The Art of Taking Yourself to Dinner
Understanding A.I. could be your ticket to get rich. What happened to romance in fashion? Bernie Sanders headlines Coachella 2025. How was NYC actually settled?
Welcome to BLABBER. The section of The Big Mouth where we dish out recent happenings and gossip about them. Thank you for your time. Let’s Begin.
I did it. I took myself to Dinner, and honestly I hated it.
I could probaly count on one hand the amount of times I have eaten out at an establishment alone.
I’m not sure why honestly, but it's just never been my thing. In the past I would opt for something grab and go, ordering take out, or making something casual at home. When I’m with people I like to entertain, make sure everyone is having a good time, and really connect with those around me. When I’m on my own I typically am very productive. I like to think it’s the Libra in me not having to balance things around me, so I lock in and get a lot done.
With that being said, I don’t gravitate towards sitting down somewhere to eat on my own. It may have something to do with the feeling of being alone in a place in general. The loneliness, awkwardness, not wanting to be on my phone but also not knowing how to exist in a restaurant on my own without scrolling. At the end of the day, none of this matters in the scheme of things however in the moment it’s easier said than done for me. While I love my alone time so much, why do I loathe sitting down to take myself to dinner?
I challenged myself to figure this out. So I asked myself,
Why do I hate going to dinner by myself?
I can get antsy when I'm on my own. I don’t know who to talk to. I don’t know what to do other than be on my phone. I feel an awkward sense of people staring at me, even though I know they aren’t. I've always hated the feeling of being watched and that sense fills my body for some reason.
I don’t like sitting at a bar alone, someting about elbow to elbow space never suited me, so I opt for a table and then feel weird about being at table alone. Which in some cities is not even an option, so if you don’t like the bar, you’re kind of out of luck. It all just starts to feel like I’m more of a bother being there than a welcomed patron, and while I love being social, I like personal space especially when I’m eating.
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Moving on, I knew I needed to figure this out for myself. My partner in crime (husband) was out of town for work, so I took full advantage and sat myself down for dinner alone 3 nights in a row. Once at a diner, a casual restaurant, and a nice, leather-bound booth restaurant. While I didn’t absolutely love doing it and realized this is solely who I am, I survived and was totally fine. Obviously. However, I did notice a few things while giving this a go.
Here’s what I realized:
The wait staff was much more friendly, like extra friendly, and very interactive, which I actually loved this part. It made me feel not so alone. I’m not sure if this is standard practice when a customer eats alone to give them a sense of community. Whatever it is, this part was a positive experience. I remembered their names much easier, I had more in depth conversations and was able to move past the point of quick satisfying, “yes I’m doing okay.” answers. It was pleasant.
No one gives a shit about you. This one I already know and understand, but for some reason at dinner alone it’s as if I’m center stage with a spotlight on me. That’s not the case, though; actually, it’s the complete opposite. People are on their own path, and they just want their dinner the same way you want yours, and if someone is watching you, then it’s actually weirder on the watcher’s part. So go for the messy chicken wings or the burger the size of a new celebrity’s ego, and enjoy.
I connected with relationships and the world more. Not knowing what to do while I sit or while I wait was one of the bigger reasons I wouldn’t opt to do this. It’s so easy to quickly open apps and consume digital garbage, and I hate when I do that. I decided to spark text conversations with older friends and find something inspiring to read about in news sections. While it was still digital entertainment, it did feel so much more fulfilling to “connect” in a way that I’m getting something positive out of it.
All in all, I’m happy I pushed myself out of my comfort zone a bit and tried something I wouldn’t normally do. I’m still not quite sure how some people love to do this all the time and have no issue, and in fact sometimes prefer eating out alone, but that’s what makes the human species beautiful… I guess.
Need a job? Get rich if you understand A.I.
Forbes reported on LinkedIn’s most in-demand skills for the 2025 job market, and the results… shocking, but also not.
When we think of in-demand skills, I usually think of things like engineering or coding or something that takes a lot of knowledge and understanding to complete tasks. However, among the top skills in demand for this year is artificial intelligence literacy. Now, just to be sure, I did google “what is A.I. literacy to be certain,” which is simply the understanding of A.I. as a whole.
This got me thinking, and I find it so interesting that in a world where artificial intelligence scares so many and ultimately is a tool we want to use to make our lives easier, simpler, and more efficient, it is in fact the one thing that we will pay and employ the most for right now. So I guess A.I., in fact, in a way, is opening up jobs in certain areas while closing some in others.
I always urge all my friends, creative and not, to at least keep up and understand how A.I. works, because whether you are an avid ChatGPT user or not, the knowledge will come in handy in the future, I predict. With A.I. so new, it’s also an opportunity for people to learn a skill that could set them apart from others down the line.
The full Forbes list of in-demand skills for 2025 is as follows:
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AI Literacy
Conflict Mitigation
Adaptability
Process Optimization
Innovative Thinking
Public Speaking
Solution-Based Selling
Customer Engagement & Support
Stakeholder Management
Large Language Model (LLM) Development & Application
Budget & Resource Management
Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy
Regulatory Compliance
Growth Strategy
Risk Assessment
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With skills such as risk assessment, innovative thinking, and process optimization, we clearly are in a time that we need people who will create a new way of doing things (YAY), but only if it only comes with only positive outcomes (BOO). In Layman’s terms, think outside the box, but if you mess up, you're screwed. Such an inspiring world we live in, huh?
Sidenote: I had my A.I.-savvy husband create the graphic for this section using ChatGPT. I asked him to prompt something to create an image for the header of this section about a person getting rich. This is what he prompted…
Why does fashion no longer sell the world…
What happened to the romance that brands used to sell us? What happened to the world the consumer would immerse themselves in almost like a cult? I think back to the era of Tom Ford at Gucci and the iconic advertisements of sex, parties, and glamour. I think about Alessandro Michele’s Gucci, which had me fully living in the fantasy for years. What happened to that magic that brands used to create, like these Avedon Versace ads? The playful female dominance over the male. The girls clubs. The FUN. WHERE IS THE FUN ANYMORE?!
So many brands have opted for these bland, lifeless campaigns, shot on white or in a boring setting, that just come and go, it seems, and so few brands have focused on capturing the essence of what it’s like to be a part of the brand’s “club.”
I want to be sold the feeling. Give me the sex, give me the glamour, the extravagance, the world in which these products belong.
As much as people love to talk about The Row these days, they’re a beautiful example of selling the world of The Row to the consumer. They rarely show any clothing on any of their social platforms, yet we could all describe what The Row clothing looks like. They’re selling the essence of the brand. They’re selling the world in which the consumer revolves, and as a consumer of The Row, they hit it on the nose. Art, design, beautiful settings and spaces, vintage, and unique things that exist in our world. Those are things I am interested in, and it just makes me enjoy being their customer more.
Anyway, seeing these Avedon Versace ads really sparked what made me, as an 11-year-old boy stuck in Ohio, fall in love with Versace and the fashion world in general. They’re truly an iconic moment in fashion history, and one that still shines maybe even brighter today.
For those who need this explained quickly and perfectly, WATCH THIS BELOW! The mood will always be more important than the stuff!
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Was Coachella’s biggest headliner Bernie Sanders?
Guest appearances at Coachella are almost more exciting than the acts themselves. We had so many guests appear during different artists sets, but among the most unexpected was Bernie Sanders. Before Clairo took the Coachella Main Stage, Sanders came out for a 5-minute-long speech encouraging the generation to fight against the current Trump administration for equality in a number of categories. Stating it’s up to our generation to fight for the future of America.
While exciting and out of the box, it did end with a “paid for by Bernie Sanders disclaimer,” so do with that what you will, but let’s break it down more.
We have never seen politics collide with Coachella on a level of using the stage to physically bring a politician in front of the crowd. Many artists have used their sets to speak out on political topics and make their statements; however, to see Bernie Sanders make a quick rally-style speech at one of the largest music festivals made a viral impact much greater than that of what an artist could do. The unexpectedness of it all. Whether it stuck, or festivalgoers quickly moved on back to their schedule of music sets and Ferris wheel selfies, we won’t know. But Sanders did say one thing that was haunting and stuck out more than I thought it would.
“Now you can turn away, and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril.”
The warning of the consequences really sank into my head. As if the current world of politicians is letting us know it’s too late for them to make change and that it’s now our move if we want to see any change. A little unsettling…
The speech saw a great number of metrics in the scheme of it all, with Sanders X post alone amassing over 2.5 million views. One of his most viewed in months, and not to mention the crowd for Clairo, which must be in the tens of thousands. An interesting move for political stunts.
Watch the full speech from Senator Sanders.
Artists Feature, Billy Gibney - @billygibney_
Billy Gibney is a recent find as an artist for me. I stumbled upon his diptych work below titled, Heirloom 1 & 2.
Gibney’s work is described as incandescent realism. Diving into ideas of memories, identity, and human behavior. His work has a very cinematic feeling to it, reminding me of 80s aesthetic thrillers. I love the tension and energy held within his pieces. The reflections in the silverware shown below in Heirloom 1 & 2, while a traumatic-looking scene is happening in the background. Many things are said, and a lot is for the viewer to digest. Described as each piece feeling like a still from an unfolding narrative, hovering in a space between sentimentality and an uncanny ambiguity.
An artist I saw, and was instantly intrigued and excited to watch as his career unfolds further.
Need a laugh?
For my New Yorkers and my non-who need a laugh, we have another amazing SNL skit about the settlement of NYC. This time, an animation, which makes it all the better.
Eating alone and I go a long way back. Back to business travel as an Art Director, back to Print Runs of product lines, back to trade shows for product launches… during that time there was always something interesting in my head or on my table. None of it was a phone.
Afterwards I did it for 20 years as a military spouse with a repeatedly deployed husband. Sure I had friends. More often than not I was in a foreign city, or state, taking in culture or reading my way through literature of the region, planning my walking tours to explore wherever. Never was a phone in this mix.
When I am at home I have a few regular places. They, the owners and staff, know me. They treat me like family. We have laugh and share stories, talk food and taste new drinks. Never is my phone on the table except for a photo of how lovely the presentation is and a group photo as memory. My community is my living room.
When I travel now by air between countries, I decide what to take as my companion on flights, and they become my companions through the journey. Books, stitchery, a small moleskin journal, a sketchbook, water crayons. Not all at once. Just one thing to be my whole enthusiasm for that trip.
Every meal is an adventure. Whether I decide to mix and match some things from different markets and take it someplace I would like the view or visit a new place of ethnic cuisine I have never tried. I do not have a lot of money. It is never about money. It is about the experience.
The way to be and live someplace, even for a day, is to wander and meet, speak to locals and taste through their eyes, ears, lives. Yes, the wait staff can be more engaging and most often will. This is what you are paying for, but also what they want—to be more intrigued by their daily job through engagement. They know everything about where you are. All the nuances. They are the best source for learning and being. They are also the best source for meeting.
I have met the most interesting people who happened to notice me engage with wait staff. Interesting people are aware of their environment. They are not ‘watching’ per se. they may have been at a table with a friend or business associate. They glance around the room as they sip their drink. They notice another engaging person— who is alone.
These have been the best experiences of my life, from a table alone to a villa or yacht. From a table alone to a garden walk meet up to go to a new cafe, with someone new, interesting and engaging, in a different way. A different conversation. I may never see them again. Or I may send a week at their country house. These are not lovers or forever friends. They are people who share their lives with people who look interesting and engaging. Like me.
It’s an adventure! Keep at it and it will reward you with stories for many a dinner with your circle of friends… who will listen and wish they had done it, too.
I second your fashion statement and the eating solo!