Next week I will be 23 years old. Wow, it seems like only yesterday I was 17, playing basketball in my front yard; not a care in the world.

I may not be the perfect age but I am in the perfect mind frame. I have finished school and obtained employment. Everyone that looks my way will assume that marriage should and could be the next step.

So then why don’t I feel that way?

I just got out of a two year relationship which has shown me never to expect anything. From my experiences you might even think I am going backwards. All around me my friends are getting married, having kids and doing family things. I know my parents are dieing for Grandkids but for me…. I don’t see that in my life.

I don’t mind being single either. The truth is I don’t think I need a significant other to complete me. Now granted, if a relationship did come along I wouldn’t appose it but I am certainly not cowering the streets in search of that person.

There is so much baggage that comes with dating and now, the more I look at women; I find myself getting pickier. Back in the day I only needed 5 seconds to see if that person was good enough for me. Nowadays, they have to pass the 5 second head to toe inspection, engage in conversation (which is usually what kills it for me) and then on top of that they have to show me that they are independent.

I get so annoyed with myself and my judgment of women that I think it better to stay away. I even find myself going out now to see how many women I can engage in conversation with just so I can analyze the shit out of them and prove to myself that the person isn’t for me.

I associate the word marriage to that of unfortunate. (Queue the tomatoes from the people in love and who are married). I don’t think Love is unattainable or that you shouldn’t get married. There are plenty of awesome couples out there that I envy and respect, but for me, as my mind is set right now marriage doesn’t seem like the proper avenue.

I’m at that age where it’s cool to be single but how many years do I have left before I am just a sour apple?

I grew up watching James Bond 007. Seriously; that’s what my Dad and I would do on the weekends. I have seen them all, even the non recognized stuff that Sean Connery did after his falling out with the franchise.

The latest installment, Casino Royale, was I think the best Bond idea ever. Notice I didn’t say best movie.

Since I am young and only had the pleasure of watching Pierce Bronson in theatre, I still believe Golden Eye to be the best Bond.

Daniel Craig in Casino Royale brings on an entirely different Bond that I much prefer.

The difference in Casino Royale compared to all the others is that we get a glance to the roots of Bonds. In this movie he’s a rookie and on his first assignment. He only just receives his 00 status (00 meaning 2 kills). He doesn’t have all the nice gadgets and when asking for a martini, the waiter says to him “shaken or stirred” and Bond replies “does it look like I give a damn?” Haha, I love it.

Then there’s Judi Dench’s acting as M. At last we get to see something of the reason why she’s head of MI6. Previously, M has been a tough and competent woman; now, she’s a fiercely effective stone cold type whose piercing intelligence can cut through crap like a hot knife through butter.

In this movie, he’s not so much a womanizer as so well known for in previous movies. He is venerable, falls in love and ultimately is betrayed. You see a totally different character in this movie. You see his inner struggle, he gets beat up a lot, blows things up and if you are a poker lover, there is lots of that too!

Best line of the movie “Eva Green as Vesper Lynd plays the gorgeous young treasury official. She introduces herself with ‘I’m the money’, to which Bond replies ‘and worth every penny’.