Eating Alone and Weekends of Debauchery.

I don't understand why some people look so uncomfortable when they eat alone in public places... I have friends that refuse to eat unless they have somebody with them. I guess this is an interesting tactic to lose weight? Don't have friends, and be anorexic? Hmm... Not my cup of tea.
When I used to waitress I often times felt a sting of empathy for the people that would come in and faintly say "um, just one". When working at a restaurant you soon learn that picking up two menus when people come in becomes a reflex... and in this situation it created a brief moment of awkwardness when you would put down one of the menus back into the plentiful stack. However, if I was the waitress of the solo customer I would try to strike conversation and make them feel less lonely, but I soon found out that they want to eat alone.
At first I did not understand this crazy phenomenon because I am naturally outgoing and always looking for stimulating conversation with other people.  But throughout my four years of college and conflicting schedules with friends I often times found myself eating alone and enjoying it. Eating alone allows me to do my favorite thing: People watching. Having the excuse of picking at food in front of you suddenly doesn't make you seem like a creeper if they catch you looking, because I now have this delicious sushi to look back down at.
I love to play the "whats their story?" game with myself, and will often play it with other psychology students who have also studied body language. The best day for "whats their story?" is Monday mornings at the college cafeteria - or what I like to call the watering hole of the campus. You see haggard students walking in looking like zombies from a crazy weekend of binge drinking and bad decisions. You can see the shame on some of the faces, and the attempts to strategically hide behind a pole or their friend to block their view from the guy's bed they woke up in two nights prior. You can also see the animated faces of gossip and self-esteem boosting, pointless drama.
Another reason I enjoy eating alone at times is because I can actually taste the food, I don't feel rushed, and since I'm not gabbing away, I know when I am full.
I'm not saying in the least bit that I don't enjoy eating with other people. So if you were planning on asking me out for dinner -- don't let this blog stop you.