A Rose by Any Other Name

Since I'm bipolar (ii) and a Gemini, is it OK that I find Valentines Day to be simultaneously sweet and annoying? I know I can't be the only one who finds it odd that we're supposed to have a one day, nationwide love-in. Wouldn't it be better if we tried to stretch that out a little, say over the entire year?

But then, I do like giving presents and, ok, if we're being honest, I like getting them, too. But all of the anxiety-inducing marketing hype makes it seem as though your relationship is doomed if you don't find THE gift. And then there are the flowers and the chocolate and the food. (Chocolate is of course welcome at anytime of the year, though I am a bit snooty about brand and quality.) But let's stick with the flowers for now.

Bloom in New York is offering some stunning floral arrangements--to the tune of 275$ for 20-25 flowers. The Flower Shop in San Francisco has a somewhat uninspired looking arrangement with a dozen long stem roses for a mere 85$. Red of course. But an article published in Ireland's Independent shows that the madness isn't just in the U.S.: There the price for a dozen roses has doubled, to about 100€, which translates to about 150$US.

Rose and Radish in San Francisco offers a much more romantic option: Flower Subscriptions. My favorite is the Spontaneous Flower Subscription. It'll still set you back, but they'll send stunning arrangements at random intervals--no pressure to have them on THE DAY. Better still? When the flowers (Gerbera daisies) or chocolate (a West Coast version of Gearhart's) or CDs or books are brought home on random occasions. And it's not a one-way street so every once in a while I'll bring Thomas a nice chocolate stout.

And just one last fun note: The jeweler where we got my engagement ring had this bumper sticker on the inside of the vault door: "If she's not going to live forever, why give her a diamond?"