Interesting video. I have a hard time squaring it with the transactional nature of seemingly all interaction these days. No one wants to build a relationship; they just want to already be in one. Which is fine as a flight of fancy like a crush, but it really feels objectifying otherwise.

Don’t get me wrong: Any reasonable person wants the foreplay out of the way so they can relax with a known quantity and fart with reckless abandon. The situations in which the entire courting ritual can be compressed down to days are rare but extant – but you need some sort of cue that this is the path you’re on, which means you can’t go in expecting it, instead getting whiplash when it happens.

Anecdotally, I have found that I feel I’m aging much faster than I used to since being single with minor excursions as of 2018. The lack of goals, of shared experiences … I very rarely start a new TV show, as it’s become abundantly clear that much of the enjoyment stems from being able to talk about it, sometimes even in real time.

I just wanted to work a satisfying stable job, afford housing and have a loving relationship that wasn’t an abusive clusterfuck. I’ve not had all three since 2007.

And I have zero hope I ever will again.