It's not the Quality, but the Quantity.

So it was Valentine's Day today.

Many years ago, this would be a great day of receiving cards and flowers for me. I'd go home with no less than 20 self-made cards, and sometimes even roses of all colours. What wonderful school mates I have.

Yes, so most of my cards came from my own friends, not admirers. Maybe we were just consoling one another about our lack of dates, so we go into overdrive with the card giving. But hey, those days were fun. Running around the classrooms and literally throwing little cards at everyone. I miss those days.

Many years ago too, I would be envious of those who received bouquets on this day. Especially of those who are uglier than me. I mean, come on, their personalities can't be that much better than mine right? I'd walk around the streets, silently stealing looks at those flower-welding females but outrightly saying that I'm not a sucker for commercialism.

Today, I realised that I've really grown up (or old, whatever). School kids and young adults alike stroll past me holding out their roses like trophies, and all I did was either admire or frown upon the various skills of the florists. In my mind I was screaming "Eeew! Wrong colour combi" or "Roses with ferns?! Hello??". The only one time a gasp escaped my lips eas when I caught sight of a blur of pink sailing past my nose. It's not that the roses were particularly gorgeous, or that the girl was really too plainly featured to be holding such a beauty, or that the male upon which she was clinging on to was a cutie. What caught my eye was the size - there has got to be 50 roses squashed like sardines in that little garden she was holding! And she really was holding it like a trophy because there's no other way she could hold it. It's too huge. 50 roses. Now that's what I call a Valentine's bouquet.

J asked me if I would like to have a bouquet too. After thinking for a while, I said no. I said that for $3 a stalk of rose today, I'd rather she buy me a rose for 6 days ($3 / 50 cents = 6) in the entire year. It's more romantic to receive flowers when there's no occasion, isn't it? Also, it's common to be holding flowers on Valentine's Day, but I discovered that holding a bunch of flowers on any other day attracts more envious looks.

See how an Auntie thinks?