by P Vandegrift

Created on: January 08, 2007   Last Updated: October 23, 2011

It may only last 24 hours, but it is the weeks preceding the dreaded V-Day that conjures up those familiar images; flowers arriving to the office and they are not for you, women running around with big sparkly rings on their bony fingers beaming that they've said yes, other women finding someone special a week before V-Day and bragging about it, and the other single girls who, like you, listen patiently, rolling their eyes at the high-pitched squeals and wincing at the sudden invasion of the wedding magazines.

It is only one day out of year but for the single girl it can be a nightmare. Why should only one day be set aside for showering love onto someone special? Shouldn't you have the right to give flowers whenever you want? These are just a few of the common questions put forth by the single girl at this time of year. We can roll our eyes and sneer all we want but it will never make Valentine's Day go away.

But we can get through it together! Here are some things that might help you through the sugarcoated day.

* If Valentine's Day lands on a workday and you have holiday hours accrued, then take the day off. This will help to alleviate the migraine you will get from the overpowering scent of roses, chocolate, the cooing and ahhhing when the flowers arrive, the influx of phone-calls, and those older women who look at you with pity as your desk lay void of flowers and cards.

* If you do worry about being the empty' desk at work, and you are only going along with Valentine's Day because you want to show that it doesn't bother you in the least, then order yourself some flowers a few days before, no card needed. You know who sent them and why.

* Ignore this day as being one for the lovers' and insist that it is just another normal day, and that you have no idea what they are going on and on about, and would they please stop offering you chocolate out of a stupid heart-shaped box.

* Make up an imaginary partner who is in the Peace Corps and does not have access to a phone or writing materials but that you can sense his/her love for you without having a special day anointed for it.

* Act like you are being taken out to dinner that evening without ever having to open your mouth. Grinning like an idiot when someone asks 'if you are doing something special for the evening' will let everyone within a six feet radius know that you have something romantic planned because they will all be staring at you. Finish this off with an affirmative nod of the head and you will

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