First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

10 Reasons to Stay Away from Married Men

1.  They will not be available for your birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentines Day, 3-day weekends. In fact, they’re not really available.       Continue reading »

When You Don’t Inherit the High Heel Gene

I must’ve misplaced my woman’s manual:

1. How to wear high heels for a long evening, without regretting it in the morning?
2. How to apply concealer without looking like you’re wearing concealer?
3. How to keep polish on fingernails for more than a day without chipping?
4. How to stay warm in a sleeveless dress on a wintry day, especially in California, where no one likes to turn on the heat?
5. How to blow-dry hair, and not end up looking like your mother (or maybe that’s my mother)?
6. How to act like you don’t want it when you really do?

(Image: Nailpolish, 2009, by Elad Lassry)

Contest: Why It’s Great to Be Single on Valentines Day

Are you fed up with buying your own Valentines Day candy, or hoping a loved one will bring you some?  We can change that. All you have to do is come up with the best reason why it’s great to be single on Valentines Day and we’ll deliver a box of yummy L.A. BURDICK artisanal chocolate  to your home in time for the holiday.

Here are the ground rules. Uh, actually there are none. Comment as often as you like. You don’t have to be single to win (because how could I check). The winner will need to give us a first and last name, U.S. mailing address and phone number (for delivery purposes only). We’ll be gathering entries until January 28 and posting one great reason a day during the 10 days leading up to February 14.

Let the games begin…

LAST UPDATE: We have a winner!!!!!

7 Ways to Dig Yourself Out of a Bad Mood

I’ve been reading about the new book, Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, by Barbara Ehrenreich, who is a writer I admire. I like the title and I get her point. Sometimes really terrible stuff happens, and there is no sane explanation for it, no talking your way out of it or using it as an opportunity for growth.

But it does help to have coping skills. During tough times, I dig into what I call a stress toolbox, which beats spending time buried underneath the covers (especially for me, since I’m a lousy sleeper). Here are the contents:

Continue reading »

A Single Woman’s Guide to Eating Well

One of the key elements of thriving in single life is to feel taken care of, even if that means taking care of ourselves. What parts of daily living can we actually influence and make better? If not a soul mate, how about soulful food.

For those truly content heating up a fast-food dinner and consuming it leaning on the kitchen counter, this post is probably not for you. I’m reverential when it comes to meals. It’s the easiest way I know to nurture myself (other than seasonal shoe shopping). Eating dinner alone at home, for example, I use cloth napkins instead of paper. They’re not a big deal to wash (no ironing. I’m not that crazy), and I feel pampered and more eco-friendly because of it.

Here are five “Eating Single Survival Tips.” PLEASE ADD TO THIS LIST, whether it’s a favorite place in your hometown to grab a bite for one, or a signature dish you’re willing to share.

Continue reading »

How I Grabbed the Best Bedroom in the Guest House

(Now published in the Huffington Post)

I grabbed the best bedroom at the beach house for you, vacationing single women and men everywhere, who have been relegated to the bunk bed, the twin bed, the princess bed, the bed shaped like an airplane, the Spiderman-sheeted bed, the blow-up mattress that slowly leaks, so by morning there is only deflated polyurethane between you and the hardwood floor, or worse, the love seat in the living room, where you’re kept awake at both ends of your sleep cycle, by chatty revelers who drink all night, and chirpy early risers who brew the first pot of coffee. I grabbed the best bedroom at the beach house, because I was tired of being penalized for not having a mate and because I arrived there first, or in other words, because I COULD. Did I mention my boudoir had its own bathroom?   Continue reading »

How to Survive a Sex Drought

1) Remember you’re beautiful.
Don’t equate lack of sexual activity with lack of desirability.

2) Enhance your wardrobe.
Put on clothes that make you feel like you’ve just had sex. Wear a flouncy skirt. Undo your top button. Moisturize. We know the benefits of lacy lingerie (which I find hard to summon up, during a dry spell). So, in my medicine cabinet, I keep a styling product called bedroom hair.

Continue reading »

Husband Benefits Pie Chart

FINDING THE PERKS ELSEWHERE

I waited (and waited) for that husband who never arrived. Finally I got tired of doing without the benefits I’d been told only husbands could bring and made a list of what I was missing. My married girlfriends say I’ve imagined a dream spouse who exists only in old movies. I say it’s a good place to start. Once I identified what I wanted–sublime to ridiculous–I began to figure out where else these needs could be met.

Continue reading »