I'm going to say something that may make my boyfriend, who is 10 years older, very unhappy.
I love looking at man candy. But not just any man candy - younger guys.
I guess I've had a penchant for them ever since, at age 20, I was on the receiving end of some very ardent admiration from an 18-year-old. Both stalwarts in the rave scene (such as it was) in Hawaii where I went to college, we would run into each other each week.
I had a boyfriend at the time, and so the cute, earnest 18-year-old worshipper (yes, he embarrassingly used the word "goddess" to refer to me) was never a real dating prospect.
Still, he made me think of younger men in a new light. One that makes me lick my chops in a very feral way.
I also remember accompanying a friend, a Masters student at the University Of Washington, to her school when we both lived in Seattle at age 22.
Looking at those delicious, Abercrombie & Fitch type-students walking around brought out the Mrs Robinson and the New York construction worker in me.
Dressed in a fur coat and shielded by big Paris Hilton-esque sunglasses, I couldn't resist cat-calling.
"Do you row?" I yelled at one student, who couldn't have been a day past 18.
"Look at you walk across the lawn, you," I shouted at another.
My friend never brought me to her college again. I admit I didn't really want to get to know those delightful looking young men, I just wanted to ogle them and, yes, to discomfort the little tykes just a bit. They're so cute when they're blushing.
Now, at age 29, being in a stable relationship is sort of like being on a diet at a buffet - you can look, but you can't eat. Not if you know what's good for you.
A big rule of mine is that when in a relationship, you don't cheat. That breaks the integrity of the relationship and frankly, I can live without the guilt.
But I also challenge you to find me an Abercrombie kind of guy here in Singapore. I don't know where they are, but I sure as heck don't see them.
There are bound to be those who disagree and who will blame my very particular taste which does not include Asia men (nothing wrong with them, they're just not for me).
But girls I know who do like their yellowtail have the same complaint - where are the men?
I'm not even asking for guys to date, I just enjoy a bit of eye candy once in a while. And to be honest, I'll eye up anyone worthy, not just younger guys.
It's a predicament that has "dry spell" written all over it, for single women.
Single friends have bemoaned the situation many a time.
"If you see a cute guy here, you have to stand up and applaud," says one.
Another goes to Hong Kong and Dubai to get her dating fixes.
Guys, on the other hand, have their pick of girls here - the average woman is at least pretty. Let's just say you wouldn't kick her out of bed.
But worthy-looking guys are rare. Rarer still are guys one can actually have a relationship with.
I don't know how, three years ago, I lucked out with the boyfriend. A worthy specimen who's easy on the eyes, he's long since been given the approval stamp from all the girlfriends and from the family. My parents often ask him to dinner and Grandma remembers his name,'nuff said.
But here's my gripe - once in a while, it would be nice to go to a buffet, just to have a teensy-weensy little look around.
