I do not know about the rest of you but I am just about sick of all of the various holidays. Every month it seems as though there is a new one coming around the bend. Stores begin decorating for holidays months beforehand and it drives me crazy. I don’t want to pick through Christmas decorations in August, thank you very much.

One of the most annoying holidays is Valentine’s Day. Do not get me wrong – I am in a loving, wonderful relationship – I just do not like being told that on some random day in February I have to prove it to my mate and the rest of the world. Valentine’s Day is meant to be romantic and all that jazz but the holiday itself does not have the most romantic of histories. I won’t go into it but it involves Catholics and martyrdom. Yikes.

I feel a bit awkward whenever my honey and I are watching tv and a damned commercial for Valentine’s Day comes on. There we are, sitting in silence, waiting for it to be over. We love each other plenty but a stupid stuffed animal really does not do it for me anymore. I am not twelve, thank you.

I am a grownup. If someone wants to do something amazing and unforgettable for me on Valentine’s Day it does not involve chocolates and roses. They could pay my car payment. That would last a lifetime. Chocolates just make me fat and flowers die, so what is the fascination? Someone please tell me.

Valentine’s Day is the most overdone of all holidays, even more so than Christmas. Bold statement, I know. But I think that it is true. It even alienates more people than Christmas. There have to be more single people out there than there are people from a single, non-Christmas celebrating religion. Now how do they feel, huh? We go out of our way to make non-Christians feel accepted during the holiday season, what about the dateless? What about them?

I think that we need to tone down the whole Valentine’s Day thing. Being in a relationship or being in love is a personal thing and not everyone feels deeply in love on a random cold Thursday in mid-February. Leave me alone Russell Stovers! You too, rose-growers! I am happy in my relationship and I do not need your industries telling me I need stuff or to do more to prove it.

When I first got on the Internet I was scare of everything. I’m not afraid to admit that now that nothing bothers me. There is something about feeling exposed to the world that can be a little overwhelming at first, but I’ve gotten over that. It has become a place where people are freer to be who they are or they are so ashamed of who they are, they create entirely new personalities. You can often pick out the second type rather easily and they are only fooling themselves. These types often populate the online chat rooms and this is perhaps why I avoid them.

There are some great communities that offer online chat and if they are moderated, they are great places to hang out. You can find a room for just about any interest and you may make some great friends there. The fakers are always around though, so you do have to be careful whom you trust and what you believe. There are some who will get money out of people and others who just need to feed their need for drama in their life. If you can weed these folks out, you can meet some great people through online chat who may end up being great friends.

There are dangers associated with online chat and this might be why you want to limit the time you allow your children to play around in chat rooms or even on instant messenger. Tell them they can only use IM if they are talking to people that they know in person. These might be people from their school or family members. You have to keep on eye on their online chat activities. If you don’t, they will do whatever they want. They don’t realize how dangerous it can be, even if you spell it out for them. People are tricky and you don’t want them luring your child into a dangerous situation.

The best type of online chat is the kind you set up with those you already know. You can find places online to make your own room and you can invite only those you want to hang out with. This is the safest online chat there is and it is something that a lot of people do. You can do this through your instant messenger as well, and many find that they love to talk this way because there are no intruding trolls or weirdoes. Take it for what it’s worth and have fun with it. Just remember that for those truly special and private conversations, the telephone is much more private. What you say in an online chat can end up anywhere.