Author Archives: Deborah Khuanghlawn

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Creative Writing Exercise: Living in IKEA

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I found a book in a bookstore a while back that was a journal for writing prompts. I’ve always like the creative writing exercises we used to do in school. I also wished during the SATs or GREs that they would have picked more interesting writing prompts than the absolutely boring things they made us write on. Seriously, unless standardized tests have changed in the last 6 years, those people have NO imagination whatsoever.

This being said, I decided for fun and giggles to pick a prompt, time myself for 30 minutes to write, and use it for today’s post. This is a complete rough draft, I’m not doing any editing here other than fixing misspelled words so if it’s horrible, forgive me. Just something to make my brain juices flowing.

“You have been evicted from your home, but rather than live on the street you go to Ikea. At night you hide in the bathroom until the janitor leaves. Write about your life.”

Have you read the book The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler? You know, the one about the kids who live in the museum? So, that’s kinda what I’ve been doing. Except swap kids with a 30 year old adult and change the museum with IKEA. And that’s me. *waves feebly from one of the showroom bedrooms* Yep, I live in IKEA.

“What? That’s crazy crackers! How did this happen?”, you ask. Well you see..I had to move out of my house. Ok, that’s a lie. I got kicked out. My landlord, who I thought was a cool person, decided to change up some rules and told me I had to go. I didn’t do anything majorly wrong. But that’s besides the point. I basically was forced out of the only place I knew up here. I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I kept delaying moving out as much as I could. I mean, I didn’t have the time or funds to look for a new place. And when you’re in the DC area, places are EXPENSIVE. Then one night, after re-watching (500) Days of Summer, one of my favorite movies of all time, a light bulb went on in my head. I COULD LIVE IN IKEA! I mean come on, there are BEDS. FREE BEDS. And couches! And TVs! And books! Ok, well sure the books are either in Swedish or books that NO ONE has ever heard of but still! And there is food! Cheap, glorious food! This is GENIUS!

I started to do my research when I went with a friend to “furniture shop”. Well while she was shopping, I was being stealthy. While visiting the third floor with all the showcases, I made sure to look out for all security cameras and anything that would make my presence known overnight. I realized that there are janitors who come into the store at night and clean BUT I also noticed that they arrived BEFORE all the customers left AND that for some weird reason, bathrooms were the first thing they cleaned. If I could hide until they were done, then I could sleep in for several hours, until just before the store opened, hide again, and then act just like a customer and get on with my day. I mean, they’re not going to check EVERY bed every day just to make sure someone is there right? Plus, the IKEA employee uniforms are easy to replicate so just in case I was ever caught by a janitor, I could just say I was an employee.

Meanwhile, I kept using the excuse to my landlord that I just needed some more time and then I promised I would be out. I think he was starting to get a little annoyed and suspicious but he didn’t push. I just brought in some packing boxes so that seemed to shut him up for a while. I tested out my plan one night fully intending to stay up all night to see what the routine would end up being. IKEA opens at 9:30 in the mornings and closes at 9 pm during most of the week and 8 pm on Sunday. What I did was I arrived at 6pm on Sunday night. I got to the third floor and hid my stuff in one of the wardrobes. There’s already stuff hanging in there so no one thought any different. I walked around, got some food, basically made myself look not suspicious while making sure that my plan was complete. Around closing time, I saw again that the janitors had already arrived and started on the bathrooms. I also knew that the staff walked around the store, rearranging and making sure everything was back in place. Feigning ignorance, I just kept walking around with the last of the customers, until I saw that the bathrooms were now cleaned. I ran in one of the stalls and stayed there for 30 minutes. Let me tell you, thank goodness for my smartphone, because otherwise that would have been the most boring 30 minutes ever.

I finally peeked out and they were no where in sight. I ran to the first showcase, and dove into the bed. Thanks to all the dark comforters, I was practically invisible. I waited. The janitors eventually left the third floor after an hour of cleaning up. Interestingly they stayed away from the showcases and focused more on the kitchen area. I crawled out of the bed and went to the next showcase bedroom where I got comfortable (but not TOO comfortable) and waited out the night til the employees came back. Maybe it never dawned on them to check in all the places but just in case, I hid under one of the beds, after the lights came on. I saw feet walking around the store but no one came into any of the showrooms. I soon realized that I could make this into a reality.

So that’s where we stand now. My daily routine is like this.

  • Wake up 30 minutes before store opens.
  • Get myself ready for the day.
  • Hide under bed/in wardrobe while staff does walkthrough.
  • Store opens at 9:30, I just blend in with the morning crowd.
  • Go to work where I shower, etc.
  • Get back to IKEA at the latest 30 minutes before closing time.
  • Hide in bathroom while janitors clean.
  • Run to bed.
  • Repeat.

Sure it’s not the ideal life. But it’s FREE. Don’t judge me. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE ME! I mean this isn’t my plan forever. But for now it’ll have to do. I mean would you rather me freeze and die out on the streets? I don’t see you trying to help me. So yeah, that’s my life. For now. At the IKEA.

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What is Deborah Geeking Over This Week Vol 1

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To continue the trend of giving you readers a one time break from ALL THE WORDS, here’s what I’ve been geeking out over this week:

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Indeed. What have YOU been geeking out over this week?

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How stupid is it? I can’t talk about it. I gotta sing about it.

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Sometimes you want to say things. But you don’t know how to. Or the right opportunity doesn’t seem to pop up when you want it to.

So that’s why song lyrics come in handy. Other people write songs. And then you can say ALL the FEELS through them. Everyone manages to find songs that fit EXACTLY how they feel. Which then disproves the theory that you are the only that feels a certain way and that no one can understand how you feel, correct?

So in continuing the trend of trying out something different this week on the blog, here are lyrics that described me recently:

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now
Here he comes

I want to tell you
My head is filled with things to say
When you're here
All those words, they seem to slip away

If I told you things I did before, told you how I used to be
Would you go along with someone like me
If you knew my story word for word, had all of my history
Would you go along with someone like me

I’m a lot like you so please, hello, I’m here, I’m waiting
I think I’d be good for you and you’d be good for me
How stupid is it? I can’t talk about it
I gotta sing about it and make a record of my heart
How stupid is it? Won’t you gimme a minute
Just come up to me
And say hello to my heart
How stupid is it?

Here we go again
I kinda wanna be more than friends
So take it easy on me
I’m afraid

 

 In the silence, in the waiting
Still we can know You are good
All Your plans are for Your glory
Yes, we can know You are good
Yes, we can know You are good
The Lord our God is ever faithful

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And now for something completely different

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It was brought to my attention (and actually I thought about this myself) that a lot of my posts are really wordy and thus become tl;dr (google it). So, to try out something new today….


and

Last week I was feeling like this:

because

and then it elevated to

Which made my friends feel like this

Are You Done?

because it was a bunch of this again

Eventually after being told several times

I became myself again

And that was a lot less wordy than all those blog posts from last week, huh?

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GEEK BATTLE

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During lunch this past Sunday, a group of my friends and I had a rowdy discussion on why one should read the Harry Potter books and why they shouldn’t. Members of the group ranged from “reading every single book and watching all the movies” to being “the casual fan with a book and movie or two” to “I don’t even want to touch this thing”. There were discussions ranging from what makes a book a classic (Lord of the Rings is a classic, Harry Potter is not) to how the Fast and Furious series is better than Harry Potter. It was a rather heated battle (I can get very passionate talking about something I love) but I didn’t walk away wanting to “Avada Kedavra” anyone though I was tempted to use “Levicorpus”.   

Now while I am apparently a Pureblood with Deatheater tendencies (actually more towards Squibs and Dursleys), the conversation made me realize something about me. While I would have defended Harry and his world to the death, I fully respect someone else’s choice to not like or want to join the wizarding world. I’m not going to force anyone to try something unless they are willing to. You’re not going to appreciate or like something unless you want to.

Not everyone has to like the same fandoms that I do. I’m mainly a Marvel fan and I know that there are DC only people. I prefer watching Star Wars and I have friends that are die-hard Trekkies. Even within a fandom there will be dissent between purists and those that allow revisions (ie. the entire Star Wars saga).

So while it would probably be awesome for a few days (possibly weeks) of being around people who liked the exact same interests as you so you could gush as long as you wanted, after a while it would probably get old. I like learning new things so if someone were to only talk about the same thing all the time, I’d eventually get really bored.

I think the balance to having differences in interests is that while you may disagree and slightly banter about which is better, the trick to have respect. Don’t think you’re superior because you like a certain thing or even worse, because you DON’T like a certain thing and you think people who do are below you.

For example, I have no interest in anime. None whatsoever. I’ve been told multiple times that I should like anime (“You’re Asian!”) and have been given numerous movies and TV shows to watch. Well, I tried. I watched Dragon Ball Z and Cowboy Bebop. And I just can’t do it. It’s  not interesting to me at all and I can’t get into it. But that’s just me. For all my friends that do like it, that’s great! I don’t diss or make fun of the fact that you do like it. I do wish that I could get into it so that I could join in the conversation and not feel left out. But since I already tried and know that I didn’t like it, I can’t force myself to do something that isn’t going to make me happy. On the other hand, after initially dismissing it because to me it looked Transformers meets Battleship, I ended up LOVING Pacific Rim after much convincing (the sword!!!). So you never know until you try.

It’s perfectly fine to be an expert in a certain niche of your interests. I learned this when we went to the ThinkGeek trivia challenge. Our eight person team had all of us being really good in certain areas which made us very well-rounded and able to do well throughout the competition. Had we all only been DC Comics fans, read only Neil Gaiman, and stayed only faithful to the Nintendo game system, we would have failed tremendously. It’s great to find a connection with another fellow superfan but it’s also good to be with those who aren’t.

All this to say: to name just a few, yes, I adore Harry Potter, I love Star Wars (yes ALL of them), I love Marvel Comics, I devoured The Hunger Games, I actually do like ALL the Hobbit movies, I don’t watch anime, I am not really into video games (though there’s a specific reason why), and while I enjoy some high fantasy books, I can’t stand paranormal no matter how hard I try. If you agree or disagree with any of my interests that’s fine! If you like different things that I do, that’s fine! As long as we can talk about them without wanting to make the other person BEND TO OUR WAYS, having geek differences and tastes will always be awesome.

Now excuse me while I go get my Hufflepuff scarf, drink some butterbeer, and study up on some arithmancy.

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Not a Worry in the World?

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I talk a lot about my faith. I talk a lot about it on my blog. I talk a lot about it in person. It’s something I’m not ashamed of. I am considerate of other people and I know when I should and shouldn’t talk about it. But as it’s a part of my life, I am open about it.

However I also worry a lot. In college my AIM screen name was “I Worry Easily.” I have a lot of anxiety in my life because I keep stressing out about certain things. Actually, it’s really one thing I worry about. The rest of my life, I’m quite grounded and stable, and trust God completely with it. I know that my friends get tired of me doing this because it seems to become a repeat scenario in my life. A situation will arise and I gain confidence, become assertive, and get my hopes semi-up (never too high up because I don’t want to crash really hard) only to find out that it doesn’t come through. And I am left in a state of limbo which leaves me in panic mode. I start coming down on myself, become slightly apathetic, and feel the constant need to get advice from everyone to figure out what to do next.

I’ve been realizing that I have gotten so much advice and opinions from so many people over the past few years. Not because I can’t think for myself or that I constantly need validation. But sometimes I just want to confirm that I’m making the right decision or that I’m not missing out on something that is so obvious but yet I’m still missing it. I think I worry so much about making mistakes that I did in the past, that I want to verify that I AM doing things correctly and I’m not an idiot. I trust my own judgment but at the same time I do want some validity. Basically what am I doing wrong, what is wrong with me, why is everyone else able to handle this but I cannot, what can I do to change in a constructive way that isn’t compromising myself?

But ultimately a lot of that advice is also speculation from people because none of us know the true and final answer. And sometimes I think that even when I do get the answer that I feel like I have been wanting/needing to hear, it still won’t be enough. I want to know WHY and WHAT else could I have done or HOW I could have changed the situation or WHEN would there have been a better time. Pet peeve: when I spend time worrying because of someone else and they don’t have a clue in the world of the worry they have caused. Oh to be so bliss filled and carefree without a worry in the world.

One of my friends, who doesn’t share my faith but has known me for over 10 years, called me out on this the other day. Over the course of those years, he’s seen my life go up and down and knows of the struggles and issues that’s been going on in life. So even though we don’t agree on everything, I feel he’s been a good observer of how I’ve changed and how some things stay the same. During a conversation the other day he said:

For a person with your particular faith you worry too much. You can’t put your faith in God and be a worrisome person. It’s contradictory. I’m the last person qualified to check someone’s faith. But here’s the thing. Aren’t Christians not supposed to worry? Through Christ all is possible and the Lord working mysterious ways and all?

I wasn’t offended at all by what he said to me. In fact, I thanked him for it. Because he made me realize that once again I’m not walking the talk I keep talking.

I claim to have strong faith in God. But it’s not just a claim. I truly believe. But yeah, why do I just not trust that God will take care of it all, and regardless of the outcome that I should just have faith that he has what’s best for me. I’m fully aware of all the verses in the Bible about not worrying. I know what Jesus says about it. And yet I can’t stop myself from worrying.

And I’m going to be brutally honest right now. I don’t know why I can’t stop. I’m not trying to be bleak or negative. I just don’t know. This seems like a cycle that just keeps repeating itself. I worry, I trust, I let go, I see God work in my life only to have a new circumstance come up and I repeat that cycle. Except my worry periods last longer than the others. And even with constant prayer, reading Scripture, and just giving it over to God, I cannot seem to stop. I talk to people until I realize they are tired of hearing about it. I journal til I fill up pages and pages with my thoughts that I can’t seem to escape.

Just because I’m a Christian doesn’t mean I have it all together. And I most definitely don’t. I feel very vulnerable admitting this. We always want to look like we have it all together. Anyone reading this blog is probably hiding something that they are struggling with in an attempt to NOT look like they don’t have it all together. And maybe there ARE a few of you who really don’t have a worry in the world. Either way I envy you (yet another not a being a good Christian trait). I have the world’s most horrible poker face and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m risking the fact that you are going to read this and think I have no confidence (which I actually do have a lot of) or that I’m over emotional (that’s not the case either).

I’m asking for your advice here. Can you honestly say that if you are a believer you don’t worry about things? If so, how do you not worry? Do you just accept whatever comes your way? Do you prepare for disappointment or do you just have hope and deal with whatever the circumstances are? How do you not let it overtake you? How do you hide it? Do you just ignore it? Do you just stay busy so it doesn’t enter your mind? Do you get annoyed when someone else is worried over things you don’t think need to be worried about? Do you dismiss other people’s worries? How do you have constant trust and faith ALL the time?

I’m being serious when I’m asking all these things. Because while I’m not going to hide the fact that I am going to have these anxiety and worrisome moments, obviously I am doing something wrong if it keeps happening over and over again.  I know that what ends up happening is we look back and wonder why we worried so much. What I want to do is just have to wonder because I never worried in the first place. I want to get to that place. And for ever person that has told me to just not worry, PLEASE tell me how you don’t worry. I honestly want to know. I’m exhausted from all this.

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My Life is an Awkward Moment

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“Uh. Um. Er.” (Uncomfortable Silence). *Crickets chirping*

And those would be the noises you hear when I’m in a situation where I feel uncomfortable and thus awkward.

Everyone has their awkward moments. I however seem to have an awkward life.

I have mentioned this before but I am a shy extrovert. I get my energy from being around others. I don’t need to say anything to you but just being around people energizes me. Sometimes it feels like I have a superpower of draining other people’s energy so that I can go be alone for a day and I’m perfectly fine til I need to recharge again.

However just because I’m an extrovert doesn’t mean that I’m outgoing. Far from it. Put me in a new situation with people I don’t know, especially people who already know each other, and I want to die. I feel out of my element and utterly uncomfortable. It doesn’t help when no one includes me in the conversation or comes up to me first. I do that awkward thing of trying to join in a conversation and can’t seem to jump in. I never seem able to find the right moment to come into a conversation. Either my voice never gets heard or when I finally do say something there’s an awkward silence.

I seem to know a lot of outgoing introverts. They recharge by being alone and are quite happy with that, but when they are out in public, you would never know this because they are good at being around others. They hide it so well that when they tell you they are actually introverts, you’re like no you’re not. LIES.

When I’m around people who I’m comfortable with, I have no problems. Even when I’m awkward with them, I know they’re not going to judge me so I feel completely fine being who I am in front of them. In fact I have been told many times after an entertaining awkward moment “Deborah, don’t change. Never change who you are”.

My friends have noticed that when I’m around someone I would like to get to know better and it’s a group setting, I clam up instantly and start acting very not like myself.  It’s because I get nervous and anxious. They can tell that something is wrong because it’s a different type of awkward. It’s the awkward where I am overly conscious of trying to make a good impression that I tend to shut down in fear of looking like a fool. And if you know me very well, you can probably tell that I’m visibly not at ease. Because I’m worried about looking too overly interested, I may over think myself into panic status and act completely indifferent towards you. Even though that’s NOT how I am at all. So if you are trying to see what kind of person I am, and we’re surrounded by people who I’m not necessarily comfortable around, you’re not going to see the type of person I really am.

I like getting to know people better one on one vs in a group setting. At least in the beginning anyways. Once we get past the initial getting to know each other stage, then things are so much better. You may not care how you come across to me, but I know for me, while I want to be myself, I also want to make a good impression to you. So in a group setting, when I’m having to fight that inside of me PLUS having to battle with everyone else and their personalities and actions, it’s very overwhelming. When I’m in a more one on one setting, I can relax. I’m more confident and can be comfortable when I’m not in a group. I can surprise you. Of course I realize that for some people, group settings are safer and more comfortable for them. To each his own.

Being awkward is a part of life. You can’t avoid it. You just have to accept it and live with it. And you never know, your confidence in not caring that you are awkward is the very thing that someone finds absolutely attractive about you.

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The Annual Family Movie Trip

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frozen

When my sisters and I go home for the holidays, it’s become a yearly tradition to take our parents out to the movies. This is actually a bigger deal than you might think because my parents rarely go to the movie theater. They don’t feel the need because they (finally!) have cable TV, Netflix, the library, and a ROKU so they can watch all the K-Dramas they want. Going to the movies cost a lot of money and the sound is too loud (or so says my mom). They don’t mind waiting until it comes out on DVD.

Even so, we still like to take them out when we’re all home just so they can experience the movie the way it was meant to be. Last year, as everyone in the family thoroughly enjoys James Bond, we took them to see Skyfall. This year, after a positive attitude towards seeing Tangled on DVD, we decided to go see Frozen. Animated movies can be hit or miss with my parents. We try to take them to see the Pixar movies because we think that’s the best animated movies out there (other than the Kung Fu Panda movies and How to Train Your Dragon which they surprisingly liked because they thought Toothless looked like our pug). We soon discovered that there are certain types of animated movies that they like and don’t. They will say yes to humans, talking animals, and objects that act like humans. They do not like movies with monsters or inanimate objects that don’t talk or cars that talk. Ratatouille, Toy Story 3, Brave, and Up were all huge hits while Cars and Wall-E tanked VERY badly. (To be fair, Cars is probably MY least favorite Pixar movie ever and I still haven’t seen Cars 2.)

So to test them out for this year’s movie, like I said we had them watch Tangled and they greatly enjoyed it. The story was a hit, good songs, there were humans, and Pascal the chameleon reminded them of our pug. We figured then if they like that movie, then they would greatly enjoy Frozen.

Now if you haven’t seen Frozen yet, I’m not going to spoil it for you but I’m going to tell you that you need to go see it. It’s one of the best movies Disney (not counting Pixar) has put out in a LONG time. I would rank it in the era with The Lion King. It’s wonderfully animated, memorable songs, and a very funny/emotional storyline. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Mainly because whoever did the marketing for the movie had no idea how to market it. My sister and I thought it was going to be about the stupid snowman but it ended up being a delightful surprise.

On our trip to the theater, we soon discovered that it was take your parent to the movies day and we were just like everyone else. Except for the fact that were 20 years older than all the other kids in the theater. Unfortunately for us, we had to sit near the front of the theater which is not really fun. But this was a new theater back home that had seats that reclined so it wasn’t really that bad. The parents seemed pretty excited about the Disney short that was shown in front of the movie. If you have seen it then you will chuckle that my mom thought that they had actually come out into our actual theater.

Watching the movie again was a delight for me. But it was really good for my parents as well. They seemed enthralled throughout the entire movie. No one fell asleep! Nor was it too loud for them either. They enjoyed Olaf, laughed appropriately (sometimes they don’t catch the jokes, plus there is no closed captioning in theaters), got scared/nervous during certain scenes, and gasped at the twist. It was a delightful time for everyone. It’s a good sister movie so seeing it with my sisters again was like “Oh hey, I appreciate you a little more, *nods politely at each other”. It was a good family bonding time. Also I might add that even though the theater was packed with kiddies, they were all quite well-behaved. No one shouted or cried. Well done, parents. We all walked out saying everyone enjoyed it, which is when you know the film is well done.

So that was our family’s annual trip to the movies. Because we as a whole group don’t do it that often, it makes it more special for us. Sometimes we even buy popcorn (GASP, no really this is a big deal, though our family LOVES popcorn). No idea what will be out next year for us to enjoy, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be a good time.

Image from: http://monorii.tumblr.com/post/72555957053/disneys-frozen-minimalist-posters-elsanna

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This is ironic for a history major…

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I’m not going to lie about this, but I love my church. The reason why I started and stayed going is because my pastor is awesome.  His messages are relevant and thought-provoking and always make want to dive more into the Bible to keep learning.

The past few weeks, the messages have been about the book of Philippians which is really cool because two of my girlfriends and I did a 4 week Bible study of our own on it. So I was excited that we were going to be breaking it down even further on Sunday mornings. Every week I feel like I’m learning something new and it’s been pretty cool when something jumps out at me that I didn’t realize before even if I’ve read it a billion times.

With the new year being here, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my past. I’m not entirely happy with everything that happen. I don’t try to dwell in it (which is ironic as I am a history major), but sometimes you can’t help it. The past just comes up and creeps up on you when you’re least expecting it. And it can hurt. It can make you ignore all the good things that you are currently experiencing and just overtake you with painful memories. Things that you want to forget, mistakes you made, regrets of what you could have or should have done instead. It can be hard. People will tell you to just buck up and to not focus on it. It’s not that simple however.

Things in your past can make you hesitant about your future. You’re scared to do things because you got hurt in the past. And you don’t want to go through that again. If your past seems to keep repeating itself no matter how hard you try to avoid it, it can get frustrating to the point to where you want to give up. Because it seems like there’s nothing you can do to stop repeating the cycle.

But it can be done. You don’t have to let the past control you. You can learn from it. You can focus on what is ahead. And even if the past keeps coming back, you have to stay focused on your goal. And so this is a passage we studied on Sunday, that I’m choosing to focus on this week. My past doesn’t define me. It has molded and shaped me to who I am today. But at the same time, it’s not going to control me. And I’m going to keep moving forward.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. (Philippians 3:12-15) 

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I’m having a ME party!

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cwln436l1

It is interesting how our society makes it that if you were do something by yourself, you are seen as sad and to be pitied. For example, going out to eat alone. I never used to go out and eat alone. I always thought that if you were eating alone, you must have no friends. “Oh look at the sad person eating alone because no one else wanted to be with them.” Should you ask them over to your table? They seem sad.

That’s totally not the case. I mean when you think about it, if you want to go out and get food and honestly cannot get anyone to go eat with you and you are ashamed of eating outside alone, what are you supposed to do? I suppose now with all the restaurants doing takeout options you can still get the food and then eat at home alone. But sometimes you can’t do that. Plus what happens when you go out on a business trip? Stay in your hotel room alone and get room service?

So yes. If I’m hungry and I want to go out and I don’t think I can get anyone to join me on short notice, I’ll go out and eat alone. I just bring a book and walk in and just tell them “just for one” and boom done. It’s a bit weird because sometimes I’ll get seated in a large booth and once I got seated at a six person table. I’ve been a hostess before and I know how the rounds go at seating customers but come on? You’re not doing anyone a favor here by wasting one person on a 6 seater. It also just makes things REALLY obvious that you’re sitting alone.

But yeah once I’m at my table, I just order my food and bring out my book or journal and enjoy the experience. Sometimes the wait staff can be more attentive than usual and depending on my mood we’ll have a nice chats and the service can be awesome (and you’ll get tipped more FYI). Other times they leave me alone in peace and I just enjoy my book and a meal. I haven’t ever felt rushed or felt like I was given worse service because it was just me.

Now one should probably not visit a fancy restaurant on Valentine’s Day for dinner and ask for a table for just one. That might seem a little sad. Unless you have extreme high confidence and just don’t give a ____. Then more kudos to you. But for the normal folk, that might be one of the few times I’d probably avoid it. It’s also a lot easier to eat out alone during lunch time vs dinner at sit down restaurants.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE going out to eat with my friends and other people. I do enjoy socializing. There’s nothing greater than being able to talk with others over a meal. I mean I had a great 3 hour lunch with friends after church yesterday that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’m just saying, sometimes you gotta eat. And sometimes you’re just going to have to eat by yourself.

Just for kicks, if you haven’t done it yet, make it a challenge to go out to a sit down restaurant for lunch one day by yourself this year. See what it’s like and let me know.