Love is a Tsunami, and I am a Poorly Constructed Indonesian Hotel

I have noticed that part of the human condition is an unrelenting quest for love. Mostly this is a quest after romantic loves of all kinds, but, as we know, this can be a messy and (much like we humans) imperfect goal, once achieved.

Valentine's Day is exactly such a day to ponder such a vexing issue. There are always two groups which belong to Valentine's Day. There are those on the inside, and those on the outside. It is the one day out of the year, that is devoted to people being super-ultra nice to their mate. However, being on the outside of nearly every Valentine's day of my puny existence on the planet, I also know the feeling of wishing that I could lavish my most romantic ideals on some lovely creature, and make her feel like she was the most important woman on the planet.

Well, this year, I was lucky enough to be on the inside of the "V" and I realized, there are plenty of problems with this spot too. While knocking around for a nice card, I noticed people delivering huge bouquets of flowers, and people walking out of the jammed-full Godiva chocolate store, carrying bags of (doubtlessly overpriced) delicious candies for their love.

So, to fill you in, it hasn't exactly been the most lucrative stretch of time at the Casa Aloha, and so with extremely limited funds, (read "extremely limited" as, "so close to nothing that "nothing" would be an appropriate word for the "funds" I had) I found myself having to make due.

However, this only increased my envy of those people who could purchase the yummy and beautiful things they were getting for their "others." How I wished I could be such a fellow. And this brings me to the point that, no matter how romantic I wanted to be, it was never going to live up to the ideals I had...not enough preparation, imagination, and funding to come even close. So I began to wonder, "Have I been wrong all this time to desire being on the inside of Valentine's Day?" Having a Valentine is even more stress than going out Valentine's Day night, and hoping to score with a random selection at the bar. Would I come anywhere close to the ideals she had set? (a resounding NO should fill this space)

Which made me go back to a theoretical structure I created circa 2003. I call it "The Grass Is Always Greener Matrix." So to expand, basically, the G.I.A.G.M. takes into account that what you have, is never ever going to match up, once you see what other people have. For instance, there are some people who have Valentines of their very own, (putting them at a higher point in the matrix than those without) however, they do not actually want the Valentine they have. Whether through desperation, or their own personal actions, have ended up with someone they do not truly desire. These people are envious of the more happy-seeming couples they interact with. Whereupon, the more happy-seeming couples are content with what they have, but when they notice a more attractive mate, they will, nearly always begin to see their love as inferior to what is presented to them as achievable. This continues on the G.I.A.G.M. scale until we reach the level of the Super-Model scale of attraction. However, there is a third variable to introduce you to within the G.I.A.G.M.

The third variable is what I like to call "the FUCK IT ALL" variable. For in order to achieve any level of success with the G.I.A.G.M one must cast aside one thing, for what one (and others) will perceive as "a better thing." If one is capable of moving up the ladder, one must realize that the cost-factors increase. So if one were to achieve the "I'm dating a super-model" level of success (which would be at the top of the G.I.A.G.M scale (possibly, though it could be just under Movie Star) - when referring to dating) the cost of maintaining such a courtship would be a severe strain on the finances and imagination of any mortal. So that's where the "FUCK IT ALL" variable comes into play.

There becomes a time when any reasonable person decides, no longer is it worth it to continue on the current course of action, and (at whatever place in the matrix a person finds themselves) they decide to 'FUCK IT ALL." At this stage, those who have nothing, are exactly the people to be envied...and they take action to become one themselves. Then, later, on a day like Valentine's Day, the find that they wish they had someone to care for, and to lavish their love on, and suddenly, the matrix has reversed itself.

I mentioned earlier...A vexing problem.

But, since I believe the G.I.A.G.M matrix permeates everything in the universe, there's nothing to worry about. It just happens. So, I'm not positive, but I believe the ultimate lesson of the Grass Is Always Greener Matrix is, there really is something to being happy with what you've got.

I hope this clarifies things.
Happy Valentine's Day

P.S.
Once the supercomputers at the Fjordlab(tm) have come up with a reasonable solution to this quandary, I'll be sure to post it right away.