#7. Take myself out to lunch -- by myself -- and resist the urge to feel self-conscious.

So I guess I could add an off-list item, but I'm not going to write a post about it yet. I'll just say...I GOT A JOB! And I'm moving to Chicago! Big things poppin'. 

Pretty nice little Tuesday.

So the unemployment that turned into funemployment has now turned into "holy crap I'm starting a new job, I have to enjoy this free time AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE". And let's be real, a lovely lunch (and a glass of wine) on a midday Tuesday is pretty darn fun.

At a friend's going away party the weekend before, I mentioned the items I'd yet to complete on my list to my friend Matt, and we cooked up a plan for me to come to the restaurant where he works, Real Seafood Company, for lunch the following week during one of his shifts.  I love seafood (especially when it's been as RIDICULOUSLY hot as it has been lately...reminds me of being at the beach) and I've wanted to try this place before I moved, so it all worked out beautifully.

Since it was waaaay too hot for al fresco dining, Matt had graciously saved me a great table inside the sweet, sweet air conditioned restaurant. He put the menu down and I immediately knew what I wanted to order: scallops. Something you should probably know about me is that, if scallops are on the menu, I'm ordering them. Unless it's breakfast, or I'm at a crepe restaurant in Paris. Otherwise, I'm gettin' the scallops. I also got a robust (read: 8 oz.) glass of white wine. Boom. Tuesday lunch.

The scallops were great, but were probably the least favorite part of my meal. I'm not going to lie, the starter salad (pictured above) was probably the best part. Red onions and gruyere cheese are my jam, and the shallot dressing on top was phenomenal. In addition to being a fantastic server, Matt was also a super generous friend, and treated me to a slice of house-made key lime pie with fresh whipped cream at the end. Key lime pie always makes me think of trips to Marco Island, FL, so this was like a little bit of vacation on a square white plate.

Sweet treat -- thanks Matt!

So, on to the most important part: the dining alone experience. I've eaten by myself before, but mostly while traveling; never for fun, in my own town. I included this item on my list for a couple reasons: first, I think being nice to yourself, treating yo'self every once in a while, is really important; and second, I admit to sometimes seeing people dining by themselves at a restaurant and occasionally feeling badly. This feeling, I realized, stems from a feeling of "oh that poor person, nobody to have (insert meal here) with"...which is totally ridiculous! At least I recognize that, right?


Anyway, even though this was a relatively minor list item to cross off, it was one I really, really enjoyed. And you know why? Because not once during the entire meal, did I even  feel the need to "resist the urge to feel self-conscious", because I was just happy. I spent the time catching up on emails on my phone, writing some thank you notes, and enjoying my meal and some time alone. It felt like such a decadent, self-indulgent experience, an escape even, and who doesn't want that? So I've learned two things from this: maybe those people I see eating alone just don't feel like dealing with anyone else while enjoying their meal. And sometimes home can feel like a vacation, especially if key lime pie is part of the equation.