Independence Day

I have decided that I am unwilling to cede independence to a mere mortal man.

I like living alone.
I like sleeping alone.
I like that my sheets are always clean.
I like not sharing a bathroom.
I like being able to put on pants and leave the house to meet friends whenever I feel like it.
I like being able to walk around the house pantless.
I like being able to sit at my desk in my underwear and turn on the space heater.
I like knowing that the dirty dishes in the sink aren't actually that dirty.
I like knowing that all of the stray hairs around the apartment are mine.
I like that no-one knows when I'm talking to myself.
I like that the only underwear I have to pick up is mine.
I like not having to justify, or even rationalize, my spending habits.
I like that my stuff doesn't get wrecked.
I like knowing exactly how much junk food I have in the house.
I like having all of the closet space in the apartment to myself.
I like being able to leave things lying around and knowing they'll still be exactly where I left them when I go back to find them.

There are a handful of things that I don't like about being single.

I miss human contact. Sometimes my nerve endings tingle because it's been so long since I touched another living creature.
I am a little bit scared to take out the garbage and the recycling.
I get frustrated with all the food that goes to waste because I can't finish it but can't buy lactose-free skim milk in less than 1 L containers.
I hate preparing food for myself.
I get lonely when I wake up from a screaming nightmare and there's no one to curl up to.
I like stealing body heat from furnace-like men.
I would prefer to watch TV with company.
I avoid watching movies alone unless I have seen them many times before.
I love sharing the weekend newspaper with someone else.
I wouldn't mind having a go-to person with whom I could share dim sum and take-out sushi.

I think the first list is still longer. And, let's face it, the second list is pretty easy to work around.