rEpEaTiNg My MaNtRa

Take a deep breath, and repeat after me... they're not all gay. A few months ago one of my roommates began reading a certain dating book, which shall remain nameless. She finished it and for some reason (possibly TMI) a few people decided to read it out loud together. Before you scoff too much, this book has also crossed borders and several other friends have now read it. I sat in on the reading a few times and tried to temper my usual skeptic/sarcastic comments. Amidst the few chapters we actually got through, there was one that talked about having a mantra.

Now, up until that point I'd hit one of those bad patch in regards to meeting decent guys. I was on that unlucky streak where they always ended up being married or gay. Case in point, I had a flight to Charlotte on my way to Las Vegas in February. A guy sat next to me as we waited to board and we started chatting. We both made it to the airport amidst Snowmageddon, we both mocked the crazy guy trying to get people to notice him, and we both couldn't wait for the World Cup. When we finally boarded the plane he carried my bag for me, then it ends up we were sitting right next to each other-ha! We chatted the whole flight down to Charlotte (as a result I left all my paperwork, ipod and book on the plane), he carried my bag off the plane, walked me to my next gate and gave me a hug goodbye. How much nicer can you get?! Problem is, he was married. Situations like this have led me on several occasions to say "gay or taken" when people feel it their duty to ask why I'm not dating.

Of course the above statement is false... but one that, if you're not careful, is easy to believe. My friends and I also laugh when, while watching a tv show or movie, someone will say, "He's gorgeous!", and nine times out of ten we find out he's gay. To which I'd say, "Of course he is." However, I'm hyper aware of NOT becoming one of those bitter cat ladies who abandons hope and general hygiene (I hate bad attitudes and I hate cats, unless they're tigers). So, after the book pleaded with us to form a positive mantra, I [mockingly] made mine: Not all good looking guys are gay, or married. It's become somewhat of a joke in my house, so imagine the laughter on Tuesday when Ricky Martin--sex symbol of the 90s-- announced that he's gay (not that anyone was at all surprised).

But, for those of you who may have been shocked and are now devastated, we've compiled a list of (in our eyes) some of the hottest SINGLE and STRAIGHT guys you can oogle over while you move on with your local dating lives (repeating the mantra) in search of your Mr. Right :

1. Orlando Bloom


2. Bradley Cooper


3. Jake Gyllenhaal


4. Shahid Kapoor


5. Jude Law
(I didn't say they were all good)


6. Rafael Nadal


7. Lee Pace

8. Chris Pine


9. Adam Rodriguez


10. Cristiano Ronaldo

*Note: I won't be at all surprised if someone sites a source stating one of the above is gay or recently married. But, we tried to find a few that we thought were legit.