Yes I live alone. No it's not sad.

OK, I live with a parrot, but I think we can agree that pets are a different kind of relationship from human relationships.

Yesterday we once again had the surreal and entertaining task of casting for two lifestyle videos we will be shooting in June. We were casting for three parts: an early 30's yuppie couple and a single 40-ish professional woman.

I admit with some embarrassment that when casting for male actors I tend to slip into my dating mode -  he's not tall enough, not smart enough, too serious, too buff.  At one point when I muttered "at least he's tall enough," my boss (the director) asked "tall enough for this part or tall enough for you?"  Aha.

So then the classic joke came back: let's have a casting session to find Kitty a boyfriend!  This joke comes up almost every time.  Casting is such an awesome way to compare candidates - a hundred or so per day!  We tend to rate them on a 1-5 scale for looks, demeanor, and talent.  At the end of the day we pick out the high scores to go to the next round.  So much more efficient than online dating!

My boss seriously asked me how much it would cost ($2K) to hold a casting day for dates.  I think he would really like to do this.  We mentioned it to the casting agent, and her response was, "you don't want to date an actor." Later she emailed me: "I will keep an eye out for men who are not wounded or below standard in any way for you!" She can tell I have high standards.

After the session we had a meeting to discuss the scenarios for these videos.  When it came to the professional woman it was a real struggle to come up with ways that her coming home from work to an empty apartment would not come off as sad, lonely, depressing, and pathetic.  Hey, wait a sec!  Are we saying that my life is sad, lonely depressing, and pathetic?

It's not.

I like living alone.  I like having my own schedule and deciding what I want to do and what I don't want to do without worrying about disappointing or annoying anyone else.  I like to spend hours reading a book without feeling like I'm being anti-social or neglecting my responsibilities to someone.  I like not feeling obligated to have a conversation when I feel un-talkative.  I like being able to make plans without coordinating schedules.  I like spending all morning by myself in a coffee shop.  I like being able to decide what to listen to, and not having to listen to what someone else feels like hearing.  I cherish my space and my time.

There's nothing sad about a woman living alone.