My dad and I took a trip to Borders (book store) today to pick up some novels to read while we were away. I’m already reading the Narnia series and while I hate to stop to look at other books, as if I had some terrible case of OCD that would stop me from reading two books at the same time, I went anyway because I love picking up a book and taking it home. Even if I don’t read it.

Wasn’t I surprised when I found two novels I’d been waiting forever to be released: .hack//AI Buster 1 and 2. “At long last!” I said. “Took ‘em long enough to get these things out.” So I picked up the AI Buster novels and walked off. They look like easy reading, what I’d expect from that company, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy them. It looks more like a wordy manga than a full-fledged novel, with its intricate illustrations adorning some pages and 1.5-spaced large text. I can’t wait to check them out, though, sicne I’ve been waiting for them for so long. I believe there’s still one more .hack novel that needs to be released in the US.

I also picked up Howl’s Moving Castle, the original book that a recent movie made by Hayao Miyazaki (2001 Spirited Away director/creator) was based off of. The movie was quite good, and I reccommend it to just about everyone who doesn’t mind a little fantasy, a little romance, and a huge slab of creativity on one plate. Miyazaki has to be one of the most creative minds I’ve seen in a while, so after seeing Spirited Away, I just had to turn around and watch Howl’s Moving Castle, too. So much creativity… and then I learned that it was based off of a book of the same name. Well, I can’t just sit around and not read it! So I have it for the trip to Mexico, along with .hack//AI Buster 1 and 2 and the Narnia series.

We leave for the airport Wednesday evening, where we’ll stay overnight in a hotel near the airport, and then leave Thursday morning for Cancun.

On Valentines Day

Valentines day must be the single most commercialized holiday in existance next to Christmas. Flowers for $50 (Kings supermarket and Stop and Shop supermarkets), chocolates for $100 (Godiva) - sheer madness! And yet I see streets and buildings crowded with people whose pockets are stuffed with bulging wallets or just the green paper by itself, or people on the grocery store line with flowers that would cost them half of their house if they had half of their house to give. The Godiva Chocolatier store wasn’t so busy, but my dad and I were off to the place early in the morning on purpose to avoid the rush. And we STILL found people spending their hearts away to buy… hearts.

“Well, I don’t normally eat my weight in chocolate, but it is Valentine’s Day.”

Is it ironic that I despise Necco wafers, but I love Necco’s heart-shaped chalk-flavoured Sweetheart candies? Is it a crime? Can I be put in jail for such a fellony against humanity? Certainly I’d hope not - but I can only notice an increasing amount of hypocracy on and around Valentine’s Day, and most of it is surrounded by food and chores. People start doing things because it’s a holiday, but they’re really not doing things, they’re just convincing themselves. I’m mainly speaking about my father when I say this, who pledges that he won’t smoke in his car, that he will buy the best roses, that he won’t eat fast food that day when we go to pick up chocolate. In the end, smoke fills the car, he skimped on the roses because he wanted to pay less than $50 (I don’t blame him), and I had to drag him away from Popeye’s Chicken to stop him from eating the whole joint (or any of it at all).

The cards are dumb, in fact, here’s a summary (because I can’t find a quote - but who needs those?) inspired by and semi-stolen from a recent comedy show by Jim Gaffigan that expresses my thoughts on greeting cards: Greeting cards are a waste. I love how you go to the store and pick out cards; “Hmm, yeah… this looks like something I’d say. I’ll take it.” Scribble your name at the bottom and give it to the person you want to - “So, do you like what that other guy wrote in there? Took me five minutes to find. Cost me two bucks.” The person looks up from the card and says, “Happy Valentine’s Day? You couldn’t have thought of that yourself?”

“Whoa, slow down there - I’m not a human slogan machine.”

I sure feel bad for the people who are all alone during this time. I mean, what must it be like to have no loved ones to empty your wallets out for? (By the way, that question is rhetorical.)

And for God’s sakes, it’s Valentine’s Day, not Valentime’s Day. If Valentime’s Day ever becomes a national holiday, I’m moving to another country.

6,592,050,319 people bought fancy chocolates on Valentine’s Day just to look at them sit on their shelves.