If I feel like getting drunk at 11AM on a monday morning, no one is there to stop me. This trumps all.
I only have one cat, so she’ll probably need to devour me in sections over several days. The key will be in pacing herself.
In answer to the question in the OP: One of the advantages is that I can post stupid things about my cat at 11:30 PM without someone badgering me to come to bed.
I don’t know about being single, but being a guy is sure sounding more enticing.
Come now, cat’s aren’t that sensible. She’ll eat you at a sitting, make herself sick, then puke most of you back up. Later, she’ll eat the puke, and puke some of that back up. Continue until no puke left. Might take a few days.
The things I miss about being single are:
The I AM THE BOSS OF MY ENVIRONMENT!! factor.
Being able to jerk off in peace without having a lazy, horny bastard interrupting me thinking all the hard work’s been done and he’ll just get to surf the fun part–go away, you putz, this is ME TIME!
Being able to chow down on a sleazy frozen pizza or throw together a salad or skip dinner entirely and not have to justify it to the Nutrition Nazi.
Having the whole queen size to myself, with ALL the down pillows and ALL the lovely crisp sheets (unless it’s winter, then it’s all the cozy flannel sheets) and never having to sleep just on one side because turning to the other side means getting a faceful of the breath of death from the mouth breather–how can anyone sleep with their mouth open? I never do that–I’d have a horrible sore throat if I did…
I don’t have to talk to anyone if I don’t feel like it–I just turn the phone off and that’s that. I especially don’t have to deal with endless yapping about the minutiae of computer crap–just give me the Cliff Notes version, willya? I don’t need to know the memory register used by every single line of code in the app you’re trying to yadda yadda yadda… I really can’t care any more, y’know?
I can watch any movie I want and don’t have to listen to complaints if a couple of guys blow each other or something–geez, dude, seeing gay guys in a movie is not catching, you will not get teh gay if you see a monosexual BJ, 'kay? Grow up…
Nobody else’s mess in the house, just mine…
I kinda miss being single… 
It can be a lot cheaper to be single
No responsibility for anyone but yourself
Freedom to do what you want when you want
Time to spend on bettering your own self and developing your interests
No one around to make fun of the fact that I like to watch documentaries.
I never have to watch movies about “The Little Sports Team That Could”.
No one changes my radio stations.
The closet is mine, all mine!
I only have to cook when I want to, and I can have popcorn for dinner if I feel like it.
If the urge to use the bathroom hits while I’m driving home, I don’t have to worry about racing anything other than the clock to get to the throne.
If you’re single, you’re allowed to fall in love with every girl you meet.
Sorry to hear about your breakup. That is never an easy thing to deal with, but I do think it helps to try to find some silver lining of some kind.
I truly do enjoy being single most of the time. Some of these things were already mentioned, but these are the main factors that I like about single life…
-Total freedom: I like being able to do anything I want without regard for whether my partner would approve of it or enjoy it. It’s nice to be able to make major purchases based solely on what I want, instead of having to talk it over with someone else first (or worry that HE will spend our money in ways I don’t approve of…remember, most arguments in marriages are over money).
-Peace of mind: I don’t have to stress out over worries like if my partner is cheating on me.
I get sad at times over not having a “special someone”, but nothing I’ve encountered in single life has ever hurt me in the same “ripped my heart from my chest” way that a bad breakup does…especially if it involves something like cheating.
-Saving money and time: I don’t have to buy a Christmas gift for a partner (or stress out about making sure it’s not too serious OR too trivial for the relationship’s current stage). I also don’t have to waste time doing activities I don’t enjoy just for the partner’s sake.
-No arguments over stupid stuff (some of the things I’ve argued with exes over were absolutely ridiculous, like when one guy got snippy with me for being less enthusiastic than he thought I should be about a pop singer he likes)
-No compromises on lifestyle. I love kids and really want to be a mom even if I never get married (probably by adopting a child if I don’t get married). At one time I was crazy about a guy who doesn’t like kids and has no interest in being a dad, so for a while I actually considered putting aside my dream of having kids for his sake. In hindsight, I feel very fortunate that relationship ended up falling apart over other issues, because I probably would have really regretted putting aside what I truly wanted for the sake of someone else.
-Less risk of ending up feeling trapped. Even if you feel giddy about Mr. Wonderful when you first get married, I imagine that many people find the novelty wears off and are bored with each other after a few years together. Being single, and having the total freedom that we singles do, if something is boring or unsatisfying about my current way of life, I can easily change it up. If a cute, exciting guy does happen to wander into my life, I know I can go after him without any reservation, whereas it would be excrutiating to meet someone amazing if I was stuck in a boring, dead-end, sex-less marriage (since I don’t want to cheat, and divorce can be ugly).
Infatuation is a powerful drug, so I think we all have an urge to jump right into relationships when something sets off that giddy “he’s so wonderful!” feeling…but if you really weigh out the pros and cons, I don’t think being single is a bad way of life at all.
You can make your own major life decisions without having to take someone else’s opinions or wants into account. This, to my mind, is the biggest benefit of being single. It’s one of the ones I have a very hard time letting go of, even though I’m now in a relationship.
Want to go back to school? Then go! No worries about someone else wondering if you’ll be pulling in enough money or have enough time for them.
Want to quit your job and go freelance? You can do it whenever you like! No need to OK that with your spouse, who might be worried about the loss of security and longer working hours.
Want to sell the house and move to Brazil? Want to teach English in Korea? Travel around the world? Nothing stopping you! Off you go!
With most husbands, it would be impossible to have my kind of jobs. With kids? Pretty much forgetaboutit. I’m a consultant in a field that’s pretty rarified, so I move every few months; often across country borders (although the same distances could be within the same state/province, Over There); four times across the Atlantic. These moves don’t match the school year at all. Moving the whole family with me would make no sense, I’d need a husband and kids who were OK with “being left behind”.
So, in my case, it allows me to live the way I want… except when I’m around my (much loved but not very understanding) relatives.
Yes, yes, hell-effin’-yeah, YES! This is pretty much what I tell people when I try to explain to them just why I love living alone so much. (Not to mention why I enjoy doing everything else alone, too!) I actually don’t care to deal with most people for a variety of reasons, so I really get off on knowing that, when I turn my key in my front door, there is NO ONE on the other side of it that I **have ** to deal with, whether I feel like it or not. Hell, that’s what work and school and supermarkets are for! Honestly, freedom like this can’t be understimated.
And I agree, too, with others, particularly Captain_C (yep, I can drink **way ** before noon and not have to worry ‘bout somebody bitchin’ at me about it), Scribble, and SmartAleq. (I must say, SmartAleq, that your post cracked me up. IIRC, you’re a woman, and even the most straight-talking women that I’m close to will usually refer to their own auto-stimulation as masturbation–yeah, I’m a guy who gets to talk about about this stuff w/his female friends–and not jerking off. It’s all good, mind you.)
Having said that, here’s the thing: I am, deep in my soul, a romantic, and I always have been (I’m a Pisces, in case it matters). When I was last in a serious relationship (ten years ago), I loved it. In fact, at the time of our break up, I was preparing to relocate, no regrets, to Switzerland to be with him. And now that I’ve been single for all of these years, the only thing I really miss (besides, as **Oakminster ** pointed out, the sex–though there are usually ways to take care of that) is a certain kind of **constant ** emotional and physical intimacy. Thank goodness that I have friends with whom I can be emotionally intimate, or I might otherwise be a mess.
Like someone else said upthread, there are advantages to being both single and coupled (or tripled, or whatever you prefer). I’d guess that the goal to being happy with either is to really know yourself and what you want, and to understand the possible consequences and benefits of whatever life you choose.
At any rate, Gestalt, I’m so sorry that you’re bummed out from your break-up, and I really hope it gets better soon.
Most of these have been touched on, but my four favorite reasons:
-
Don’t have to shave my legs.
-
If the bathtub is dirty, I know whose dirt it is, making it significantly less gross.
-
Dinner can be the same thing, night after night after night… or a bowl of cereal, or guacamole and chips, or Christmas cookies, or whatever.
-
I only have a full-sized bed, not a queen, and it’s damn crowded with someone else in it. It is, however, a blissful size for sleeping alone.
Being single sucks. But it’s better than being in an unhappy partnership.
I can spend my money on whatever I want.
I can go home after a bad day and not have to talk to anyone.
I can stay awake all night and then sleep all day on a floormat.
I can sleep on a floormat and not own a bed.
Awww…
we call this our special time 
I’ve been in the same relationship practically since I reached the age of reason, but I did live 2 states away for a year when I first went back to college, and the things I loved about being quasi-single were:
Not having anybody at home worried about me/lonely when I wanted to be in my studio until 4 in the morning. (this is a double-edged sword, but inna final analysis I do prefer the freedom to the companionship in this way, just not overall)
Own bed.
My music and movies and TV whenever.
Being responsible for entertaining myself and no one else. I find that when we’re together, either he or I will sort of turn into an annoying blob and expect the other to decide what we’re going to do, where we will go etc, and more likely than not we just end up doing nothing. While when I’m on my own boredom rarely even comes up, because I’m constantly coming up with ideas for projects and fun stuff and I don’t have to worry about whether he’ll enjoy it, so I just do it.
I’ll tell ya’ what’s so good about being single…leg hair, baby! I haven’t shaved my legs in over a month and it’s because I haven’t wanted to! I can let it grow long enough to cover my feet, if I want. not that I want to do this, but I could.
I can sleep in the middle of the bed without someone whining about how much space I’m taking. I can watch television in bed as late as I want, or read as late as I want, without trying to “compromise” on the light/sound from the television or the light from the lamp. I can eat anything in bed (crackers, ice-cream, chips and salsa) and don’t have to listen to anyone complain about the noise, the smell, the crumbs or the dirty dish on the nightstand that I don’t want to carry downstairs until morning.
My own dirty underwear any place I want it to be. I don’t have to pick it up if I don’t want, and I sure don’t have to look at anyone elses anywhere.
Looking at it from the married side, I see these advantages:
Not having the tv on every frickin’ hour of the day. Not having to stop whatever you’re doing for meals unless you want to (I’m the cook). Not having to worry about whether anyone else is cold/hot before adjusting the a/c or heating. Not having to worry about your reading light keeping your partner awake. I could go on…but TLD pretty much hit it.
Gestalt, sorry to hear that you’re bummed. The holidays can be brutal on the recently single, can’t they?
I missed my ex a lot on Christmas. I expect that NYE will be rather excruciating. But I did take a moment to enjoy that I was able to hang out with my family late into the night on Christmas without him beaming “When can we *leave * already?!?!?” glares at me.
Like almost everyone else here has said, the ultimate advantage of being single is that you answer to no one. If I want to stay out until 3:00, I can do that. If I want to go to bed at 8:00, I can do that. Either way, when I get into bed, it’s all mine. I don’t have to share the blankets, I don’t have to listen to someone else’s alarm go off two hours before I have to get up, and I don’t have to wait for the bathroom.
My time is my own, my space is my own (well, I have a kid, so not entirely, but still…), and all the decisions are mine to make. There’s tremendous freedom and peace of mind in that.
Oh, and this. When you see someone you find attractive, let them know about it! Flirt your ass off. You can only do this when you’re single, and it’s just about the funnest part!