EXOTIC * EROTIC o i Z?7’ ^
EXOTIC* EROTIC
Lotions & Potions
DVDs • Videos ‘Lingerie ‘Toys
SensuafTJafentine S/fis
C
oneM'^L-.o«y ,
Va\entl"f
Fashion sV,0«
1166 South A • Springfield • 726-6969 • Open 24-7 (Almost)
Bad Piercings got ya down
© Come to the Experts at
High Priestess Piercing
Valentines Special
Buy one piercing at
regular price get
the second 1/2 off
Cannot be combined with any other offer Expires 3/1/03
(|m 675 Lincoln St. Eugene memcer
www.hfghpriestesspiercing.com JSSSS5.
Winter Hours: September 10th - June 10th
Monday - Thursday 12pm - 12am
Friday & Saturday 12pm -1 am
Sunday 12 pm -11pm
a 345-8575
| 2486 Willamette St. • Eugene, OR 97405
Refills on
select products
Hair coloring
& cutting
H679QI
n
Family Owned on Campus since 1978!
J-BflRS
•Located at 1233 Alder (next to Ben and Jerry's) • 344-2447
Photo illustration by Mark McCambridge Emerald
Valentine's Day is lonely for some, exaggerating their singularity, but students can get over that feeling.
How to beat common
Valentine’s Day blues
Music, poetry and rest
can help ease the romantic
commercialization that
surrounds Vfeilentine^ Day
Andrew Shipley
Freelance Reporter
It is February, and for many weeks
a massive pink tide has been rising—
washing through stores and swelling
up in residence halls, coloring lives a
rosy shade of romance. It is time to
make hugs a little stronger, kisses a
little more thoughtful.
Or maybe not. For many, Valen
tine’s Day is not a time of joy and
candy hearts, but a time of loneli
ness and regret. It can serve as a re
minder of just how alone people
feel. But students have different
ways of chasing away the blues.
“I eat,” freshman Matt Damkroger
said. “Honestly, I just try to get over
the feeling that I’m single.” However,
Damkroger said he does not think it
is bad to be single.
“Sometimes it’s nice to take a
break,” he said.
Not everyone, however, is satis
fied by internal monologues of en
couragement or by food. Freshman
Zak Bennet seeks respite from Feb
ruary’s romantic bombardment in
music. Emo, or Emotional Punk, is
an emerging genre that has already
garnered great popularity among
angst-filled followers of Indie rock.
“Just sitting down and listening to
songs that echo what I am feeling —
it can be a big relief.” Bennet said.
He urges music lovers to go beyond
Emo favorites, such as Dashboard
Confessional.
“There is a ton of stuff out
there,” he said. “Music can be
quite cathartic.”
More traditional than the
acoustic guitar, a timeless resource
for melancholy is the love poem —
tragic or otherwise. Lyrical tales of
love found and love lost can provide
a soothing escape for those overrun
by commercialized romanticism.
Freshman Heidi Zlatek said poet
ry, much like music, “can speak to
exactly how we are feeling. Poetry
is not simply the Shakespeare peo
ple read in school.”
Zlatek suggested reading “The
Hell With Love: 8 Poems to Mend a
Broken Heart,” edited by Mary Es
selman and Elizabeth Velez, which
she said is an amusing collection of
poetry with works ranging from es
tablished poets, such as Emily Dick
inson, to more modem poets, such
as John Ash. The chapters lay out
the tale of betrayed emotion, begin
ning with “Rage and Sadness,” and
building steadily toward the final
chapter, “Moving On.”
“It just makes you feel better
about everything,” she said.
Dr. Brooks Morse, a psychologist
at the University’s Counseling Cen
ter, also has some advice for the
lonely this Valentine’s Day.
“This is a socially constructed
holiday,” Morse said. “It says, ‘We
are not adequate by ourselves.’ We
need to realize that our own compa
ny is good company.”
In response to the methods of
managing sadness mentioned
above, Morse said, “It all depends
on the purpose. If the purpose is to
embrace the sadness, and if this
embrace helps people cope, then go
forit.”
Morse encourages people to do
something different.
“Plan something social that they
enjoy — go out with friends, re-cre
ate the day,” she said.
Andrew Shipley is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
Business
continued from page 2B
According to a report by the
International Mass Retail Associa
tion, consumers in 2001 exchanged
163 million cards — the second
largest greeting card total after
Christmas — and spent #1.05 bil
lion on candy for Valentine’s Day.
Laura Betty, retail manager for
the Euphoria Chocolate Company,
said she expects her store at the Val
ley River Center, one of three out
lets in Eugene, to be packed come
Feb. 14.
“On an average day, we have
about 150 customers come in, and
last year, it went up to 700 on Valen
tine’s Day,” Betty said.
Merchants specializing in tradi
tional Valentine’s gifts are not the only
ones anticipating a shopping rush.
Store manager John Heckler of
Green Acres Road’s Wal-Mart said
most department stores experi
ence increased foot-traffic during
Valentine’s Day from people
scrambling to buy that last-minute
card or box of candy. With more
customers cruising the aisles, the
likelihood of non-traditional Valen
tine’s Day purchases increases.
“They might come in looking
specifically for Valentine’s items, but
anything can become a potential
gift,” Heckler said. “Maybe it’s a red
sweater they see on their way toward
the cards or a shirt with a heart on it,
but things we aren’t even advertising
for the holiday become Valentine’s
gifts.” Local Fred Meyer, ShopKo and
Target stores are also all geared up for
the holiday, with special merchandise
packing the aisles.
Despite the rush and extensive
preparation, shoppers are a wel
come sight.
“It’s a crucial sales day,” Lyons
said. “With all the time and effort
we’ve invested, we’re happy to see
customers coming in.”
Craig Coleman is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.