Additive properties

During a spare moment in chem class, I did a few simple equations and discovered that I spent roughly two-thirds of the '00s in relationships. The percentage surprised me a bit, and I started wondering whether a higher single-to-coupled ratio would be healthier.

Like other people I've known over the years, including some of the women I've dated, I prefer not to be single. But maybe deciding to be single for a while would be a good thing. I know someone who strung together five two-year relationships (= 10 years of being somebody's girlfriend) from the middle of high school until well after college, starting a new one whenever an old one ended, like a chain smoker. Finally, after boyfriend #5 fizzled out, she went on a relationship "fast," and the experience was positive. She realized she could survive on her own.

The yearning to find a partner is, of course, a natural one, especially for someone who's almost 31. But the "why" of that yearning -- to escape loneliness, to feel desired and therefore desirable, to bolster flagging self-esteem -- is where the problem often lies. My determination to get regular exercise and lose weight is partly about wanting to feel comfortable in my own body, and thus confident enough to enter a relationship for the right reasons -- or at least fewer wrong ones. It might also make dating a little less nervewracking.

Film Comment's 100 best films of the '00s

Of the magazine's picks, here are the ones I'm most eager to see:

2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong, 2000)
3. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, Taiwan/Japan, 2000)
9. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristi Mungiu, Romania, 2007)
10. The New World (Terrence Malick, U.S., 2005 1223)
70. Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, France, 2009)
86. Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt, U.S., 2008)
91. Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, U.S., 2008)
95. When the Levees Broke (Spike Lee, U.S. 2006)
96. The Best of Youth (Marco Tullio Giordana, Italy, 2003)
100. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany/France/Italy, 2009)

All in all, it's a great list. I'm really not sure what my favorite film of the decade is; Roger Ebert put Synecdoche, New York at the top of his list, and I haven't even seen it yet.

Update, Jan. 17: Though it's hard to choose, I'd say Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) is my favorite movie of the '00s.

If you like charticles...

...you'll love what The New York Times has concocted to sum up the '00s. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)