There is no love, where there is no bramble.

And so we celebrate a Japanese Valentine's Day that is the inverse of all I know. Women are expected to give gifts, coated in chocolate, professionally wrapped. This is good news for the choir as I love to gift, and unconventionally so. With this great news I commissioned my pal Dan (an artist and Mass Effect guru) to draw a portrait of Alex and I. Being a patron is really all it's made out to be. I could command Dan to white wash my acne scars and tint my hair to match the fashion of the day. Thankfully my hair is always in fashion, but Dan did masterful work and the portrait, framed and gleaming, went off without a hitch.

Oh wait, there was that darling hitch I worked in. I wrapped the frame in the world's most concerning newsprint. It was a faux paper that detailed how one lady might make efforts to find her 'prince' and 'keep him'. These loosely translated articles detailed how one princess should dress, how she can find happy with her love-time soul mate if she's to keep quiet, and how said princess should turn to her friends to understand the royalty that she possesses. The later giving the paper too much credit but it's par for the course in philosophy. So I stacked on a bow and a lovely ornamental flower and stowed the gift away. Upon Alex's arrival this past weekend I presented him with the package on the pretense it was the obligatory chocolates lovers are expected to present to one another. He, anxious because it seemed to be the worlds biggest piece of chocolate, tore in. Ha, ho. Oh, we all rolled around with that one because my gift was not edible, but awesome. And, in the end, I had some freakish 3-D Ultraman and creepy alien cohort chocolate thing to present him with.

The weekend also included a ryokan stay in Miyajima. Miyajima, being on the top three illustrious list of most scenic places in Japan, was also hosting an oyster festival. CELEBRATE! Or not, as I'm terrified of fish. Oysters seem so at the ready. Bulbous. Decidedly pregnant. Ready to slide and flavor your trachea as soon as you let them in. Thus, I have never had an oyster. Any fish for that matter. And maybe it was the romance of the week. Maybe I was still reeling from the events of last night (see: Dan Fan's surprise birthday party- posts to come), but I was adamant on eating an oyster. So I ate 5. Bloody 5 oysters, of all varieties. I ate fried oyster. But that was a freebie as all fried things are delicious. Then, after much hesitation and a rowdy gaggle of friends pounding fists on a table shouting, "Hula- Oyster" in a quiet subdued restaurant, I went for the jugular and ate a slimy, just cracked, flithy-eye sore of a raw thing. Oh doctor...... it was okay! I'm getting a little crazy in my old age. Quarter life is a culinary beast.

Ryokan was perfect. Dinner was served in full Japanese fashion with all the prepared food groups present and accounted for. Breakfast even more lovely. Our view overlooked as much of the Seto Inland Sea as I've been privy to see. (That's a lot of sea, and a lot of sea/see for one sentence). As night fell, all the tourists (and hordes of them as Kaki filled as we) rushed out to make the last ferry and we pretty much had the run of the island. It was lovely to walk its ways with no one in sight and absorb all the top three ranked beauty that is this island. I'd go back every weekend if I could.

And to end, it is Valentine's Day. Students may make me cards and give me chocolates but I urge any and all reading this post to also consider others reasons we see red:

Feb 14 is also V-Day. V-Day was born in 1998 as an outgrowth of Eve Ensler's Obie-Award winning play, "The Vagina Monologues." As Eve performed the piece in small towns and large cities all around the world, she saw and heard first hand the destructive personal, social, political and economic consequences violence against women has for many nations.

From this experience V-Day was born.

V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.
V-Day is an organized response against violence toward women.
V-Day is a vision: We see a world where women live safely and freely.
V-Day is a demand: Rape, incest, battery, genital mutilation and sexual slavery must end now.
V-Day is a spirit: We believe women should spend their lives creating and thriving rather than surviving or recovering from terrible atrocities.
V-Day is a catalyst: By raising money and consciousness, it will unify and strengthen existing anti-violence efforts. Triggering far-reaching awareness, it will lay the groundwork for new educational, protective, and legislative endeavors throughout the world.
V-Day is a process: We will work as long as it takes. We will not stop until the violence stops.
V-Day is a day. We proclaim Valentine's Day as V-Day, to celebrate women and end the violence.

So, wear Red tomorrow, and every Feb 14, to stop violence against women and girls, especially if you, or a woman you know, has been a victim of violence. When someone comments that you are wearing red for Valentines day, correct them—tell them the real reason you wear red.

Please forward this message along. For more info visit: http://www.vday.org/contents/vday/aboutvday/mission