It all began on New Year's Day, My 32nd Year of Being Single...

"It all began on New Year's Day, my 32nd year of being single..." Such is the very first line of the movie "Briget Jones' Diary." I was 24 when I first watched that iconic film. I was fresh out of college, drinking white zinfindel in my second apartment in a semi-questionable area of Hollywood, smugly enjoying this movie about a semi-crazy single professional woman in her 30's. "It's so funny!" I said, "But that'll NEVER happen to me!"

I should have remembered never to give God a challenge. So yes, here it is - today actually -- today is actually New Year's Day in my 32nd year of being single. I'm desperately trying to find a turkey-curry buffet and or party serving mini-gerkins with toothpicks in them, but so far, my only plan is to take my dogs to the dog beach.

It's not that I haven't tried. When I was a self-satisfied 24-year-old, I had been with my boyfriend for three years. I didn't know at the time we had two more to go, followed by a break-up, immediate entrance of next long-term boyfriend (four more years with him) and then a long-distance beau that lasted a year and a half until...um, three months ago actually. Hence I find myself here, on New Year's Day, in my 32nd year of being single.

They say misery loves company, or at least someone to commiserate, so I'll be writing all about my world here as a singleton- online dating and its many perils, dating in the real world, going to singles events, meet-ups, church groups, blind dates - you name it. I'm nothing if not industrious and willing to put it all out there.

About a month after Bridget Jones' Diary premiered Oprah did an episode on people who called themselves, "just like Bridget!" How is it I joined that group? Perhaps this is my own online support group for people who yesterday ended up "shit-faced and listening to sad FM, easy listening for the over 30's." I suppose I should now welcome you to my diary...