Since I’m on vacation this week, I thought it would be a good idea to republish my most popular posts of the last year. I hope you enjoy!
As many of you know by now, I travel for business and have been doing so for all but three of the last twenty-two years. I’ve learned many lessons on the road that will likely be posts one day: never push the luggage cart outside your hotel room while you’re only in your underwear (they’re still talking about this in Logan, UT); don’t book your seat in the row in front of the exit row of the plane; and be nice … just be nice and watch your travel situations blossom.
However, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is about dining alone. Of all the things I try to do in my life, my wife seems to think this is my most courageous feat … sitting in a restaurant all by myself for others to stare at me wondering if I’m a mass murderer or worse – unpopular. I’ve grown to love it, and prosper fr
When I’m eating dinner by myself, I always sit at the bar … always. If I’ve got work to do, I’ll bring in my laptop. However, most of the time I’ll just sit at there and strike up conversation with the bartender and others at the bar. I’m not the overambitious, extroverted idiot that doesn’t shut-up. In fact, I take a moment to analyze the situation at the bar before sitting down, and make sure I’m seated near another traveler that might like company. How can I tell that they’re a traveler? If they’re by themselves at the bar of a decent restaurant, then they’re likely from out of town. These temporary friends and permanent conversations have led to very memorable and fun experiences.
I learned about differentiating myself from a professional that sold bottled water while at a Carrabba’s in Louisville. I met a random guy while eating at a pub in Manhattan who encouraged me to send out a Tweet making fun of the New Jersey Nets. By a strange course of events, that Tweet turned into a nice contract for my business from a Twitter follower of mine that was from New Jersey. Some kid who was barely old enough to be working behind the bar at a Chili’s outside of Sacramento unknowingly convinced me that I should break up with my girlfriend – I met my wife two months later. I’ve talked baseball with hundreds of people while eating dinner at the bar, which is a conversation topic that becomes rarer every year in my normal course of life. I learned everything a Floridian needs to know about lobster from the bartender at some restaurant I can’t remember in Rockland, ME.
I could go on forever. In fact, I’ve spent the last 15 minutes deleting other examples. If I sat at a booth or table, I never would’ve had these experiences. I’ve never met a life-long friend or had any magical romances from eating dinner at the bar, but that’s ok. That’s part of the draw – no commitment, nothing serious, just 60 minutes of random discussion about something I may never talk about again. If I learn something, great. If I don’t, oh well.
Next time you have to eat alone (you unpopular wretch), make sure you bypass the host and just take a seat at the bar.
