Nerdy, look like a loser? I gotta be me.
I think it’s kind of freaky that there are people who always have to have other people around. People, people who need people…are the wackiest people in the world.
People is a really weird word if you say it a lot.
I love to go to dinner alone. I always have a book on me and the uninterrupted reading time is wonderful.
I started going to the movies alone about 10 years ago. It’s great (since I’m wonderful company)!
I guess I’m a nerd. Oh well…
be back
Almost every week, I go to the movies at this place that actually has a restaurant and a bar directly in the theater. It’s great to just go there after work on Friday, have a couple of drinks, eat a meal and then watch a movie. I’d feel worse about myself if I actually went with people from work and was forced to discuss ridiculous topics/not be myself/forced to watch some piece of junk. While eating alone, I do generally like to sit at the bar for the sole purpose that I feel bad for the waiter/waitress. Sometimes I fell like I’m taking up too much room and killing her tips if I sit at a table. Even if I order food, drinks and tip well, it always seems like they give you a dirty look like you’re costing them money. But I can’t really blame them so I sit at the bar.
My wife and I go to movies separately… it helps us see an adult film* w/o having to spend on a sitter. Yeah, we’re cheap that way, but c’est la vie.
*“Adult Film” (n), def: A film with no singing, dancing animals.
Look like a loser to who, the other people in the bar or movie theatre? Who cares about them? Let them mind their own business.
Most people, quite rightly, don’t pay any mind to, or attach any stigma to, a person dining or movie going alone.
I always feel a little awkward eating alone if I don’t have a book or magazine to occupy my attention. What am I supposed to do while I’m waiting for my meal or for the bill, stare at the wall? I don’t really notice or care whether other people are eating alone though.
You’re doing it wrong. The correct procedure is to order a bottle “and a straw – and hurry.”
Seriously, I have no problem with it. I’ve gone on several long trips (between 2-3 weeks and 6 months) on my own and feel just fine dining alone. The cinema is even easier, because - hey, it’s dark, you can’t talk, why does it matter who you’re with?
In movies and TV, it’s more of a visual shortcut to show that the character in question is lonely. Since we usually associate seeing a movie or going to a restaurant as something people do in groups, it makes the character look even more sad and forlorn.
Going to a bar alone is perfectly fine. That’s what people do. They stop off in a bar and have a drink to relax, watch the game and maybe meet people.
I eaten alone in nice restuarants frequently when I travel. I don’t think it’s loserish, but I do feel a bit awkward as I have nothing to do with myself while waiting for the food to come. Unlike a bar (or eating at the bar) a restaurant is not really condusive to socializing with other diners.
Going to the movies alone isn’t a big deal, as you are pretty much there to watch the movie. I’m not much of a movie theater guy so it’s rare I would go unless dragged there by other people.
I’ve never been to a movie alone, and I don’t think I’d like it. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a woman at a movie alone before. But then I don’t go very often.
I enjoy eating at a restaurant alone, as long as I have a book. It attracts my attention to see someone eating alone and not reading something. If they have a book or a newspaper, I don’t give them a second glance.
I’m single, so I regularly eat or watch films by myself.
I don’t see how it matters in a dark movie theatre, but surely Suduko was invented for dining alone?! 
I have no problem eating in restaurants or watching movies alone.
I hate sitting and drinking at bars alone, however. If friends and I are meeting at a bar, and I show up early, I’d rather hover outside than wait inside alone.
Swallowed Me Cellphone said it perfectly: Sitting at the bar makes it look like you’re on the prowl. I’m not and don’t want to deal with guys trying to pick me up.
Hands off The Merchandise!
Traveling by myself definitely helped me get over my aversion to dining in nice places alone. Now I just take a book and don’t give it a second thought. I’ve never quite managed to work up the courage to go to a bar by myself though.
Originally posted by Colophon:
Yeah. I generally don’t go to bars alone since I am not on the prowl and would then be some weird guy in the corner drinking by himself.
On the other hand, one of my friends regularly hangs out at his local bar by himself. He’ll drop by to watch a game and spend time chatting with the bartenders and other fans.
Of course, every single woman sits at home with her Haagen Dasz if Mr Right hasn’t called. In a restaurant, she might appear to be on the prowl. It’s dark at the movies–there might be mashers!
It’s the 21st century now. Get real.
Watch sitcoms for amusement–not to learn how to live your life.
I eat alone all the time. If there’s some movie I want to see, I’ll go see it alone too. My schedule and my friends’ schedules are all over the map, and we can’t always meet up at a convenient time.
To me, there’s no stigma at all attached to the practice. However, when I was traveling for work, I noticed that the smaller the community, the fewer singles I saw at restaurants.
The OP was asking a simple question, not saying what they do. Turn the sarcasm down a notch.
Probably depends on the bar. I don’t have cable and during March Madness last year I was at a local pub, sitting at the bar to watch the game, as were a slew of other guys. No one for a second thought it was weird, or that we were on the prowl. The place where I felt like “the creep at the bar” was a nice restaurant that had a cocktail bar. Totally different venue. Totally different vibe. At the neighbourhood watering hole, it didn’t seem like a big deal at all.
I once briefly dated a goth girl that would never wait in a restaurant alone, even if we had reservations. She adamantly “didn’t want to look like some creepy, desperate chick”.
Instead, she preferred to wait for me standing on the street corner, at night, in her black leather boots and fishnet stockings. She didn’t look like some creepy, desperate chick, but she did look kind of like a hooker.