St. Valentine's Day

Get ready. Here's the secret.

I love Valentine's Day.

Like, seriously. I love it. Like, I can't be sad about it, or bitter or indifferent...I LOVE it. And to be honest, I can't really see the argument for the whole Single Awareness Day or just plain hating on the celebration of, what is basically, every kind of love there is. You see, they say that St. Valentine secretly performed marriages for the soldiers in Rome during the third century. To me, that's not just supporting romantic love. In definition, he was supporting every kind of love. Because marriage is the base of a family, and as most of us can attest, the love within our own families is probably the most influential and important that one will ever know. And through the celebration of marriage, he was supporting the never-ending love that God has for us. Because in the union between a man and a woman, there is the reflection of the love between Christ and the Church. So St. Valentine's feast day isn't just a lovers' celebration. Instead, it is the reminder that there is love of all kinds around us, and that we should never forget it. Which is why, even though I'm single and didn't have a 'Valentine', I couldn't help but smile when I saw a red rose, or a heart, or even just two friends hugging each other telling each other Happy Valentine's Day. Because it was love. And love is one of the most beautiful things to witness on this earth.

So yes, I was the crazy chick with the elementary-school Valentines and lollipops to give out today. But it was wonderful to see my all of my friends get that smile today when I gave them a cardboard little card and what is essentially "sugar on a stick". So no, I don't regret it, and I don't feel alone. On a day like this...how could I?

1,700 Post-its: $5.00. 6 Rolls of Saran-Wrap: $6.00. Ryan's Face: Priceless

Once again, today was Slurpee Day. But unlike the others, it wasn't going to happen at 3:30. Oh, no. Because we had a plan. We were going to pull a prank.

It all started Tuesday, when we had a conversation that was following stories of pranks that we'd heard of/had done/did. That's when Ryan said "I've always wanted someone to Post-it note my car!" Of course, how could we not oblige?! So Austyn and I hatched a plan. During The Rock, which was Thursday, we would Saran-wrap and Post-it note his car. Just like he wanted. See, we had the element of surprise. We jokingly told him, "Oh, we'll do it after Bobcat Awakening!" But what fun would that be, doing an expected prank?

Anyway, Wednesday night, Tyler and I were at Target, on yet another San Marcos nighttime adventure, when I realized, Post-its were very cheap there. So I instantly snatched up 1,700 of the sticky little things. Then, after a late-night Starbucks visit, spent the rest of the night into the wee hours of the morning writing individual messages (11 main things, random stuff thrown into the mix every 75 notes or so) on every single Post-it. 

Dory all nice and decorated.

Thursday, Austyn went to the dollar store with Kat to stock up on the Saran-wrap. She ended up buying 6 rolls. But then, we sort of realized we couldn't do it during The Rock, which starts at 7:30, because we wouldn't have enough light to get his reaction on camera! So we decided to do it during his class, when he was least likely to interrupt. And at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, we went to work! Austyn and Kat started the Saran-wrap, while I circled the car incessantly (in case you're wondering, he drives a 'Stang) sticking notes around as fast as I could. Soon, we had Andy, Aaron, Lauren, Melissa and Sabrina helping. too! By 3:36, we were done! So all we had to do was wait for the reaction. And let's just say...it was great! He didn't expect it, and it looked amazing, if slightly intimidating.

Mind. Blown.

Most of you might think 'You pranked your friend? That just sucks!' But we didn't see it that way. See, not only would it be something to look back and laugh on, but it made a definite message get across. 'We care enough to spend over 4 hours of prep time just to do something that is going to get thrown away and only immortalized in pictures to make you (hopefully) laugh.' Ok, so it's kind of a messed-up message. But I don't think any of us will forget this day anytime soon...and in the end, that's what matters.

Ryan and Dory

We did end up going to Slurpee Day, Hot Chocolate Edition (due to the cold). And the postponement of it was definitely worthy. Oh, and Ryan? *insert Slurpee Day Heart here...from all of us*