Valentine’s Day is coming and, as we are required by law, The Post is going to give you things to do on Feb. 14. But it would be irresponsible of us to further the myth that there is one Valentine’s Day. In fact, there are many, all of them dependent on a person’s circumstance and relationship status, all of them requiring different activities, sometimes dramatically so. With that in mind, we have come up with what to do with five very common, very recognizable Valentine’s scenarios.
Previously…
SCENARIO FOUR: WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO PLAY THE GAME
In this day and digital age, dating has turned into a virtual game of cat and mouse, very different than the classic, no longer cool, OG game my parents told me about. That game was played in 3D, didn’t require a password or profile pic and insisted you risk everything on a couple things called opportunity and luck.
Today, unless you pin your hopes on someone dropping their books at just the right time for you to pick them up, dating has been reduced to an algorithm proactively trying to figure you out fast, one that requires you to input all manner of things that make you special, to, in a very real sense, sell yourself.
Believe me, I know this. I’m a social media manager; engagement is my business.
And maybe that’s why, this Valentine’s, I don’t feel much like playing the game.
So, I’m going the Galentine’s route this year. I’m calling up my best girlfriends and suggesting we celebrate ourselves and our friendship, and we do it on our own terms, in our own way… and yes, I get the irony of doing this under a marketing term that gained fame on a sitcom. Can we get on with it?
We’ll start at the Museum of Latin American Art. There we will delve into the magnificent world of Judithe Hernandez and her exhibit: “A Dream is the Shadow of Something Real.” Hernandez was part of a generation of artists who defined the Chicano Art Movement on the West Coast, the only female member of the celebrated Los Angeles artist collective, Los Four.
Her portraits of women navigating invented landscapes—a style she has developed over the last 40 years—are enshrouded in symbols from a vast lexicon of Western and pre-Columbian art, as well as an encrypted personal iconography. They are nothing short of breathtaking. Look for yourself …
Afterward, it’ll be time for dinner. Now, I don’t feel qualified to tell you where to go, I’m going to leave that decision up to you, your friends and Brian Addison. Now after dinner …
I like me a nice whiskey. There’s nothing better than sipping a nice one while talking to friends. I would normally recommend The Stave because it’s great. But, The Stave is so close to my office and this day is about getting a little out of your comfort zone, doing what is not normally expected, so I’m going to The Hawk, which is equally awesome. It seems only fitting that we order their Three Sisters, strong and tasty, but I might want a Hibiscus Tea Whiskey Sour. If we’re there during happy hour, I’ll most definitely get a $5 Old Fashioned.
Now, as witnessed by my reluctance to recommend somewhere to eat, my culinary tastes tend toward the simple and direct. That doesn’t mean I skimp on flavor, I just believe it should be delivered in a straightforward manner. Nothing embodies this better than a 2 a.m. street taco. Simple and delicious, they are sometimes hard to find. That’s why we’ll be going to El Taco Loco #3 located at 1465 Magnolia. It serves all manner of great fare in handmade tortillas.
Perhaps the best thing, though, is that the place is open 24/7; my favorite time of day.
Whatever you do, remember, the overall point of Galentine’s Day is to remember what you love most about YOU, not what society says you should value or want.
Take it from me, I am a social media manager.