Criticism already!

Well, my mother's just read all this, and says it's depressing. Now as it's a diary and not a work of fiction, what am I meant to do? I live in a situation that's depressing by its nature, and until I either share my house, or at least get a girlfriend and hopefully one of my old friends back on the scene (no, they don't hate me, they just went abroad) this means that whatever I write will be based on this fact.
I wonder how many people live alone by accident rather than choice, and would like someone else around again, whether it was with their family or partner in the past. People with big families who often had to share bedrooms are sometimes happy to get their own space at last when they get their own place, but if they keep this up into middle age I think it's suspect. Fear of failure and selfishness are more likely to motivate most of these people to stay alone than actually liking it, whatever they say. Like most married couples, few people are going to admit things aren't as they'd like, especially when they've always said it was what they chose. That, to me is far more of a failure than sharing a house with someone and it not working out. I've had tenants for 3 years in the past, and it's nothing like living with friends or family, it's sheer chance who you get, and if you pick a random person on a train you try living with them for a year and see how you get on.

As I know they sometimes read this I will say many of my forum friends from across the Atlantic and elsewhere could probably make very good housemates for me, and this year one almost did (you know who you are of course!). And when I met 7 of them recently it confirmed they are exactly as interesting in person as they seemed online. So any comments on living alone here will be welcome, and I've decided to post it all on a forum now anyway. See you at www.jimmyvincent.com in the family affairs forum.