> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Making the most of a special day
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/making-the-most-of-a-special-day/
- Published: 2008-02-16T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T23:14:46.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Mark Marchillo Odd Man Out*

V DAY. FOR SOME, THAT’S V FOR Victory; “Hey, I made it! I got somebody!” For others, that’s more like venereal, and any number of other foul things that come to mind. Valentine’s can be one of the worst days for a single. And a gay single? Oh, just toss me under the Big Blue Bus. There’s something ever so humbling about watching these vicious couples parade themselves like ignorant cattle along the streets of the city donning roses and candies and choking us with their overdrenched necks of cologne and kisses. To sit idly by as you’re forced to endure the endless offerings of sentiment, shrouded by pink and red cards wishing you love and happiness on this of all days, declaring “Be mine!” but not really. I just felt sorry for you, being all alone in a hump like that on the sidewalk.

Yes. There can be that reaction. After all, who wants the reminder? But this year, I’ve tried to find a more positive way of thinking about this holiday. Oh, what’s a holiday for some can be desperate times for others! And you know what I say about desperate times? Three rules: 1\. Go out. 2\. Get drunk. 3\. Eat everything! Yep, I use this day as an excuse for gluttony. And boy, does that feel good!

Going out on this day can actually be a blast. You know you’re not the only gay boy out there without a date. And boys wanna get laid on V Day. So there’s one thing in your favor. If you aren’t a born again virgin like myself. Then there’s the drunk part — well, that’s just in the rules to loosen you up. Nobody wants a frigid Valentine. Believe me, I know. If you don’t drink, no problem! Fake it. Carry around a glass of OJ, they’ll never know. Let yourself stumble a few times (like that’s out of the ordinary), and smile a lot. That’s what I do. Sometimes I really do think I’m drunk. The best part is I get to remember everything the next day.

So you know all those chocolates your sister sent you for Black Thursday because she has a husband and two kids and you’re “all alone down there” (in your hump on the sidewalk, clutching a gallon of ice cream)? Eat ‘em! Heck. Eat the whole box! I tell ya, it’s the sweetest remedy, just being good to yourself. Not worrying about your little spare tire, or wasting away your once-perfect come gutters.

Now. Go out with your single friends — if you have gay friends, you have lots of them. Get a little group together and make it a party. Make the most romantic day of the year, one of the most obnoxiously memorable. You know you want to. After all, girls just wanna have fun.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 16, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021608.pdf?ref=smdp.com)