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A couple of years ago, I found this weird link off Craig's List and followed it. It lead me to a site called Quirky Alone. A book was forthcoming and it was started by a woman named Sasha Cagen. I found that the site and concept resonated with me strongly. I sent it to one of my best friends, who used it in a sermon (she's a minister).

What's particularly amusing about the whole Quirkyalone thing is that several of my good friends think THEY'RE Quirkyalone, even though I don't think they've been single for longer than a few months in any of their given lives. Obviously, they're not. In my opinion (and probably also in the opinion of the movement's founder), anyone who is continually involved in a serious relationship cannot possibly have the same mindset as I do or as a handful of other people have, because I have been more or less single and alone my entire life. I am now 31. The longest relationship I've had was six months, two of which were spent over 1000 miles apart.

I just thought of it and took the quiz again--I'm definitely VERY Quirkyalone. A woman in my program, when I mentioned it to her, said, "Oh, yeah, isn't that the movement where you're supposed to be sick and twisted if you're in a relationship?" Not at all. She didn't grasp any of the concepts whatsoever. People I know who are European are always shocked by Americans and their obsession with being in a relationship. If you're not attached and if you're not having regular casual sex if you're single, there's something seriously wrong with you. On the other hand, if you have casual sex, there's also something wrong with you. I never have casual sex and I hardly ever date. I might go on a couple of dates in a calendar year.

But being Quirkyalone doesn't mean that you don't want a relationship. I can't say how often I wonder what is so significantly wrong with me that I'm always alone. And yes, I'm lonely. But I'm happier than the lonely people I know who are in relationships.