It came, it went, it... just went. This supposed week of hearts was just a week of pain. Almost a third of the day I spent outside of the office with clients. Then I go back to the office, devoid of braincells, to cram all the paperwork and email-reading into what remained of the day. On a side note, I hate that our workplace isn't mobile. As we watch our clients type away their pending reports and check emails while a seminar trudges on, we stare into oblivion and scribble on our yellow pads. Total and utter argh-worthy.

So, what were our plans to unwind during Valentine's? Nothing. I already told Chips not to expect that I'd be out early. Too many things to rush. If ever, we'd just postpone the celebration to the weekend. So yah, the highly romanced day went by just like any other inhumanly evil day at work, with an extra dash of death wishing.

Here's the kicker. I actually spent Valentine's dinner with our clients. And none of them were Pinoy. I was the one and only tagalog-speaking body there (literally). Sigh. See, I never really amazed myself with the presence of this special love day. But it's different when you're spending it with people you don't exactly love.

So Chips and I just contented ourselves with a cup of tea after my extended job order. Although it was just for over an hour, it was enough. We made each other laugh. We had a yummy banana cream pie too. We basically just sincerely enjoyed each other's company. No flowery surprises. No frilly gifts. No mushy serenades. Just simple being-together.

You really don't need a special day to celebrate love. The celebration lies in every moment you feel complete because of someone's mere presence.