The "Sex and the City" Single Syndrome

There are two schools of thought when it comes to single people: 1) They are sad and lonely. 2) They have a highly-active, extremely sexual dating life.

The reality is that in most cases, neither is true.

I'm a big believer in "when it happens it happens" so I don't worry so much about dating or finding "the one." Instead, I am confident that one day he'll be sitting next to me on an airplane or offer me a gelato at the top of the Spanish Steps. Yes, I realize that won't get me a house and kids any time soon, but sometimes idealism is a nice break from reality. That's why travel is so wonderful. When you leave your home base, you allow yourself the possibility to be free from conformity.

I am always up for new things so when the opportunity presented itself to cook erotic foods with a famous Boston chef, I jumped at the opportunity. And then came the dreaded words from my editor: "Ideally, you could end the story by cooking these foods for a date."

I could. But I don't have one. And where do I find one? And honestly, why is it expected that I would? Are we so programmed to associate eroticism with sex that the idea of doing something as a "single" is almost taboo?

It's the "Sex and the City" Single Syndrome -- if you're single, and you live in the city, you must be fabulously engrossed with various men for late-night rendezvous'. While there is a level of "sexiness" to this concept -- and on some Saturday night's it does happen -- the reality is that a good bottle of a wine and a John Hughes movie run a close second to most dates. Yes, I can see the unfortunate side of this, but I make no apologies for being picky about the men I date. I brought this topic up to my married friends and got the following responses:

"Maybe you should go to temple and meet a nice guy." (Obviously, this friend was joking, but she certainly channeled my mother).

"Can they do that?" asked another, who was questioning the integrity of the publication.

"I'm no prude, but don't give a 'fuck assignment' and call it journalism." Well said.

So OK -- here we are. I'm going to cook erotic foods with a Boston chef and write about it. I'll post the pictures here and also a link to the story. In the meantime, if you have a single male you want to pimp out for the occasion, let me know. Otherwise, take my advice and enjoy a little single-time for yourself with a good meal and a glass of wine.