(Sunday Paper, Volume III, Issue 6)

I am not a fun Valentine's Day person.

It's not like I've ever had terrible Valentine's Day experiences...it's just not a holiday I look forward to. (I assume there are people who look forward to Valentine's Day just like any other holiday. Maybe I'm wrong.)

I know kids love Valentine's Day.

It was a day I kind of dreaded as a teacher - I always hoped it fell on a weekend or over February break. (Though even then we'd have to set a little time aside for card exchange on a Friday or the day we returned from break.)

But, the more I think about it, it's not Valentine's Day that I don't like.

I think it's just mid-February that I don't like.

But maybe not this year.

I probably have stated this before: I am not a fan of this time of year. Football is over, I don't get into hockey and basketball all that much anymore, and spring training is only a tease for the real baseball season that's still more than a month away.

The weather is awful, it's when I take down the Christmas cards decorating the house (I mean, I guess I don't have to, but I suppose it wouldn't be as special if we left them up all year long), and it's overall just a down time of year.

But this year there's the Winter Olympics (which I haven't even fully immersed myself in yet) that will help add some spice to the next two weeks.

And, for me, there's the North Carolina Comedy Festival, which is now just a week away, so that's really exciting.

And after that it's March, when things start to brighten up a bit - it's the light at the end of that wintery tunnel.

And just a couple of short weeks into March it will be time for the NCAA Tournament, which brings us straight into baseball season.

So, listen, I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day on Wednesday.

I'll have an OK one.

I'll be a lot happier a couple of weeks after Valentine's Day is over.

Writing

*Nothing new being published in the near future. Just the regular old work to report on. I think I've mentioned this to you before, but I also have been writing every day of the new year, just keeping the ol' creative juices flowing in a different way. (I actually missed Super Bowl Sunday somehow...that's the only day in 2018 so far I haven't done any writing, but I did make up for it the next day.)

Comedy

*Kathy was away this week, and it was sort of a late-planned trip, so I had to cancel plans to go to a mic on Wednesday, but had a great time on Monday night at McGreevy's. It was a really good crowd, I was well-received, it was a good confidence-builder heading into North Carolina. (But there's plenty of time this week to have that confidence shattered!)

What I've Been Enjoying

*I mentioned above how much I don't like the weather this time of year. I get a lot colder now than I ever did before - a sign I'm getting older, perhaps? It's been a little better this year, though, because I got a new winter jacket. I've been wearing it for a few months now and it's working out really well. My last winter jacket was fine, but it had no hood. The one before that was great - it was long and warm and had a hood, but the zipper broke. This one is a lot like that one, and I am taking full advantage of that hood. I'll take it off to converse with you, because otherwise I can't hear a darn thing, so if you see me in the cold wearing my hood know that I'm warm...and if you don't say hello to me approaching me from the front also know that I'll have no idea you're there.

Notes

*Thanks for all the kind comments about last week's essay in the Globe. I told Kathy that having an essay published like that is like my birthday: I know I should expect it to happen and treat it like any other day, but it's a lot more fun to get everyone all riled up about it. In other words, it would be nice if that were occurring a lot more often, but at this point it's still a special thing and I'm proud of it. But thanks for enjoying it with me.

*If you're still finding your way over to my stuff from the Globe or wherever, I'd love to have you back. Like the Facebook page or follow me on Twitter. Thanks!

*I think I'll do what I did before Cleveland last year and next week's Sunday Paper will be a preview of the North Carolina Comedy Festival and then after that I'll sort of recap everything. I'm looking forward to it - find out why in next week's Sunday Paper!