The Biological Ticking of a Single Girl

We have a really interesting genetic trend in my family. Right around the age of 24, the women in my family suddenly feel extremely maternal, and that biological clock starts tick-tocking away. It's not easy. Mine was so strong that I had to get a kitten just to have something to take care of.

I have never really wanted to be bothered with talk of marriage or children, and grew up chanting lots of "Never" mantras, including, "I'll never get married!" "I'll never want babies!" Well, I have a new mantra, and it goes something like this (you may recognize it): "Rockabye, baby, in the treetops..." Well, not really, but my thought patterns have definitely changed. Don't get me wrong - I don't just want to meet a man to have a bunch of babies. Not at all! But, I will say that I cared very little about my love life until I started having Mommy Pangs.

Now that I am out of college, I am absolutely dumbfounded at how people ever meet the right person AND marry them. The main issue here for me is that I am extremely picky, AND I am choosy about how I am going to meet this person. Let's run down the ways you can meet That Special Person in today's world:

+ College

This didn't work for me. I was a music theatre major. The men were a) actors, which I have a moral opposition to, or b) gay, which provided me with a lot of great friends. Besides that, I had very little interest in adding anything else to my already remarkably long days, let alone the stress of a man.


+ In a bar

If they're in a bar, they're probably drunk. And you probably are, too. And hey, if that's your thing, congratulations, but for many of us, finding a well-read, well-educated, well-traveled, successful and possibly British man is not going to magically happen in a bar.


+ At work

Oh, come on. Every other month there is an article in Glamour or Elle about the dangers of office dating. No, way.


+ Online

Amazingly, in this day and age. this seems to be the most sensible in that you are not drunk when choosing your potential life mate (or maybe you surf Chemistry.com while completely blitzed). However, this is risky business - that "MD who loves dogs and swing dancing" could be a med school dropout who is into bestiality and not so much the dancing but maybe the swinging.


+ By Chance

This, given the correct circumstances, may just work. I say correct circumstances because I'm skeptical enough of the world to really think long and hard about calling the stranger who gave me his card at a gas station because he thought I was "stunning." Unfortunately, in this case, curiosity killed the cat and my passive-aggressive self emailed the guy, who ended up being an anger-ridden hornball. So, my skepticism is justified. Ladies, things are not always what they appear - a brand new BMW, custom-tailored suit, and impressive job title does not a good man make.

For those that are completely happy in their own company, being single is quite the conundrum. I'm not one of those people that needs to be at the local pub in a corner booth amongst 10 of my closest friends at least four nights a week to feel fulfilled. I'm secure enough in my own company to not feel a need to go out in search of a mate.

To those who say, get over yourself and stop being so picky, I bite my thumb. There is absolutely no need to lower standards for the person you spend the rest of your life with.

So the other option? I guess I'll wait.

The chase is sweeter than the catch, after all.

Raw foods

Ever heard of raw foods? It's a lifestyle choice entailing the consumption of only raw fruits, vegetables, sprouted seeds and beans, and raw nuts. This is something I abide by about 95% of the time and love it. I am happy to tell you more about how this has effected my health, my allergies, etc. Anyway, you can keep it simple and do salads and crudites, or you can make it more complicated and actually prepare dishes. I don't do much food prep as it is extremely time-consuming in raw foods land - you can't just pop something in the oven. Nothing can be heated over 118 degrees, so, yes, this means no microwaving, no baking, nothing like that. But there are some simple "cook"books out there that you can pick and choose from and get hints... for instance, I made "Hummus" the other night from a book called RAWvolution. It is a no-bean hummus, made with two zucchinis, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, and salt. Oh, and garlic, of course.

Other Than Words

This is about the 20th blog I've started. I'm quite good at starting things and not finishing them. You know when you're a kid, and you start a new journal or diary, and it says something like this:

SEPTEMBER 1, 1995

"Dear Diary,
Hi! My name is Natalie. How are you? Oh, you're a journal, I guess you won't respond. Anyway! I have started a lot of these, but this time I'm going to keep up with you and write in you every night!!!"

And then, the next entry looks something like this:

SEPTEMBER 2, 1995

"Dear Diary,
Well, today was fun. Not much to say. Spilled chocolate all over my new white shirt and when...

[one hour later]

Oops! I got distracted. Oh well! Good night!"

And then after that, blank pages...


Well, the hope here is that that will not actually occur.

Things you should know before you read further:

+ I tend to exaggerate and be melodramatic.
+ I am extremely open-minded, but the general rule is that I am right.
+ I have some eccentricities - I'm very health-conscious, very silly, and have very little patience for ignorance.

Ready? Andiamo!