There's Geese Outside my Window...

Buffalo is a very strange place sometimes. I find myself with periods of nothing to do, sometimes prolonged periods as UB north campus is miles from anywhere. I suppose I could get a bus to south but there's not that much there either really.

The aforementioned geese were a surprise, but not overly interesting. They interrupted my thought train about using the word 'Jedi' as an adjective. It suffers from a lot of prejudice - apparently using that word in public turns you into a huge loser with no life and an abundant knowledge of science-fiction and sci-fi-fantasy - but I still feel that it's an awesome word. Maybe because I am a huge loser with no life and an abundant knowledge of science-fiction and sci-fi-fantasy.

Really it's no more cult-ish than using the word ninja in the same way, but then again that might suffer from the same problems. What would I know about being cool, I write a blog, right?

Saint Patrick came to my rescue, as he often does - surprisingly so for a man who is centuries dead. Celebrating his memory is one of the few occasions where church and state align, even in America - why else would atheists celebrate it? And, by some miracle, St. Paddy hasn't become a victim of the "Hallmark Holiday" branding, even though it's a perfect opportunity. Maybe he has, but people don't care.

Unlike Saint Valentine. I hear people moaning about how awful it is that Saint Valentine's day puts pressure on people to do something romantic. 1) Clearly it doesn't if you're an atheist or part of a non-Christian religion, because it's a Christian (RC) holiday. 2) I may have mentioned this before but Saint Valentine married Christian couples during their time of persecution in the Roman Empire and was martyred for his beliefs. You don't, therefore, have to do something with someone you've been seeing for a few months. His memory should be of lasting love, not transient. 3) It's one smegging day of the year; is it really that much trouble to put the effort in to do something nice or slightly romantic one extra day a year? Or is the mandatory birthday-anniversary-Christmas cycle too much for you? Don't complain about pressure or whatever - especially if you don't have a partner - because it's really not much bother.

Hell, I managed something for my partner last year that cost me a box of candles and a bottle of wine. About twenty pounds. She loved it. It didn't take much effort either really.

And let's face it, everyone's happy to put an extra night of drinking in for Saint Patrick and they do that anywhere between one and seven times a week anyway.

So people, don't get all het up about little things and small worries. Get drunk on Saint Patrick's Day, do something romantic on Saint Valentine's Day and damn well let me use the word "Jedi" as an adjective without judging me. You haters.