quirkyalone and Beyond Therapy

The other day I was perusing the 300s section of the Langley library and stumbled upon the book: "quirkyalone: a manifesto for uncompromising romantics." I was intrigued and added it to the stack of books and dvds I was checking out.

Little did I know that I was on my way to discovering the first pop culture label with which I strongly identified.

www.quickyalone.net defines "quirkyalone" as:

"Quirkyalones are people who enjoy being single (but are not opposed to being in a relationship) and prefer being single to dating for the sake of being in a relationship."

International Quirkyalone Day is February 14. The official flower is daisies.

62% of quirkyalones are female, 67% don't have pets, and 47% are between the ages of 26-45.

We're not exactly talking anti-Bridget Jones here, but there is an element of that. Give this book a try.

The book made me think about Christopher Durang's play, Beyond Therapy. Durang is one of my favorite playwrights and directing this play was one of the highlights of my undergraduate experience. The official name of my senior project was "Beyond Therapy: Beyond Social Constructions of Gender and Sexuality." (I tied in articles from the God and Gender class I had taken as a religion general studies requirement into scene study with my actors).

I cast some of my closest friends in the show and the rehearsal process was a blast. I tried to say yes to as many requests as I could, my favorite being Justin asking if we could bring an adult-sized rocking horse down as a set piece in one of the therapist's offices. By closing night of the show, the house was packed; we were bringing out suitcases from props storage for people to sit on.

Charlotte the crazy therapist says "Prudence, you're searching for perfection. You know that song, 'Someday My Prince Will Come?' Well it's shit. There is no prince. Everyone in this world is limited, and depending on one's perspective, is either horrible or okay. We're all alone, everyone's crazy, and you have no choice but to be alone or to be with someone in what will be a highly imperfect and probably eventually unsatisfactory relationship." She then goes on to describe how life is like Chekhov--everyone thinks it's a tragedy or drama, but actually, life at its core is truly comedic. "If you take psychological suffering in the right frame of mind, you can find the humor in it."

I don't know if this play expresses mostly pro or anti-quirkyalone sentiments. I'm new to this label, but so far it fits...