Hearts and pockets afire

Friday, 18 February 2011 11:30 Mighty Rasing

Love is in the air and it’s not even Christmas yet. Tune in to your favorite radio station; read your mobile phone messages, and look at all the red roses all around—isn’t Valentine’s Day sweet!

If you’re a hopeless romantic with lovey-dovey eyes for your partner; or a hopeful suitor hoping to woo your darling, there are lots of promos you can sign up for. Eat out. Travel. Buy flowers, and gadgets, too, if that’s your thing.

Much to the consternation of the anti-commercialism, anti-materialism league, Valentine’s Day offers a rare occasion for businesses to sell you lots of stuff—food, flowers, cards (does anybody still send Hallmark Valentine’s Day cards?), hotel rooms and even plane tickets! But you don’t really mind, do you? After all, you’re all set to please your sweetheart, honey, pumpkin, (buko pie anyone?) on this special day.

Some restaurants offer incentives to lovers as they grace their dining tables. Goodles, for example, offered a special Valentine’s menu this past February 14. They treated 14 lovers. The first couple who came in for every hour got a free pasta tub, provided that the lady ordered one pasta tub first. Not only that, they even offered free delivery (although it was limited to orders made between 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) via their hotline.

If you wanted to surprise your spouse, Sulo Hotel offered a Sweet Valentine Dinner for P3,500. A bit pricey, if you ask me, but for the truly lovestruck, no price is too high for a romantic Valentine’s Day candlelight dinner. You don’t even have to buy roses because it’s part of the package. Should you decide to stay for the night, you can also avail of the Romantic Getaway for P6,500. If that made you swallow awkwardly and look twice at your wallet, just keep in mind that surprises, especially if made on Valentine’s Day could go a long way towards a good romance.

Even airline companies didn’t spare themselves from the Valentine’s Promo craze. Cebu Pacific offered a Buy One Take One scheme for Valentine’s Day and the day after. Air Philippines didn’t want to be beaten, so it offered fares as cheap as P500 for domestic destinations.

Geeks are humans, too, and know how to love in their own way. To cater to that, Power Mac Center offered to reward the cheesiest Valentine message via their Facebook Wall with a Flip camera and a Kicker digital docking system. Whew. What a nice geeky present for Valentine’s!

Businesses are quick to seize opportunities to make money. But the benefits of the exchange isn’t really one-sided. They offer lovers and lovestruck Pinoys a chance to regale and surprise their loved ones. You spend money. You buy their products. And the businesses make money and rake in profits, especially, if their promos are patronized by lots of Pinoy romantics. But after emptying a part of your pocket, you made your partner happy. And in doing so, you also become satisfied, knowing that you did something to show your love. The Proverbs book of the Bible said "open rebuke is better than hidden love." Better quarrel honestly than conceal your feelings, and Valentine’s Day offers a way of showing your love.

Businesses boom. And you feel as if you’re at the top of the world. Isn’t Valentine’s Day sweet?

But if you’re broke, then it’s another story. You might not be able to afford some of the promos offered by businesses. In such a case, you could just cook at home or take a walk at the park. The Quezon Memorial Circle, Rizal Park, and Manila Bay are nice places to visit in Metro Manila.

Being broke isn't enough of an excuse to be part of the "I Hate Valentine’s Day" Club, unless you have a good reason, like maybe getting dumped on Valentine’s Day itself.