I'm still recovering from the flu. Every eight hours I feel like I'm getting better, then I feel like death. A repeating cycle.

So, assuming I actually live until Valentine's Day.... I'll be taking in more television and Tamiflu. I've watched more tv in the past few days then I have in years. And it doesn't matter how many channels you have, after a week, everything starts looking like mush.

Pickings can get extremely desperate... two nights ago I actually sat through and watched Sliver on ThrillerMax.

Valentine's Day. I actually formally proposed to my last boyfriend on Valentine's Day. Sometimes if I want to think of that relationship I'll watch The Shining. Seriously, if I were not sick, I'd be going to San Antonio. This guy I met has been keeping in touch with me rather intensely.

I think when I'm better I'll go down there and share a bottle of rosé Champagne. It sounds neat. This is Champagne with some Pinot Noir added, and Moet and Tattinger sell them.

Hell. All you have to do to make a date special is cook, since no one cooks anymore. But then they look at you with meal tickets gleaming in their eyes, because you have a skill tantamount to turning straw into gold.

But still. Do any of you ever feel like getting into a relationship is like driving down the road on a dark, rainy night, and you keep passing clearly marked warning signs?

Steve