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Now you make me want to go tonight and conduct an experiment. Sit by myself at the busiest time of dinner on one of the busiest nights of the week and read a book while cameras are set up to see others reactions. I need my own hidden camera show....
Then again, every time I go out anymore, everyone who sits together at tables are all up in their smartphones anyway. Might as well be reading a book.
Nope, he is in Germany. I am the she, and I am more to the east, but not Ukraine either.
Hey, how about another derail: do you think it is acceptable to consume alcohol in a restaurant alone? I'm not talking about getting drunk, but say, a beer or a couple glasses of wine?
Nope, he is in Germany. I am the she, and I am more to the east, but not Ukraine either.
Hey, how about another derail: do you think it is acceptable to consume alcohol in a restaurant alone? I'm not talking about getting drunk, but say, a beer or a couple glasses of wine?
Yes, I see this all the time. I don't mind eating alone. Sometimes I want to eat alone. We don't "do" Christmas. I get some things for son/daughter, 2 grandkids, drop them off beforehand. My husband and I will eat out, and probably go to a movie. Then, hopefully, there will be a good football/basketball game on.
Why? I mean, what is the point of reading a book in a restaurant when you can get take-out or delivery and read a book in the comfort of your own home? That's my point: a restaurant is FOR socializing, as much as it is for eating.
But now we have two parallel threads going: being alone at Christmas and the great restaurant debate.
OK let's go with this one.
You see eating out as a social event ONLY. Others see it as sometimes a social event, and sometimes an opportunity to have someone else cook and clean up for them, while they choose to get out of the house and enjoy a good book while their dinner is served up for them and cleaned up for them.
I'm alone for two weeks out of every month. Sometimes I go out to eat alone. Sometimes I go to the movies alone. Sometimes I do both alone in one day! Frankly I often very much enjoy going out to eat all by myself. I bring a book, pick a quiet corner, have some coffee, a leisurely meal, maybe even a glass of wine, while I people watch a bit, read a bit, skim through Facebook or my emails or whatever...anyway, I do it all by myself and LOVE doing it all by myself. I generally go someplace that my husband doesn't like to go - like the Turkish or Greek restaurants here, or maybe I go to the Pho place (he has a limited tolerance level for all three of those).
Sometimes I go to the cafe at Barnes and Noble and have a sandwich and a cup of soup while I'm reading - that's actually one of my favorite little ventures. I can sit there for hours!
So in your world, restaurants are specifically for socializing, and that's fine - but it's not the same for everyone. And that's fine too.
Social Pariah is more like, a creepy molester or someone who acts foolishly in public ex: blows their nose, talks in booming voice about stupid topics.
Solitary Loser, that's different.
Though they may overlap.
Either way eating alone (may as well join in to the reataurant derail) in public SUCKS and YES if I see someone alone in a restaurant I assume they are either an SP or a SL and I try to give them a "me too" look.
If it's a hotel restaurant one assumes they may be a guest and alone because they're out of town. That's the exception.
Wow, you'd really be missing the mark with me. I wouldn't catch your look at all - though I might think, "Wow, why is that person staring at me? Please go away - I'm enjoying my book and my own company."
I'm neither a SP or a SL - what I AM is someone who is self confident enough not to worry about what complete strangers assume about me when I'm treating myself to a nice dinner out.
My husband died Oct. 6, 2014. Second Christmas without him. Starting to feel it now. Will get through it. Focusing on the positives and not the negatives. I have more positives than I do negatives. It's tough but not impossible. Each year it gets a little easier.
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