Monday, February 13, 2006
the paradox of suicide and valentine's day

i'm convinced that more suicides happen around valentine's day than any other day in february. of course, it can't compete with the other festive occasions, but the sudden spike in depression should be rather noticable. i am, of course, grousing about the irritating abundance of over-priced pink and red balloons and roses. not to mention chocolates and teddy bears. i have absolutely nothing whatsoever against valentine's as a celebration of love. as a low-down marketing strategy to leech the consumer dollar, however, i am disgusted by it. jewelry shops sell their diamonds with taglines that suggest that love can be bought. that the thickness of the wad of cash you hand over signifies your deep and intense romantic attraction to the person you hope to impress. and it doesn't just stop at romance. it has become an obligation to present our peers with token gifts on valentine's day, as if we don't know what else to do with our money, and can't afford to buy cheap chocolates for ourselves. in an attempt to avoid being accused of meaness (in every sense of the word) and being a party-pooper, i caved in and bought a bag of mini m&m thingies to give to my girl classmates tomorrow. no point in being antagonistic over what others think is a trivial matter right? okay it's not really a moral issue so i won't pursue it. i'd rather meet my sec4 class in a happy mood and enjoy the evening with them. anyway back to my point about suicides. yes. i realise i digress a lot. the whole love-is-in-the-air-can-you-feel-the-love-tonight romance melodrama seriously makes hardcore singles want to hurl. really. after conducting a poll (okay it was really just siti and me), i have concluded that valentine's day is an especially hard day for single girls to endure, even when surrounded by friends, because they have to put up with an entire day at school of pink balloons and red roses and giggles and batting eyelids. it stops being romantic after the fifth or so chocolate, and starts getting ridiculous at the third or so over-priced teddy. basically there is the paradox of suicide and valentine's day that fascinates me. how a festival that is supposed to celebrate love can be so much less and still cause people to be pushed over the brink. how people can be willing to give up something as real as life for something as transient as the world's false candycane love. love can't be bought, so why do you keep trying to sell it?

okay, so i'm a cheapskate single who didn't spend much on her friends either. but hey when you see what i've made for you, you'll appreciate the sheer hard work that went into it. and it wasn't exactly painless either. i ramble. sorry.

my sister just came into say that her chem rep must be the only person on earth who types 'ms ho, i'm dying :)'. must say that i've often been guilty of adding smiley faces or 'haha's just to show that i'm not suicidal. just a note: i would never, ever commit suicide. regardless of how much i joke about it or seem to be considering it seriously, i will never be sad enough to face the fires of hell.
9:04 PM ; 2 comments