Valentine's Day isn't pretty for some of us

From CNNSI Associate Producer Leora Blumberg

(CNN Interactive) -- Valentine's Day isn't hearts and flowers for some of us. In fact, for many of us (and I don't want to sound too bitter, here), it's more thorns and pesticides. Some of my friends actually get Tourette's Syndrome on this day, cursing the guy who started this day of pointing out that some of us are alone.

Singles tend to either hide out at home watching the single digit channels on cable and trying to stay away from anything on Lifetime. Or they travel in packs with other singles so as not to look conspicuous. Keep with the herd and no one will call you a loser.

You can easily pick out those singles wincing at the sight of all those happy couples making goo-goo eyes at each other in restaurants. There ought to be law.

You can't even escape the Red Menace at the office. It never fails, there's always that girl in the cubicle next to you who gets a bouquet of flowers the size of Cleveland with those mylar balloons with annoying phrases on them like "Guess who loves you?!" And she's gushing like a cheerleader, "Oh my gosh!!! I can't believe it!!!! He... is... so... great!!!!!!! Don't you think he's wonderful!!!!" Yeah, he's wonderful. Somebody just shoot me.

And the commercialization of Valentine's Day doesn't help. During the last decade, the pushing of pink and red has swelled to a squeaky crescendo. Everyone says it's the thought that counts. A single rose, a homemade poem... she'll be crying tears of joy for days. The truth is, it's how much you spend on that someone special that gets you high marks.

Here's a free tip for you, guys. When she says, "You don't need to get me anything" what she really means is, "Get me something romantic that will make my friends want to throttle me at work, mmkay?" This is a red light, alarms should sound, she's given you due warning.

Chocolatiers, greeting card companies, florists and a host of other companies have helped influenced consumers into thinking that you can really express that emotion called love with a lovely, expensive gift. I'm all for free enterprise but on this particular day, it's a real pain.

This year I'm joining up with the herd and we're going to have an anti-Valetine's day bash. We're going to rent "Pulp Fiction" and mosh to a wide assortment of metal music. I figure I've got to fight back somehow.

But to all of you who will be getting all gushy in restaurants... I wish you the best. Really. It's only one day a year. And I've got Vincent Vega to get me through.