ONE problem with being single and having to write a personal column is that you run out of topics to discuss, fast.

Singles lead such boring lives and there are only so many things you can cull from your humdrum existence and turn into a subject that hopefully people would want to read.

And so over the years since I started this column in July 1994, I have returned again and again to the preoccupations of the modern single woman.

I have lamented my single status, I have dissected that thing called love, I have talked about past and present boyfriends and I have opined about marriage.

I have championed being an aunt, I have whined about growing older, being lonely and dying alone, I have written about caring for ageing parents and being close to my mother, I have gone on and on about my dogs and I have waxed lyrical about shopping and travelling.

It's all about me, me, me. What else left is there to say which hasn't already been said? If my columns are a snapshot of what your average single working woman is concerned with, gosh, we lead rather dull, self-obsessed, self-indulgent lives, don't we?

To be sure, I could be the exception. My life as a single would certainly be more interesting if I were an outgoing, partying type or someone with a social conscience who is engaged with her community.

Then again, how many women in their 40s or even 30s are still painting the town red, and how many of us have the energy and inclination to be altruistic?

Married people with children, on the other hand, lead more exciting and busy lives.

Their days are packed with so many happenings that would serve as endless grist for the column mill. Imagine the sort of stories I could spin if I were married with kids and in-laws.

Column writing aside, I've always marvelled at how busy the lives of my married friends are and how they cope with it all.

How does one put in 12 crazy hours in the office and then go home to manage the demands of husband, children and in-laws?

When I go home, it's just dinner with my mother, playtime with my dog, a long shower, TV and bed - and that exhausts me already.

The weekends of parents, especially, are packed with activities whereas for me, oh, the hours can tick by excruciatingly slowly because there's nothing much I want to do.

But the grass is always greener on the other side.

Recently, a colleague and I were discussing what people would want to read in their Sunday newspaper.

He suggested doing more stories on 'how to be a good father or mother during the weekend after a hectic week at work, yet not feel burdened by the kids'.

He's married with small children and when I asked him if he was describing his own situation, he gave a heartfelt yes.

'I feel guilty if I don't play and engage them and yet, given a choice, I would rather be drinking coffee and reading a book. That's the irony of life. I guess a lot of parents are like me too. Good to be like you at this point in time,' he said.

Singles, he added, have a good life. 'You have time to read your favourite book, drink your coffee, watch your movie, listen to your music, go to a spa, do your manicure and pedicure, meet friends, go for a swim or play a game.'

Put that way, I suppose I'm having a swinging good time, so why aren't I feeling it? Why do I sometimes feel that time has stopped to a crawl and Sunday night can't come fast enough? When you're single, I told him, weekends can drag and be a drag.

How many restaurant lunches can you eat? How often do you really want to meet your friends, or they you?

How many times can you go shopping at Ngee Ann City before the shopgirls there start looking pitifully at you and wondering why you don't have a life? (I have actually avoided entering certain shops because I feel sheepish about being seen there too often.)

How many new movies are there to watch? Or books you desire to read? And the thing about manicures and pedicures - they actually last two weeks if done properly, so how often can you kill time by doing your nails?

It does help if you have a partner with whom you do things. But even then, he can't be with you every minute of the weekend - that's the role for husbands.

And in any case, you don't want him to be stuck to you all the time because you covet your personal space, which is the irony of us independent-minded singles who are also looking for companionship.

Yet when you tell him it's time he went home, we'll catch up again next weekend, and you are all alone, there are so many tedious minutes to kill before the whirl of the work week comes around and rescues you from your misery.

IT'S not that I'm unhappy or lonely or even that I'm unloved and have no one to love.

It's just that I've so much time on my hands on the weekends I sometimes feel bored out of my mind.

I try to keep to a routine - lunch, shopping, dinner and EPL matches on Saturdays, then yoga, movie, lunch and a run on Sundays.

The schedule adds structure to the weekend, but it's become too predictable. I'm always bored and sometimes even the thought of logging on to the office computer is enticing.

I do realise that for time-starved people, having time to yourself is a luxury. In theory it is.

As a single, your weekends are all your own and there are 101 things to do. You don't have to get anyone to approve your schedule, there are no pesky in-laws to visit, no compromises to make and no errands to run for spouse and kids that will interfere with your plans.

But that's precisely the problem. Singles are faced with so many choices and have so much freedom that they are unable to decide. They feel paralysed, then ennui sets in.

As a Wikipedia article puts it, boredom arises not for a lack of things to do, but the inability to latch onto any specific activity. Nothing engages us despite an often profound desire for engagement (and so few things engage me these days).

The situation can get pretty dire. Without stimulus or focus, a person is confronted with nothingness and the meaninglessness of existence.

German philosopher Martin Heidegger put it this way: 'Profound boredom, drifting here and there in the abysses of our existence like a muffling fog, removes all things and men and oneself along with it into a remarkable indifference.'

Of course married people can be bored, too, but at least their lives are packed with activities which keep them physically and mentally alert and busy. As a friend said: 'When you're married, you wake up on Sunday and know what you'll have to do.' Often, that's all that matters.

And when you have kids, your life becomes more meaningful. Unlike singles, your focus isn't on your egocentric self. Life takes on a higher purpose because your mission now is to raise the next generation.

Singles - and childless couples - don't have that heavy responsibility and its powerful demands.

What we have is time on our hands, which has its benefits but which can also stretch like an endless void that you feel compelled to fill but don't have the energy to do so in a fulfilling way - and so off you go to Ngee Ann City again for another round of shopping.

No prizes for guessing where you'll find me today.

Have a good weekend.