Venting.

[Darth Tepes]

Well when you spend your life being single and wanting to be in a relationship, but are unable to do so because you are thoroughly unattractive to others, the constant commercialization of a holiday dedicated to romance and love that showcases happy couples and people doing all the things I WANT to do just drives home the fact that I am lonely and unappealing in a mocking tone, as if to say "Look at all these happy people in love. You sick because you aren't one of them."

So yeah, Valentine's Day can go suck a big fat one.

My friend, I did not comment on  your other post because I did not want to seem as if I were trying to mimic...but the description of your life mirrors my own with very few differences.  I was single for a LOOOONG time and wanted very much to be with someone... but many factors made me an outcast.  During that time I never felt the way I always hear others felt about Valentines Day.  I'm a lot of things but I guess the one thing I can say positive about myself is I am not an envious person.  I can share what got me out of it....I got tired of it.  I began by speaking to one person...just one.  Then I met a someone else through them..then on and on.  Now I'm still not an outgoing person...but I have 2 or 3 good friends and am married.  All from finally saying "Kriff it" and engaging one person.

[Illyiss]

My friend, I did not comment on  your other post because I did not want to seem as if I were trying to mimic...but the description of your life mirrors my own with very few differences.  I was single for a LOOOONG time and wanted very much to be with someone... but many factors made me an outcast.  During that time I never felt the way I always hear others felt about Valentines Day.  I'm a lot of things but I guess the one thing I can say positive about myself is I am not an envious person.  I can share what got me out of it....I got tired of it.  I began by speaking to one person...just one.  Then I met a someone else through them..then on and on.  Now I'm still not an outgoing person...but I have 2 or 3 good friends and am married.  All from finally saying "Kriff it" and engaging one person.

See, my issues with Valentine's day aren't with people being happy, or having their relationships.  It's the commercialism and the falsity of it all.  Commercialism is pretty obvious, so I won't go into that.  Falsity, well, all these people who are anything but romantic all year, except on a day Hallmark tells them to be, all buying into the commercialism and pretending to be such a happy part of it all, and not being true to themselves, their partner or date, or their goals.  It's all so tacky and fake and yes, it pushes on a lot of people who are single and wish they weren't, making them feel bad for it, lesser, unwanted.  Even on a "day of romance" they can't find it.  Have a relationship, that's great!  Celebrate it every day of the year, in your own way, not just how they tell you on the day they tell you.

There are a number of "holidays" I have issue with for related reasons, for the record.

[Karmack]

See, my issues with Valentine's day aren't with people being happy, or having their relationships.  It's the commercialism and the falsity of it all.  Commercialism is pretty obvious, so I won't go into that.  Falsity, well, all these people who are anything but romantic all year, except on a day Hallmark tells them to be, all buying into the commercialism and pretending to be such a happy part of it all, and not being true to themselves, their partner or date, or their goals.  It's all so tacky and fake and yes, it pushes on a lot of people who are single and wish they weren't, making them feel bad for it, lesser, unwanted.  Even on a "day of romance" they can't find it.  Have a relationship, that's great!  Celebrate it every day of the year, in your own way, not just how they tell you on the day they tell you.

There are a number of "holidays" I have issue with for related reasons, for the record.

Illyiss, you're not wrong.  :-)  Honestly, I get mildly annoyed every year at Christmas for the blatant commercialism.  The same thing is infesting Easter now, with massive "Easter Baskets" marketed and the holiday being sold as another gift-giving event rather than what I really is - the central Holy Day of my religion. 

Valentine's Day is in the same vein.  For that matter, EVERY holiday (Holy Day) is corrupted by our culture in this way, because in the USA we as a culture worship at the alter of Materialism. 

I enjoy the holidays, whatever they are.  In the end, I just decide to ignore those who don't get it and honor it as I am compelled by my own conscience.  :-)

[Illyiss]

I will avoid the religious debate, out of respect.  Yes, all the Holy days though, have been usurped, many times over honestly.  There are a few that tend to be more grating, this being one of them.

[DaddyFlip]

Hang on! Today is not a holiday; it's just a day. I hate Valentine's Day. My history is I would go ALL OUT to make the perfect handmade card, buy the candy and flowers, go on a date, and BAM... break up with my girlfriend either on that day or the day after. It's like you get high on the "going all out" to make the day special and then, through no fault of the recipient, you hit rock bottom when hangover hits. I made no bones about it - get out of my face, I don't want to see you anymore. It was a sickness back in the day. Now my last wife knows the history and knows I don't like the day at all, so we make some kind of joke about it and let it pass as JUST ANOTHER DAY and we're both happy. I usually get her something nice shortly thereafter, but never on THE DAY! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

And @illy, I agree, if it is attached to that thing rooted in Italy, then it ain't mine, Valentine! 

[DaddyFlip]

I've done some soul searching and realized why I am so closed off and guarded.

First off, some backstory. This isn't bragging. It's just the truth.

I am abnormally strong. Yes, I'm a big guy, but even for a big guy, I am freakishly strong. Always have been.

There was an incident when I was around two where a six-year old kid angered me and I supposedly went after him (I don't remember obviously because I was two). According to family members, I latched my hands around that kid's throat and was strangling him. My father, who was like 6'4 and over 300 pounds, was whooping my ass to make me let go and I just was not doing it. It took my father prying my hands away from the kid, and even then, he had a difficult time. That level of strength understandably frightened my parents, who took it upon themselves to teach me the only way they knew how. They constantly told me to always keep my temper in check and never lash out, because with my strength, I could seriously hurt someone or even kill them without even trying.

Now, I am not blaming them for anything, because as I said, they did the only thing they could. I'm just explaining what happened.

Given that my parents loved me and I loved them, I didn't want to disappoint them, so I took these lessons to heart and learned to ignore things that made me angry.

Well, while this worked, it also marked me as an easy target for everyone. People started messing with me, using me as a (sometimes literal) punching bag because I would not do anything about it for fear of hurting someone. I would rather be hurt than hurt someone else.

Something had to give though, so I took the only reasonable action I could. When I hit middle school, I learned to move around unnoticed. I became invisible. A ghost. I became as unobtrusive as possible, just fading into the background, capable of slipping in and out without being seen.

I was lonely, but at least the constant abuse from classmates had mostly ended.

Now, the invisibility wasn't perfect, as I was still targeted by the worst of the lot. Even worse than that were the ones who saw that I was lonely and pretended to be my friend or pretended to be interested just so they could get close and really hurt me. It became a game to them, as I discovered, with points and everything. "Who can screw with Patrick the worst?"

That's when I started building my armored shell around me, to make sure that nobody and nothing could get in and hurt me. I stopped trusting people and started viewing them with suspicion when they would approach me to talk, wondering what their angle was. No matter what people tried, they couldn't get in unless I wanted them in.

I was safe at last. Unnoticed. Unremarkable. Unobtrusive. Impenetrable. It's a lonely existence, but it's safe. I've been that way ever since, for over 25 years now. More than half of my life.

Now, as I have passed my 40th and then 41st birthdays, I've realized that I don't want to be this way anymore, but I have been so used to it that I know of no other way to be. I am frankly terrified that I have missed my life and that it's too late to change.

I took this to heart, Jev. Thanks for sharing. It reminded me of the 30 for 30 story of Herschel Walker and how he overcame being bullied when he was a kid. While not the same situtation, no one can deny that Herschel is a bad azz, but it was never easy for him and it STILL isn't easy after all this time, fame, and fortune. I thought I could find it for free, but it's 2 bucks on youtube if you want to watch it. Pretty inspiring and humbling how a guy with his great strength and talent was always tormented and still is to this day. But he finds a way to overcome, I suppose. I wish I had some words of encouragement; I can feel them on the inside, but I can't type it. All I can say is there's a missing link and you will find it. It's not too late; never too late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG1QfYelC_o

[Darth Tepes]

after running myself ragged for the past month and a half, I had a three day weekend coming up (Monday is Presidents day) so I took friday off so I could have a 4 day weekend...and wouldn't my luck hold..I get sick as soon as I got home Thursday night.

[Darth Logos]

Alright, so you remember that raging #@$%tard that I had to deal with back in November? Well apparently he is a level of baka that I've never had to deal with, and now he's in the process of impugning my work further. I am quickly reaching a point where Force lightning is no longer a feat of sci fi fantasy.

[Lady Agana Kath]

When did he show back up? And what Sh*t is he pulling now 

[Darth Logos]

When did he show back up? And what Sh*t is he pulling now 

He never did show up. Part of my responsibilities is to draft for our sister company in the South. He runs said facility, and insists that my work is unreliable, despite not having complaints from the other two facilities that I draft for. Well, I just realized that the joke is all over his baka face. Last week, his so-called drafter emailed me for instruction on how to get area and perimeter. So either way, my method is producing prints for his dumbass. I didn't know revenge could be this sweet.

[Lady Agana Kath]

/snort

Also I did remember that he didn't work at your plant. I meant that he started his b*tching again.

[Illyiss]

Wait, a person working as a drafter needed instruction for area and perimeter?  Isn't that sort of basic to the job?

[Jev Moldara]

Wait, a person working as a drafter needed instruction for area and perimeter?  Isn't that sort of basic to the job?

Worse. It's basic sixth grade education.

[Illyiss]

Worse. It's basic sixth grade education.

I can forgive forgetting things from elementary school, heck even high school, when it's not something that is used daily.  Something that is an important part of your day to day job, on the other hand...

[Jev Moldara]

I can forgive forgetting things from elementary school, heck even high school, when it's not something that is used daily.  Something that is an important part of your day to day job, on the other hand...

Hell, it ain't like it's the Pythagorean Theorem (a^2+b^2=c^2) or Avogadro's Number (~6.02x10^23). This is basic addition and multiplication. Perimeter is the sum of all sides of an object and area is the product of the length of one side times the length of another. Area is actually pretty damned easy to get in AutoCAD. Use the AREA command and select your polyline. Done.