TGIF? Not for some singles ...

It’s the end of another work week and, while everyone else is practically giddy with anticipation of the looming weekend, you’re slowly suffocating in a sea of dread. If you look forward to Fridays with about the same enthusiasm you reserve for dental appointments and unclogging a shower drain, don’t despair – there are plenty of singles out there who feel the same.

For many of us solo souls, Sleep-in Saturdays and Lazy Sundays kind of lose their appeal in the wake of two long days alone without the distraction of work. When you only have yourself to think of end-of-week errands seem to get done in record-breaking times. While this is greatif your main concern is efficiency, it’s actually a real drag when you’re trying to FILL rather than FREE UP 48 hours of dead time.

When couples find themselves temporarily apart on weekends they seem to really savour their “alone time.” Not so when “alone” is your constant state. While a girl who, upon finding herself at home alone while her boyfriend visits his parents, revels in the time she can spend catching up on her reading, controlling the remote and eating crackers in bed, the single girl – without an expiration date set on her alone time – views the same pastimes with considerable less luster.

There she is. Alone. With. Nothing. To. Do.

Doing nothing is fantastic – wonderful – when you have someone to do it with. No plans for Friday night? No problem! We’ll just grab a pizza and watch some bad TV (the networks know everyone worth entertaining is too busy to tune in on Friday night). As anyone who’s passed the two-year mark with a partner knows, weekends aren’t a whirlwind of exciting dates, romantic picnics and art exhibits anymore. They’re about changing light bulbs, cleaning out the lint trap in the dryer and picking up dog food. And that’s a good relationship.

But there’s a bright side. Looking at staying home alone – again – tonight? If the thought fills you with dread and anxiety, change your attitude. Make a conscious date with Stacey and Clinton (watching TLC’s What Not to Wear will ensure that, when you do have exciting plans, you’ll know how to dress yourself for the occasion), grab the ingredients for your fave meal (you know, that weird tofu-vegetarian thing your ex used to fake-vomit at) and a decent bottle of red (you don’t have to share it with anyone but yourself).

Now break it down. Does doing nothing as a “we” really outrank doing nothing as a “me?” Considering no one’s going to be changing the channel to catch the game, making retching sounds while you eat and passing out early on the couch before you can even get to bed – it hardly seems so.