The art of of living alone

This is a response to my friend SimpleGirl's blog post (The sad thing about having a flatmate - Oct 31, 2011)

I have now lived alone for 4 years. Moved 2 times, once out of my uncle's place and the other time to move into my first condo which I am now selling. So guess what, I'll be moving out again soon! Did I ever consider getting a flatmate ? Yes but I thought better of it. 

It's true that living alone is not for everybody. 

You need to:

1. Not die in your sleep, there's nobody to raise the alarm and notify relatives/friends
2. Be able to enjoy the sound of your own voice talking to yourself and laugh about it
3. Be able to trust that the cake you just baked is good without any feedback 
4. Be able to deal with the silence
   
5. Have enough self confidence to step out of the house without asking anybody else's opinion (unless you take a pic of yourself and send it out for approval which I have done before!!!)
   
6. Not mind eating alone most days
7. Be able to clean up after yourself, there's nobody else you can blame for the mess
8. Replace the toilet paper roll yourself
9. Be able to manage your own moodiness, nobody to vent to at home or share ice cream with when PMSing 
10. Expect to find the things you put in a spot to be at EXACTLY the same spot until you move it
11. Never be bored by yourself 

Now I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to get home and have a 'lovely' flatmate making dinner for both of you or to have someone to have a laugh with. But that's what the Internet is for :). Anytime I need to talk to someone, I am lucky enough to have a worldwide pool of friends (ensuring every time zone is covered!) from which to pick my victim. A flatmate could certainly add some humanity to your house just as long as you do not mind sharing your space with someone else. Someone who would bring their quirks and habits to your space.
My concern is cleanliness. I'm borderline Monica from Friends so yeah, a flatmate would probably drive me nuts especially knowing that I have the option of not having one. 

This is a pic of my place set up for showings.

Would I have been able to keep it as spotless with a flatmate? Unlikely. 

Yes I like living alone, do I sound like a spinster yet? :P

The end of another decade...

As I close the month I turned 30, I reflect on the past 3 decades and
what I have accomplished and how far I've come.
I cannot but acknowledge that the life I have is a privileged one.
When I was a teenager, I used to try to envision what my life would be
when I am done high school. I used to dream that I'd live in that
far-away country where there is snow, polar bears and bubble gum in a
roll. Here I am, a few years later, actually calling this great
country home! The journey from little me on an island in the Indian
Ocean, to 30-yr-old me, living by myself, building a career,
accumulating life experiences, has not been a walk in the park. Of
course a lot of people do what I did, some under worse circumstances
and with less luck than me. There's nothing extraordinary to it.
However, it does build character and emotional strength and I am proud
of the challenges I have overcome. I am proud that I can say today,
that my happiness does not depend on anybody else but me and THAT is
something to cherish.
All this, of course, would not have been possible, if my parents did
not allow me to follow my dreams. Nor would it have been possible if
it wasn't for the incredible people I have met along the way. Some of
them, I have unfortunately lost track of, but they are remembered
fondly every now and then. It's funny how things turn out sometimes,
but I feel blessed and grateful for all the opportunities and mishaps
I had and man, I've had quite a few. After all, 3 decades do not go by
without any glitch or windfall, especially for a drama queen like me.
They say age, as happiness, is a state of mind. Well my mind says that
I'm 23 and I will make sure it stays that way for a while. At least
until my body strongly argues to the contrary. This is how I choose to
embark on my 4th decade. No regrets, no turning back, forging ahead
and making this life count!
Qui m'aime me suit!