Showmantic

"If I had to choose between loving you, and breathing, I would use my last breath to say I Love You"

If the above quote made you feel all gooey inside, you should probably stop reading this and go here instead.

Don't get me wrong, I adore romance in all its tacky, scattered rose petals, chocolate covered, champagne guzzling glory. What I'm not keen on is an entire commercially driven day dedicated to public displays of affection between: couples who are far too old to be tonguing each others dentures in public, couples who think it's OK to dry hump against you on the tube, couples who obscure your view at the theater with their stupidly large Valentine's teddies, emo tweenagers who bandy the L word about like they invented it and, most vexing, the Kooples

Lets be real. Valentine's day is all about the showmance and nothing else. It's dead behind the eyes like a lonely atheist on Christmas day and, like chrimbo, it's all about bragging to the other kids about what you got from 'daddy'.

I don't want to celebrate anything that doesn't come with a day off work. I don't want to feel obliged to do something special just because Hallmark wants me to and I don't want to feel like a sour faced rixatrix if I'm alone on the day. I want to fill (almost) everyday with romance, every Sunday morning with sumptuous breakfasts in bed and make Valentine's day redundant...we're in a recession after all.

Having said (or ranted) that, I'm not averse to receiving plenty of roses tomorrow, and I don't mean the shitty chocolates either... ;-)

XxX

Facebook is full of sexual predators...

...as well as sexual prey and it can be a very dangerous place to loiter.

We have somehow managed to remove the 'I wonder what so-and-so looks like now and is he single?' because it's so easy to find out. One little click and you are presented with a small selection of carefully selected, taken from the most flattering angle, helped by the seductive lighting of a swish bar, uber-gorgeous photos (from 2006).

So you add-reminisce- flirt and the 'fun' begins. Here is where the danger lies or perhaps lays is more apt... This is the dotting the i's and crossing the t's of modern dating. No stone or pretty boy left unturned, no old flame left unburnt.

It seems like everyone is at it or has tried it so I must ask this question. Why? Why are we hiding behind the safety of cool online persona's? Why are we reincarnating crushes that have disappeared from our lives for some reason and should probably stay in the sanctity of infallible daydream?

And then I thought a little more... What are the alternatives? What happened to random chance meetings (with sane, good-looking, intelligent and employed men)? Where has all the spontaneity, fireworks and epic romances vanished to?

In an era where people rarely have time for a leisurely lunch and in an age group too young and beautiful for online dating it seems that F-Booking is the way forward. Texting is the new love letter and posting amusing youtube clips on each others walls is the new mix-tape. And why the hell not? Just remember one thing: The same rules apply! (See previous post) and the boy you went out with in sixth form is probably not as perfect as your hazy sepia toned memory. Do it anyway.... it's fun.

But have a look at this article before you do. http://http//www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7508945/Facebook-linked-to-rise-in-syphilis.html

Play safe XxX