Friggin' Valentine's Day...

It's THAT time of year again!

The time of year when ya just can't escape notions of romance! I mean, I'm happy with my lot. I'd even go so far as to say I'm BLESSED in my life! But the human condition seems to include an inescapable desire for whatever it is we don't have. And romance is, like, the ONE place my life is lacking!

Okay, I could be paid more, and I could be working exclusively in my chosen field -- creating entertainment (films, audio stories, novels, the works). But that's just about time and effort, it's a destination at the end of a process. (It's also the beginning of ANOTHER process, but that's outside the purview of this discussion.)

For the most art, though, I dig on, and deeply appreciate, the life I live!!! It's a lifestyle that keeps me in possitive mental and emotional and spiritual health! It's a lifestyle that makes me disinterested in going to sleep and eager to wake up!

How many people can say that about their lives? Can YOU? (If you can, RIGHT ON! THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!!)

But this current lifestyle doesn't really allow for (1) time to go out and meet new people frequently or (2) the necessary disposable income that makes going out and meeting new people possible.

One friend suggested, very wisely, that I simply pick a coupld of nights a week and go do my writing at a coffee shop. This would put me in place where I might meet new folks, and if I did meet new people at the hours I would be available to hang at a coffee shop (LATE... or EARLY, depending on your pespective) they would be people with compatible schedules!

I got excited! I didn't have any money that week, but next paycheck I would start!

...but then... you know, LIFE happens. Some dvd came out that I NEEDED to own, or some flick came out in theaters that was a must-see for me, or SOMETHING.

Point is, I never implimented this plan, and doubt I will be implimenting it any time soon.

I'm not complaining, mind you. I would MUCH rather be alone and creating when I'm not at work than in a relationship with the WRONG person. I mean, if she's not a writing, filmmaking or horror-flick/animation-flick/sci-fi geek herself, I'd just make her miserable. (Been there, done THAT.)

Still...

I AM human...

And that patch of grass over there by you sure does look GREEN...

I actually googled "email flirting", hoping that there might be a site or sites dedicated to people in my particular predicament: Too busy -- for the moment -- to actually go on dates, but seeking that little extra something you get when another peson is PARTICULARLY interested in YOU.

Know what I found?

Tips on how to write emails that entice the other party to commit to that first date.

And tips on how to all-out SEDUCE chicks via email.

Apparently I'm the only person in this particular dilemma. I can believe it's actually true, but there just don't seem to be services set up to provide temporary relief for those who are working to accomplish a specific goal, but also could stand to feel like they're special to someone else as they pursue their goal.

I know what you're thinking... "You could just join an on-line dating service." I COULD, but they're geared toward getting people on that all-important First Date. I'd blow the wad on the service and not have any money left over for the date! Besides, I'm sure "Hey, I don't have the time or money to take you out, so can we just flirt online for a few years? You know, until I accomplish my life-long dream of BREAKING INTO THE MOVIE BUSINESS" is something EVERY girl wants to be asked.

"Oh. You're one of THOSE," would be the inevitable reply email.

That, or the MORE dreaded, "You're HOW old?"

Blah.

Like I said, I'm not sincerely complaining. I believe that there is a flow to life, which means that there are also ebbs. Creatively, I'm in a flow. Romantically, I'm in an ebb. It's life. It's how it is for the time. Everything ALWAYS changes, and that's not a bad thing at all.

But I'm intellectually frustrated. I can't help feeling as though there's some part of this puzzled that I'm not seeing, or I'm not looking at in the right way. It's like there's some variable I'm failing to take into account, one that holds the solution, which will inevitably turn out to be ridiculously simple!

Isn't that always the way? You abng your head against a wall for a long time, then when you find the solution you go, "Oh! Of course! Why didn't I see that right away?!"

Anyway, Valentine's Day... Bah humbug!

When are they going to create a Live In The Moment Day, wherein we who are capable of enjoying what we HAVE and where we ARE in life are congratulated, and those-who-are-always-looking-for-that-greener-grass-without-taking-the-time-to-simply- appreciate-what-is-already-theirs are encouraged to experience genuine appreciation for the day?

Oh, wait... There's no money to be made that way. You can't very well entice people to spend money they otherwise wouldn't have spent that day on a holiday "sale" if the holiday embraces contendedness...

Okay, how about this: A girlfriend/boyfriend RENTAL agency!!! For that on-the-go person. You don't have time to develop and nurture a relationship? NO PROBLEM! Come on down to Significant Others R Us and we'll hook you up with a Temp Other for a reasonable price!

I mean, those of us who can't afford to buy a home are allowed to RENT an appartment! It's not like if you can't find THE house that you want to live in for the rest of your life, you have to live in an alley! (Or, in my case, your first choice of house is a bit unrealistic...)

But try to rent a date and you're charged with "solicitation"!

That's a shame, too. Because I could forgo buying as many movies as I do if it were a choice between occasional affection and OWNING a movie I could simply get via Netflix. I think I could find room in my budget for flirtatious emails and/or phone calls. I could find the time, too!

I'm not talking "adult" phone calls, either! Phone sex just isn't the same as a "Just called because I was thinking about you," ya know?

Maybe THAT'S how I can make my FIRST MILLION! I create an inexpensive service for people who are living good lives, but they're just not yet where they're headed in life, and they don't yet have the time or money to date around!

Nah.

It would most likely just degenerate into Intenet porn and phone sex before the business was a month old. People would be emailing "So, ya got any NAKED pictures you can send me?" and asking their phone girlfriends "What are ya wearin'?"

Blah.

The solution continues to elude me.

And it usually get's stcuk in my craw twice a year: Spring & VD.

Friggin' Valentine's Day.