Happy Valentine's Day!

Now cut the PDA-crap out. Don't make me throw chocolate at you.

You know you're in a relationship when...

My last post was full of unhappiness, so instead of adding this to the end of my rant, I decided to just write a new entry. This way, if people only read the top post, they won't run across Sad!Hanna in the second.

Continuing with the list I started in my annual Valentine's Day post, BSW ran across some new overly cutesy, couple-y behavior.

You know you're in a relationship when...

- You go grocery shopping together.
- You have an "I<3YOU2" license plate (not literally less-than-3, but one of those sickening hearts. The less-than-three would have made it bearable).
- You're getting hitched. At 22 years old.
- You sit next to your date at a restaurant, rather than sitting across from them (and being separated for an hour).
- You coordinate your outfit with your Significant Other.

[Edit: who says you have to be dating someone, to be in a relationship? I have relationships with lots of people.]

Relationship-phobic

As Valentine's Day approaches, the Bitter Single Woman in me begins vomiting at every display of public affection; I have to restrain BSW from hurling muffins (long story) at every couple she comes across.

Don't get me wrong - there are advantages to the Single State that I prefer infinitely to the Relationship. Hitting on people left and right, enjoying the attentions of the cute salesman at Nordstrom, flirting shamelessly with waiters and coffee baristas, having a girl's night out whenever and wherever - all things I couldn't get away with if I had that extra weight on my arm.

However, there are advantages to the Relationship that the Single State never enjoys - late-night phone calls for a spider infestation, warm hands to hold, a spare jacket, inside jokes. And about this time every year, BSW cries for the lost opportunities.

This year, however, BSW is a little less whiny. I'm in a state of flux right now - I'm about to graduate without knowing quite where I'm going yet; I'm banking on being across the nation in a year's time. I don't want to form any attachments for fear of breaking them off. So for now, I'll enjoy the Single State a little while longer - though BSW comes through every now and then.

Take the following list, for example - it's my version of "You know you're when..."

You know you're in a relationship when...

- You go grocery shopping together.
- You have an "I<3YOU2" license plate (not literally less-than-3, but one of those sickening hearts. The less-than-three would have made it bearable).
- You're getting hitched. At 22 years old.


It's a work in progress. Expect BSW to update it, as she runs across sappy couples in the upcoming weeks.

EDIT: Interesting fact - the fear of chins is called "geniophobia": defined as "a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of chins", each year this surprisingly common phobia causes countless people needless distress.

I don't think I'm geniophobic, but I do admit that the chin is a deciding factor in whether or not I think a man is attractive. Take, for example, Pretty-Boy Brady, whom you've heard me complain about in the past few posts. Attractive man...

UNATTRACTIVE chin!

Interesting, how that just throws everything off.

S.A.D

The time once again approaches. Every year, it is inevitable. The month of January crawls inexorably toward February, and once the shortest month of the year arrives, it's only a matter of days.
You know what I speak of. Valentine's Day is fast-approaching, once more.
Of all the holidays that come to pass in one year, Valentine's Day always strikes me as the most fabricated, the most Hallmark, of them all. It's a very gooey sentiment, celebrating love and lovers; I've never really wrapped my mind around the concept.
My history of Valentine's Days, in a nutshell:
- Elementary school: forced to give cards to everyone, so that no one feels rejected.
- Middle school: secretly longing for someone to buy me a Valentine Gram (sold for a paltry dollar and delivered during class).
- High school: Resignedly accepted my fate to be alone on Sap Day; turn my attention to giving gifts of chocolate and overly pink cards to my friends, instead.
And that's been my approach ever since. In all my 20 years of existence, I've never once celebrated a Valentine's Day with any lover of any sort, but it's only been in the last few years that I've come to terms with it. Nowadays, I celebrate love in its other forms - I give cards of appreciation to my friends, I hand out chocolate to anyone and everyone - and I pelt people whom I feel are being overly affectionate (at least, I imagine myself doing so).
This Valentine's Day looks to be no different. No lover, but no cares. I'll be on duty - I've warned my residents that I'll document people for overly excessive PDA. :] I'll give cards, I'll arm myself with candies (my friends gave me a couple of bags of my favorite Valentine's Day treat - Hershey's Hugs!) and fling them at the unsuspecting, and I'll enjoy the love and affection of true friends.
I've never known any other sort of love on Valentine's Day, and this year, I won't be looking for it. I'm more than pleased with what I've already got.
<3

No turkey, but lots of drama

What a vacation. Pseudo-vacation, perhaps, is a better word. It seems to me that the aftermath of my holidays spent at home are blog posts full of bitching, but oh well. I was made to rant.
Anyway. Thanksgiving Day wasn't that bad, actually. We had dinner with the only members of my father's family that we actually speak to - his older sister and her two sons, all grown. It was rather nice, since I got to indulge in my aunt's fabulous cooking and see my "nephew" again (the eldest of the two is married and has a 1.5 year-old boy. We Koreans don't mess around with "second" cousin and "third cousin once removed" or whatever. They're just all nieces and nephews). The kid looks a lot more like his mom, these days, and is much cuter for it.
Friday, at around 2am, my sister Jane pulled into the driveway. I helped her unload her Honda, and then the two of us passed out until around 4:30am, which is when our parents woke us for the drive to Tahoe and Reno. Traffic all along the way, of course. I actually drove, for the first time in the history of family road trips. I forget when exactly we pulled into Tahoe - I want to say it was around 2pm. The weather was chilly, but the lake was just beautiful.


There's me, my mom, and my dad, on the edge of the lake. It was our first time visiting Tahoe, and though we were only there for a short period of time, I think we all enjoyed it.
I slept most of the way from Tahoe to Reno; I forfeited my camera to Jane and passed out in the back of the van.
Once at Reno, there wasn't a whole lot for me to do. My sister and our parents gambled for a little bit, while I stayed in our hotel room. I think I read... or did I sleep some more? Eh, insignificant detail. Anyway, a little while later, my mother returned to the room, and we trooped down for dinner at a delicious restaurant in the hotel. My sister ordered me a cocktail as a dessert - a White Russian, with a shot of espresso. Absolutely fantastic; quite possibly the best part of the whole vacation.
We left Reno late Saturday morning, and the drive home was not nearly as peaceful as the way north. My sister brought up a sore subject with my mother, and we all received a nice tongue-lashing. Terrific. I was snappish and short-tempered for most of the way as well, since I quite loathe trips to casino resorts. I see no point in them since a) I don't like gambling away my money and b) even if I did enjoy throwing money away, I'm not legally old enough to. A wasted trip.
Considering that we didn't leave too badly in debt, and that we only had to suffer through my mom's one outburst (albeit, a very angry outburst) and my strained temper, it was actually a successful family trip. Hopefully, though, we won't be going on too many more of them. I enjoy traveling and all, but NOT WITH FAMILY. We have too many opinions, too many tempers, and too little sympathy and patience to be able to deal with one another very well.
Anywhoo, random text messages from my RA buddies kept me sane (relatively speaking), and now I am happy to report that I am back in San Diego.
Not so happy that finals are rapidly approaching, but that's another post.