Regardless, all stories end up with Valentine being killed. I guess you could look at it as romantic. About as romantic as the baseball bat scene from the Untouchables, but whatever...

So yes, I understand there is historical significance, and yes, I was raised in the Catholic church so I get the whole saints thing.. blah blah blah.

But I still think it's lame. Don't get me wrong... it's NOT because I am extremely unattached.. I was not a big fan of Valentine's Day to begin with. From being in grade school and having kids feeling awkward because they didn't get as many cards as some other kids to feeling ostracized later in life when all your friends are paired up and you're not.... it seems more of a celebration of exclusion rather than the celebration of love.

Jodi showing how unimpressed she is with Valentine's Day..

And thus, Singles Awareness Day was born. (phrase coined and copyrighted by Jodi Crooks, 2009. WARNING: Any use of the term "Singles Awareness Day" without credit and suitable payment to Jodi Crooks shall constitute intentional infringement of Jodi Crooks intellectual property and Without further notice we will prosecute to the fullest extent allowed by law. In other words, JC will kick your ass. Believe me, I know...) I feel this is a fair and equitable term used to describe what REALLY happens on Valentine's day. Namely, we singles are basically "outted"... feel left out.. etc. Not that we CARE mind you. In fact, we do not, as we have our very own celebrations and you can't come. Well, unless you are single. Then OK.

Jodi and I getting gussied up for our big night.

This year the Super Exciting Friends celebrated Singles Awareness Day in Barrie Ontario. Now, you ask..... who ARE the SUPER EXCITING FRIENDS? Well, the group IS very exclusive and secretive. Mostly comprised of people who like to lay on my couch and watch movies. And drink liquor. Those are really the 2 major prerequisites to being a Super Exciting Friend. On this particular occasion, the SUPER EXCITING FRIENDS included myself, Fernando and my BFF, Jodi.

(Yes, I realize that it is weird to be spending what some call "the most romantic day of the year" with your ex. Thanks for pointing that out. It's cool. We're friends.)

The Super Exciting Friends decided that the S.A.D. Celebrations (it is COMPLETELY a co-incidence that Singles Awareness Day spells out SAD. Really. We are not depressed in the least) would be comprised of eating, and drinking. Yup, we had BIG PLANS. First off, we made a lovely dinner of pasta with shrimp and mushrooms. Very delicious. We had some drinks.. ate.. and then relaxed. And......pretty much nearly dozed off. Hence, our name... the SUPER Exciting Friends.

Fernando aka Flash Asterisk says "fuck you Coldplay"

So we got ready and headed out to someplace we felt the SEF's would feel comfortable celebrating S.A.D. A place called "Fitzy's Crab Shack". Not so much for the crabs, but because they have live bands.. We hung out, drank beer, mocked others. We decided to think of super hero names. We made fun of Coldplay. (Slogan: Life is depressing enough without listening to Coldplay) The usual. There was a guy dancing around like a crazy person, which we enjoyed. I tried to take a video of it, but his friends saw me so I had to pretend I was doing something else. There were some people with mullets.. we danced at our table.. we mocked others some more.. we drank beer. We drank more beer. We laughed, we joked, we had a good time. We had more beer. All in all we had a blast. Then we headed home.. had a night cap.. and packed it in.

The next day we joked around, ate bacon and eggs and determined that all in all it was a pretty good night. And then I dressed up in a ridiculous costume because we had decided that we are like sort of super heroish. But hey...... We had great food, we were with friends who loved us, had some laughs and we had beer. And really, isn't THAT what holidays are all about?

Life: Pretty fun sometimes.

Love: I love my super exciting friends

Pants: Yeah, my pyjama pants ARE pretty darn hot.