Bonjour

The worst part of being single, and not just being single but also living without a roommate for the first time in...well...ever actually, is grocery shopping. It's the most mundane activity and is the absolute worst enterprise to do solo. I can take holidays alone, evenings, even movies -- no problem. Nothing hits home that you're really on your own like buying food.

(The same applies for eating alone at a restaurant, though cafes are exempt from the rule as it's not completely out of the ordinary or horribly rude if you pull out a laptop. Do that at Fernando's Hideaway and expect to get some odd looks.)

There is just no escaping the fact that you are Without Partner when you're cruising the produce section. One onion. One bunch of asparagus. One head of broccoli. On the plus side, it is cheaper, but that's a scant consolation.

I never liked grocery shopping that much to start with, but now I long for the days I was merely annoyed by everyone pushing carts against the stream, wandering around aimlessly or cutting in line. I find I meander much more now, looking at items without really seeing them, unable to make up my mind on even the most simple decision of what brand of bread to buy, and yet I have already cast my vote for the leader of the most powerful free nation in the world without issue.

No matter how one fills one's life, with sports or other activities, writing, reading, being social, when one shops alone one stares straight into the face of the reality of being alone.

Maybe I should do my grocery shopping in costume, make it more interesting for everyone involved. Independence shouldn't be drudgery. There has to be some way to make it less excrutiating without having to hire a male escort to go grocery shopping with me.

Although, come to think of it, that's not a bad business idea. Call it Tea for Two or Bread and Butter Incorporated...