Sharpie Fumes and Long Drives.

After canceling exciting Valentines plans and letting life happen, Valentines still somehow managed to be my favorite holiday.
This year, I am in love with work.
Yes! I've turned into a self-absorbed career woman who can't get her priorities straight.
(Not really, I just have to make a jab at myself before you do)

Managing an office on Valentines day (Or Valentines day Eve) is the happiest place to be.
(And yes, I remember last year's post, and the year before, proclaiming that the restaurant is the best place to be, Things change! People change!)

I dumped out the mint bowl and replaced it with pink and red chocolates, I wore my (and by 'my' I mean, my roommate Jane's) adorable pink/red blazer, with a tool flippy dress.
And it was flower delivery after flower delivery.
So exciting. (the prettiest bouquet may have had my name on it, so lucky)

I would keep them all at my desk hopping to appear more popular, but then feel extremely guilty after only 2 minutes that I was robbing someone of love and have to deliver them immediately.

But the cheery on top of everything was a surprise that turned on me.

Drew and I decided to hand write, with personal messages, a Valentine for every person in the office. 173 employees.
It was the best idea! It was a hilarious idea!
Until we embarked on the great adventure.
It took about 5 solid hours of sitting on the floor glued to the coffee table, high and bothered by sharpie fumes, and we would stop to whine and moan about how awful it was yet we were too far into writing them to throw it all away.

So handing them out at work was a pure miracle that we had accomplished the great task.

But little did we know the love that would be returned.

All day we got the nicest thank you e-mails.
Employees stopping by my desk to ask how long it took.

Co-worker Nick Raymond, one of the developers went around reading other's cards and then marched up to my desk to ask me why I wrote "we love you" on some, but he only got a heart, and needed to know if we loved him less. Starting a big comic brawl on the 9th floor.
Co-worker Jon Jenson thinks we should just start giving Nick the short end of everything just to mess with him.
-So funny.

I had forgot what I wrote on, well, all of them. So when Co-worker Eric swings by the desk and says "I loved the card! I love a good hyperbole" I just smile and say "Happy Valentines" in hopes of discussing my lack of care for each card's message.

It was surprising to see it light up the office, even just with a few people.
It was not expected, and maybe I was the only one in this magical Valentines World, and everyone else was not feeling it, but I didn't care- love was in the air.


Then I headed to Brianhead the next morning.
The family had left a few days prior and so it was a nice ride down, to soak in the heat of the road-trippin' sun, and spend some romantic time with Ben Gibbard, Chris Carrabba, and Freddie.

I love Valentines, February 14th, Happiest Day of the year.