Eating Alone

Personal January 27, 2009

I used to have this odd and unreasonable inability to eat alone. I would always avoid venturing off to cafes in the afternoons to sit alone and sip some coffee for fear that passersby would secretly poke fun.

Throughout college, I'd often find myself to be the only one available to get dinner many a night and I thought that the people on the other end of the counter speaking to me as I placed my to-go order were thinking to themselves, "Oh, this kid's eating alone. What a LOSER." Sometimes I actually placed orders for two dishes - even though it was just for myself - so that they would think I wasn't alone. (Yeah yeah. You're wondering what I did with the extra dish. See, I saved it for the next night so I wouldn't have to order take-out again. Clever, I know.)

Truth be told, however (not that I'm lying here anyway), I've grown accustomed to eating alone while reading, watching a TV show or listening to music. I've gotten to know the staff of most restaurants I've frequented throughout the years and it's actually been rather rewarding. I much prefer it compared to a few of the times I've gone out to eat with a group. I know a few people who probably never eat alone and who might be so uncomfortable with ever doing it once that it probably invokes some stress within. But this is the real world now and you have to get used to relying on yourself only. I'm almost glad I have the prior experience because, unlike many of my friends, my transition has been that much easier.

Of course, lucky for me, it's San Francisco, which means it's really easy to start a conversation with anyone. Here, there are always many people hanging out alone on their laptops or reading the paper and just them being there takes away that uncomfortable feeling.

This morning I struck up a conversation with an elderly couple who sat one table over from me at my usual place. They were sitting across from each other, eating their lunch and each reading a separate book.
"Is this what you do," I said. "Sit across from each other and read separately?"
"It's just nice to have the company," said the lady.

Yeah. It is.

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