It’s always weird for me to say that I’m looking forward to a holiday such as Valentine’s Day, but this year has got me stoked for it. And no, it’s not for the reasons you would really think about (i.e., “love” or “dating”). Rather, I’m stoked because one of my favorite musical artists is dropping their 4th full length album. And it’s been 4 or 5 years since his last record, so it’s sort of a big deal for my partner and I.

We’ll be celebrating by hosting a small listening party on our record player in our apartment. Not many of our friends like his music, but that’s what is going to make it so much fun (and so special). Those that are there will absolutely love it, because it will be the first time we all listen to his stuff.

What’s fun is that we own one or two records of his on vinyl already, so we’ll be adding this to the collection that we have stored in some old cardboard boxes underneath our home entertainment system. In fact, I think it’s about time to upgrade our storage system from those very cardboard boxes. They’ve served us well over time, but I think it’s about time we get something more fitting for our collection that is growing (and becoming filled with rarer records worth more).

So yeah, Valentine’s Day will be quite special for us this year, if only because we’re doing something we never have before with a handful of close friends. I think that it’s these sorts of experiences that define how you handle life. Rather than buying into the entire idea of Valentine’s Day as a holiday where you’ve got to buy all sorts of candies, all sorts of chocolates, some cards, some stuffed bears, and some sort of nice “fancy” dinner for the person you like . . . why not do something more in line with your tastes and interests? I just feel like too many people let others (companies or people) decide for them what they’ll be doing on any given day. Holidays are especially bad about this, because people feel like there’s only one way to celebrate a special occasion.

Perhaps I’m getting off on a rant about this sort of stuff that doesn’t really matter though. In reality, everyone is going to be doing the same old thing they always do on Valentine’s Day, no matter how compelling my argument may come off to them. So, for what it’s worth, I hope this resonated with you more than the next average lemming!

Valentine’s Day is under a month away! Without fail, that holiday seems to roll around quicker than almost any other on a yearly basis. Perhaps it’s because February is one of the most forgettable months of the year (it’s actually number one on that list, in case you were curious), meaning it’s one month that will always seem to come around quicker than the ones you actually care for.

Or, perhaps it’s because all the annoying couples come out of the woodwork during this time of year. And as we just said, the things you really don’t care for or don’t want to see are always the events or periods in time that seem to come back the quickest annually. Meanwhile, days like your birthday are also exactly 365 days away each year, yet they take forever to arrive.

Nonetheless, whether you buy into this holiday’s hype and apply it to your annual schedule or not doesn’t make a difference when it comes to this holiday making its return. Even if you try to be a recluse around Valentine’s Day, it will be inevitably forced down your throat every February, just like the tongues of the very teenagers that businesses are marketing their goods towards. So even if you’re happily in a relationship or a lone wolf jaded by the world, the pinks and reds and abundant hearts will find their way into your life some way or another on this February 14th.

So why not take part? At the very least, do it for your friends and family. You don’t have to feel the need to go out and buy extravagant candy boxes or plush animals for your favorite cousin or your best friend. Nonetheless, why not use the holiday against itself and celebrate in the name of true love? Love for your friends, love for your family, love for humanity. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll enjoy the process if you go out and shop a little for the ones who mean the most to you, even if you do happen to be single and don’t buy into it all.

Candy boxes and huge stuffed bears or not, Valentine’s Day can be a bit more than the superficial holiday that everyone claims it to be (myself included). It all just depends on your perspective, and if you can shift the way you see everyday things, you can change a lot in your life for the better.

Recently I started to look into collecting vinyl records from some of my favorite bands. And don’t get me wrong, I know there are vinyl collectors out there growing in numbers with the resurgence of the medium, but there’s a difference between picking up standard pressings of records from some bands you sort of know and what I plan on doing. (I don’t mean to say this in some sort of elitist way, to be brutally honest. I suppose I’m just wanting to whine about the price difference in the records I’ll be collecting!)

You see, I wish I was going to be going after standard black wax pressings of my bands. But since I had to fall in love with a band that does a lot of alternate pressings that are quite rare, well, my wallet is bound to suffer over the next year when I start chasing down some of these albums.

It’s not just the fact that the alternate pressings exist. It’s the fact that they’re released in batches of 100 or 300 in a way to make them extremely rare. Only those quick enough to order them right away will get them brand new. Otherwise, you’ve got to look around on the aftermarket to pick up some of the coveted variants. And trust me, seeing some records go for over $150 on ebay isn’t the most fun thing when you really want that album.

I did discover that some people are fans of trading records though. So it gives me incentive to go through some of my cardboard boxes full of my partner’s dad’s albums from the ‘70s to see if there are any gems hidden within. At the very least, I could trade away some of the albums he didn’t want and we don’t care to listen to in order to snag some of the rarer albums from my favorite bands.

It’s a good thing we did decide to pack away a good portion of the records he gave us in some old cardboard boxes. We don’t necessarily have room for them, but we placed them in a few boxes in the back of our coat closet. They stay out of the way and aren’t in trouble of collecting any dust, meaning they shouldn’t lose any of their quality or conditions. So, lucky for me, I said “Yeah sure, I’ll take those” when he asked if we wanted any of his old records. Looks like it’s paying off now!