I rarely toss the word discrimination around, but this week I have to.

Here in the United States of America we the people are often discriminated against due to race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation and so on.

But I have one more category to add to that list that’s been getting attention lately:

Being single.

I won’t say that the frustrations I experience as a single sister are anywhere near at par with the outright atrocities that are outcomes of the other forms of discrimination, but they’re an impediment all the same.

What’s my supporting evidence?

Well, for starters, why are there tax breaks for married couples when all they seem to do these days is get a divorce? I think I should be given a tax break for my ability to self-sustain and the fact that I’m not popping out kids or going on welfare.

Why does the whole travel industry hate single people? Packages are often only good for parties of two or more, and getting a hotel room by myself always does irreparable damage to my travel budget.

Shopping for groceries blows! I understand that it’s easier to produce and package food for families, but it sucks royally all the same that I have to pay more money for groceries because I’ve been blessed with just one mouth to feed.

I also have a message for the people who provide residential services. PLEASE extend your services beyond 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You’d be surprised by how many times the schedulers for these services are shocked that I’m not a stay-at-home mother who has time to wait from noon to 5 p.m. for these people to show up. It pisses me off every time. I just can’t image that a single female who works for a living is such an anomaly.

Ohhh the list of discriminations go on and on, from insurance and medical benefits to home buying and social security.

Please don’t give me argument that being in relationships is the natural path that you’re supposed to take in life. That’s such bullshit.

And U.S. statistics tell me that I’m right. In 2005 there were 89.8 million unmarried Americans. I recently read that unmarrieds make up 42 percent of the workforce, 40 percent of home buyers, and 35 percent of voters. We’re a consumer force to reckon with.

Since I’m not alone in this, why is it so absurd to request a table for one?

All I’m asking, dear readers, is that you stop sweating the fact that I’m single. It shouldn’t make you uncomfortable because I’m joined by millions of people who all commonly believe in the following value that I’ve said before and I’ll say again and again:

Being single is not a curse — It’s a choice.

Swingin single at Cans

Thursday I hooked up with Nasty Natasha to check out Cans’ first-ever ladies night featuring 50-cent drinks and DJ Pedro. There we wound up spending our time with Southern Charmer Bill who agreed: DJ Pedro is a master! All of the heads filling the place were bobbing as he fused the likes of Bon Jovi with Usher. Little does he know, I’m somehow going to convince him to be the DJ at my birthday party this year.

Forces unite Friday

I had originally planned on staying home Friday night until I got a text message from Little T. I met that tiny pixie at Doyle’s, and then we ventured to Magoo’s. We had SO much fun laughing and singing songs while catching up with The Mexican (one of coolest guys in Tacoma EVER!). We snuck back into Doyle’s close to closing time where I rocked it with Xitco Xpress and then called it a really great night.

New shoe Saturday

Last week I bought a pair of gorgeous red heels that I couldn’t afford if I had kids, and I decided to celebrate them by wearing a booby-black dress. Natasha and I hit the town and stepped into the Crown Bar for our first time. There we amused the bartender with our antics, then, we had to stop by Asado to see Andi where we also found my favorite, Clark W. Griswold, who always makes me smile.



’Twas yet another carefree weekend for a single, carefree girl like me.