I remembered Valentine’s Day yesterday, because my sister-in-law sent me a meme at 06:30. Otherwise I would have forgotten about it.
I stopped making a fuss about Valentine’s Day many years ago. But now it matters to me as much as Ferris Wheel Day. Which means not at all.
Programmers and romance (again)
My lack of romance may be because I go out less since Covid and remote work. Or maybe I’m just getting older. Or maybe it’s working with programmers. Three years ago I wrote about Programmers and Romance.
Today I found an expanded version of the list of why you should date a programmer. It’s sweet, but sadly not true.
Perhaps #13 is close to accurate: "They are a passionate bunch who would give all their time and effort to the thing that has captured their hearts." Except that thing is probably the code they are working on…
Which sort of validates #11: "Once he’s committed to you, no pretty girl can lure him away from you." (Substitute gender pronouns as required.) Except the real reason may be that most programmers don’t have time to have multiple romantic relationships! A lot of developers are working longer hours than ever before.
I asked ChatGPT about programmers and romance. Its response was well-written, sensible and balanced. I had hoped for some fun AI delusion to share. Instead I got a fair assessment: "The expression of romance may vary from person to person and is not necessarily tied to one’s profession."
About Ferris Wheel Day
I looked for a list of other holidays that are celebrated on 14 February. National Ferris Wheel Day was the first one that I found. You can celebrate it (and Valentine’s Day) by going for a ride with your partner on a ferris wheel. I’ve heard there is a permanent ferris wheel at Waterfall City in Midrand.
There are more quirky holidays for the 14th. I’m going to celebrate National Creme-Filled Chocolates Day.
And because today is actually the 15th, I might celebrate National Gumdrop Day too. I could combine that with National I Want Butterscotch Day.
In completely unrelated news
I read today that Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have delayed shipments of black tea to Britain, leading to consumer anxiety. Tea is one of my major food groups, along with chocolate. A quick Google search informed me that SA produces 50 tons of black tea locally each year. I don’t know if that’s true, but it makes me feel better. Tea and creme-filled chocolates … yum!
Whatever you celebrate this week, I hope you have fun. I’d love to hear your comments on Valentine’s Day or any other weird holiday.