Valentine's Day, or "I claim to hate this Hallmark-sponsored holiday, but here's why I secretly love it."

One of the many things I hate about holidays is that they seem to only really be about getting lucky, or getting drunk. Valentine's Day seems to be about a combination of the two. Thankfully, my boyfriend and I don't drink much, and sex is off the table.

Nathan pretty much gave me an entire Valentine's Weekend, starting with a movie night on Thursday to see "Warm Bodies" (phenomenal, by the way) and spent the weekend at home watching TV, doing homework, and playing LEGO Harry Potter 2 (on my Mac by myself hooked up to my TV). I'd been feeling pretty low and I had been in a lot of pain, so Nathan set up a surprise for me. Needless to say, my mind was running wild of thoughts of proposals I would have to say "no" to, or other bizarre situations. But it was on Sunday, so I didn't think about it until then.

At one in the afternoon, Nathan and I were sitting in the lobby to a massage parlor, something I'd been wanting to get done for AGES. You have no idea how ecstatic I was. I almost curled up with him on the couch in the waiting room like a cat, I was so happy. He was so sweet to do that, and I really needed it. It was just what the doctor -- my voice teacher -- had ordered.

Something people never tell you about massages is how awkward they can be when they first start. Needless to say, I wasn't bothered that Nathan was getting rubbed down because it was a woman doing it. That, and while the guy who was rubbing me down wasn't particularly attractive, he was definitely bearish, which is my boyfriend's type.

The problem is that they tell you get bare down to your most comfortable level. If it were feasible, though, I'd go in there wearing a parka with my face down on the table. There's a lot of awkward self-esteem issues that I have, and they're pretty crippling sometimes. It's not something that's great to have when part of your major requires standing in front of people and singing while they all silently judge you.

Gulp.

After dressing down to my boxers, I got under the sheets while the guy and gal came back in. I closed my eyes, laying on my stomach, and trying to relax while this guy starting giving me a deep tissue massage.

Dear lord, did it hurt.

That's another thing people don't tell you: massages can be relaxing, but boy can they HURT. I was wincing the entire time, but it hurt in a way that helped calm me down and relax me. Hopefully, it can help me relax enough to lower my blood pressure, since Nathan also surprised me by buying us a membership to Massage Envy. Heck yes! I'll take a free massage every month, thank you very much.