It’s back. The day of unwanted fluffy teddy bears, chocolates making us fat, cards with hearts ending up in the trash and endless expectations for a perfect valentine unrealistic enough to make Cupid fall off cloud nine.

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is unavoidable. So for those of us who stick our noses up to all that romantic crap, it’s time to make “single awareness day” as fun and tacky as Valentines Day, minus all the love and blah blah blah.

Drinks anyone? While the couples bombard the good restaurants in town, the smart and single take over the bars for a good drink (or seven), laughs and perhaps a raunchy one-nighter.

But the best part of Valentines Day isn’t getting plastered or how many times you give a stranger a fake number; the best part is hearing other people’s horror stories from the infamous day of romance.

Freshman in high school, braces and the coordination of a blind drunk is a pretty accurate description of my awkwardness back in the day. My boyfriend thought it would be a grand idea to spend Valentines Day together with his entire family. Making my way to the stairs, I gracefully fell down 30 steps. My boyfriend, being the gentleman he was, preceded to stand at the top and laugh until he cried. It was our first Valentines Day and our last.

For some, maybe it wasn’t the lack of effort put into the date that ruined it, but the over-zealous tactics to, well, get in their pants.

“My friend started dating this guy just a few days before Valentines Day,” said junior kinesiology major Alex Hernandez. “He thought it would be appropriate to buy her sexy lingerie. It wasn’t.”

Maybe that message of affection was a little too much too soon, but there are some gifts that are near impossible to offend someone with.

Whether one has a date this year, going stag or needs Skype to his or her date, don’t take it so seriously. Have a delicious meal, drink some good booze or download an awesome porn.

Just remember it’s the day of showing affection and care for loved ones, not an all-exclusive holiday for the ball and chains of the world.

Natalie Gray can be reached at [email protected]