Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Valentine - Schmalentine
Every February, across the world, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. So what is the deal with this St. Valentine or is this another way for us consumers to spend more money on the above mentioned items, after the holiday season has passed?
Valentine or Valentinus was a priest according to some tales who defied Emperor Claudious's decree that no man in his army should be married. Valentine conducted secret and very romantic wedding ceremonies in the grandest of natural settings. He was later thrown into jail for his behaviour... sentenced for execution.
According to the legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl, who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today.
Now, the next question is about the date. Mid February, was a pagan celebration called Lupercalia, which was celebrated before the "Christianization" of the "New World". The Catholic Church, in an effort to rid society of the pagan influences, which was deemed a way to damnation -- decided to celebrate a feast on the 14 of February. A few centuries later in about 600 AD, mid February was also seen as the mating season for birds. The romanticists, put a spin on that knowledge and the Valentine's Day as we know began to evolve.
Though the history is quite murky, I'll let this one be the one I shall stick to. There is a popular myth that, Hallmark, the greeting card company invented Valentine's day. Perhaps... but they certainly infuse a sense of guilt in the average person who has not done the "Valentine" thing for their loved one.
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There are so many forms of love. The love you feel for your parents, for your siblings, for your dog, even for friends. The love I feel for my wife, is different from all of those mentioned. Hell, I have love for cars. I can spend hours with my car or motorcycle, but that too is a a different kind. Is it just us humans who feel so many kinds of emotions? I'm sure an anthropologist can help me with that... are you listening Tricia?
As a new parent, I can define love in a way I have never felt before.
Love is... when you are bathing your baby in a bathtub and she poops out a little turd. You cheer and say positive things while fishing it out with your bare hands.
Yup, that is love. Don't need no steenken valentine to prove that. Mushy? You bet yer right butt cheek!
Valentine or Valentinus was a priest according to some tales who defied Emperor Claudious's decree that no man in his army should be married. Valentine conducted secret and very romantic wedding ceremonies in the grandest of natural settings. He was later thrown into jail for his behaviour... sentenced for execution.
According to the legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl, who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today.
Now, the next question is about the date. Mid February, was a pagan celebration called Lupercalia, which was celebrated before the "Christianization" of the "New World". The Catholic Church, in an effort to rid society of the pagan influences, which was deemed a way to damnation -- decided to celebrate a feast on the 14 of February. A few centuries later in about 600 AD, mid February was also seen as the mating season for birds. The romanticists, put a spin on that knowledge and the Valentine's Day as we know began to evolve.
Though the history is quite murky, I'll let this one be the one I shall stick to. There is a popular myth that, Hallmark, the greeting card company invented Valentine's day. Perhaps... but they certainly infuse a sense of guilt in the average person who has not done the "Valentine" thing for their loved one.
--
There are so many forms of love. The love you feel for your parents, for your siblings, for your dog, even for friends. The love I feel for my wife, is different from all of those mentioned. Hell, I have love for cars. I can spend hours with my car or motorcycle, but that too is a a different kind. Is it just us humans who feel so many kinds of emotions? I'm sure an anthropologist can help me with that... are you listening Tricia?
As a new parent, I can define love in a way I have never felt before.Love is... when you are bathing your baby in a bathtub and she poops out a little turd. You cheer and say positive things while fishing it out with your bare hands.
Yup, that is love. Don't need no steenken valentine to prove that. Mushy? You bet yer right butt cheek!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Eve's First Hike
5th Feb 2006
Today we decided to take Eve for her very first hiking trip. We thought it would be an easy hike. We planned on heading over to Peterson Butte, finish the hike and after that watch the Superbowl.
We got ready and left home by 12pm right after Eve had been fed. Dad was waiting for up outside with his friend's dog Riley. We drove straight to Peterson Butte. Dad and I had checked out the place the previous day when we had gone hiking to Horse Butte. We started the hike at about 12:20pm. I looked at the incline and thought that it should take us 20 minutes to the top. How wrong I was.
We were taking it easy and not being goal oriented. Eve was totally passed out. It was quite cold with some wind. We saw some sheep and dad decided to put Riley on his leash. Trish and I had tossed our hiking boots while leaving India. I had my steel toed work shoes on, which are terrible for hiking and Trish had her Sketcher skate shoes on, again not ideal for the terrain we were looking at.
The climb started out a little steep, but quite grassy and reasonably dry, so trudged our way up. Trish started getting tired after the first 15 minutes, so we dropped our pace. This was her first real workout after the delivery. We stopped near some trees and I took some pictures. The weather was still great, but the wind was kicking in. As we slowly made our way up the butte, the incline increased and the going got tougher and tougher. We had to constantly stop and catch our breath. Trish and I were slipping every now and then, so were walking quite carefully and firmly.
After almost 45 minutes of climbing, Trish's dad told us that there was a thicket of poison oak up near the top of the mountain. This was not what we wanted to hear. The incline was at about 60 degrees. Quite steep. The pictures will show you how the going was. Trish lost her footing a few times and I was going real slow. We switch backed (zig zagged) our way to the top, but that too was a little nerve racking, with the soft soil and the wind.It took us just over an hour to get all the way to the top. Eve had barely stirred. She snored her way through. We thought about doing lunch there, but with no cover, the wind was making things quite chilly. We decided to go back a ways, so the mountain protected us from the wind and the sun warmed us up. Going down was much more difficult than going up. Trish lost her footing again and fell a couple of times, but nothing serious..
We had a hearty lunch of a hunk of salami, "Laughing Cow" and crackers. We washed it down with some "Crystal Light". We also soaked in some sun and then we moved on when I thought Eve started stirring. With the worst of the descend behind us, we finished the rest in about 25 minutes and got back to our cars. It was about 2:45pm when we left. Eve had woken up and started fussing. We got home a quarter past 3.
I sat down to watch the Superbowl, which turned out to be a damp squib. But, this was Eve's first ever hike and was quite a memorable one. Lots more to follow.
Watch this space.
You can have a look at all the pictures here.
- Anupam
