life as i know it.

a woman’s right to fried beef.

the other day i decided i was going to grab a bite to eat at one of my favorite restaurants in all of the greater spokane area, the mongolian bbq.  i’ve always loved it there — the atmosphere, the people, the FOOD — it’s one of the only things i’ll miss from all of spokane.  so i decided i was going to run some errands in town, then finish off with lunch at the bbq.  

now recently i’ve become a much more of an independent person, very destiny’s child “independent woman”, and i thought nothing of eating alone, especially at a place that i’ve frequented for the past 6 years.  

well i walk into the bbq, excited for my food, and the waiter greets me with the usual hello, asking how many people will be in my party.  i tell him that it’s just me, i’m eating alone, and i get a reaction that i’ve never gotten before — pity, a simple “i’m sorry.”  

now i’m sure it was probably a misunderstanding or just cultural differences, but i still can’t believe it.  as if it’s not hard enough to be a single gal these days, now i have to worry about eating at one of my favorite restaurants, during lunch time (not even “date” time), alone?! i shop alone, i live alone, i occasionally go to movies in theaters alone, why can’t i grab my fried beef alone?  

i already have to worry about dating losers, douchebags, jerks, unintelligent and undereducated men, men with diseases (1 in 4, ladies!), men who are 23 going on 12… the LAST thing i want to worry about is eating, one of my favorite past times!  

the irony of it all was that there were three other men in the restaurant at the same time, all alone, who i’m sure did not get pity when they decided they wanted to grab some fried noodles by themselves.  

it just frustrates me, a society that encourages independence in women, yet lauds them when they exercise their independence.  a society that encourages education and hard work, yet won’t pay women equally to their male counterparts.  i shouldn’t be afraid to do things by myself, or get pity when i do things by my lonesome, there are far, far more scary things in the world than fried beef.