• Originally published May 29, 2008 at 11:44 p.m., updated May 29, 2008 at 11:44 p.m.

It ain’t easy being the single gal. In fact, it’s my firm belief that the modern dating ritual should be reserved only as cruel and unusual punishment for hardened criminals.

Like, say, people who kill puppies and orphans.

Unfortunately, it’s a rite of passage we must all go through, lest we end up living like hermits, eating our TV dinners alone under a single light bulb.

Or at least that’s what our anxious-for-grandbabies mothers would have us believe.

Even at the relatively young age of 26, I have already racked up quite a few dating horror stories. Take the time my boyfriend of four years decided to break up with me.

On Christmas Eve.

Because he didn’t want to get me a gift.

Oh, and he was cheating on me.

And it’s not just me. My close friend, Misty, once dated a guy who, instead of going to the hospital with her to visit her ailing father, decided to blow her off for 25-cent wing night at the local bar.

My friend, Michelle, once had a guy break up with her via a text message:

“Hey, how are you? By the way, I’m getting back together with my ex-girlfriend. It was nice knowing you.”

And then, of course, there is my friend, Jess, who for three years dated a man who refused to say “I love you.” I can only imagine what their pillow talk was like:

Jess: “I love you.”

Tim: “...(long pause)...Hey, wanna order a pizza?”

Thinking about all these horrific experiences, I couldn’t help but wonder, does it ever get better?

Well, turns out it doesn’t. And that’s why we love “Sex and the City.”

For the first time, here was a show that dealt with what dating and relationships are really like. Sure, we may not all be walking around in Manolo Blahniks and drinking cosmopolitans (or my version of Candies and Coronas), but many women out there are dealing with things like bad blind dates, unrequited love, unsatisfying sex lives and over-analyzing every aspect of a relationship (“OK, listen to this phone message. Does he sound like he likes me-likes me, or just likes me?”).

But even more than that, for fans of the show it helped change the perception of dating and relationships and what it means to get older. “Sex and the City” sent the message that life isn’t over after the age of 30 if you’re still single. You can be 35, 45, or even well into your 50s and still be single and fabulous.

Exclamation point.

Of course, the single gal roller coaster isn’t always an easy or fun ride to be on, but it’s one we are willing to stay on until we find The One.

Because, if anything, the show is about love. And like our heroine Carrie says in the season finale, “We’re all looking for love.”

Real love. That ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t live without each other love.

And in the meantime, we’re going to have a fabulous time searching for it.

Aprill Brandon is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6514 or abrandon@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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