I’m beginning to think that the researchers who say that 51% of the population is female are dead wrong. Personally, I’d put the number at about 80%. Oh, I know, there are men out there, I’m just not sure where they are. Places I know they are not: in all girls’ dorms; jobs that involve small children. I’ve checked those out thoroughly, there are none there, trust me.

Living in an all girls’ dorm wasn’t bad. There were guys around, they just didn’t live with us. The bad part is now, after the college experience has been left behind. My closest friends where the people I lived with, and therefore all other girls. While I met lots of guys in those four years, none of them became particularly close friends. Here it is a year after college and I’ve lost touch with virtually all the guys I was friends with. In retrospect, I wish I had disagreed with my former roommate and said no to the idea of an all girls’ dorm. I know myself, I should have realized I’d stay put once I found a nice place to live.

I like my job, most days, too. I work with little kids on literacy, and it’s very rewarding. Lots of women think so. Of the 30 or so people in my program, there are three guys. One of them is a nice older man who reminds me of my grandfather. Another is a goofy guy who lives about 4 hours north of here who’s also a lot older. The third is a space cadet, nice, but… Our program is part of a much larger, national one, and when we met with the program director he said a lot of people met their spouses while participating in the program. I found the idea mind-blowing. There must be guys who work in non-profits after all, even if I’ve seen little evidence of it.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with women as friends. But it gets a little old if that’s who you see day in, and day out. I’m lucky to have a brother, someone to play video games with and to play fight with. Sadly, he’s the only guy I hang out with on a regular basis lately. And mores the pity, I can’t get him to introduce me to his buddies, since he’s several years younger than me. Call me a prude, but I’d like to think there’s a big black line, with gates and lights, between desperate and near pedophile… A couple of the councilors for the summer program he’s in, on the other hand, are my age. Maybe I should visit him more often.

So what’s a girl to do when there aren’t any guys readily available? If you know, please e-mail me. People give "helpful" suggestions, but I’m pretty sure they are clueless as I am. "Bookstores are a good place to meet guys." I love books, a given since I have a degree in English, and I spend a lot of time in bookstores. Not once have I had anyone strike up a conversation with me there like you see in the movies. I thought maybe it was just me, since I spend half of my time there in the kids section, but I talked to other girls and they’ve never had anyone approach them there, either. Well, except one, but the one guy who did was telling her about the medication he’s on for his mental problems, yea.

"Go to sporting events." College hockey is high on my list of worthwhile things. I spent 3 winters going to all of our team’s home games. Maybe it was just my school, but hockey games are a ritualistic thing- you sit in the same seats, with the same people every game. If you don’t, you might jinx the team. The only guys I ever met at the games were friends’ boyfriends. " Play a rec sport" While I’m in decent shape, I’m not athletic. The only thing that I do that remotely resembles sport is shooting hoops with my brother, his friends, and my dad. I get a surprising number of baskets considering my height, but the idea of playing basketball for real doesn’t appeal to me. Then there’d be rules and stuff. Besides, most rec sports aren’t co-ed, so I’d just be meeting more women. " Meet someone over the internet" I talk to guys over the internet. The only ones who really want to meet me scare me. They see my picture, and ask me to sleep with them. (Don’t get the impression I’m a ravishing beauty, these are not discriminating people. I could send them a picture of dog and get similar results) Then I block them from sending me instant messages, because a stalker wouldn’t be a good substitute for a friend or what have you. There are some really nice people on the internet, some of whom I’ve been talking to for more than 3 years, but I’m never going to met them, they are all so far away. " Go to bars" Sure, but I don’t drink much, and I’d like to met someone who’s sober- not always, necessarily but at least for that first meeting. While going to a dive bar with co-workers and army reserve guys in June was fun, it doesn’t seem like a good way to form a lasting relationship.

One of my closest friends says " The only good guys are our dads, brothers, uncles, or are gay, and we’re not allowed to have any of them!" I feel less jaded when I think of that. We’re smart girls, I’m sure we’ll figure out eventually where we can meet guys who are single, straight, and at least somewhat sober. But until then… My job is contracted for a year, so I’ll be job hunting again soon. Do you think it’s completely wrong to ask the interviewer if there are male employees?