What now??

toedtoes wrote:
I have since traveled alone. I found the most difficult stigma to overcome was dining out alone, especially at nice restaurants. To conquer that, I started going a bit earlier in the evening to avoid the rush. And I bring a book or journal and read or write down my thoughts about things.

Not claiming at all that this is the same thing, but I used to travel a lot for business. When I treated myself and took myself out to dinner, I always brought a book along with me (pre iPhone days).

I always enjoyed myself, but I also noticed that the service staff and even people sitting nearby would take pity on a dude sitting alone and reading, and they'd try to engage me in conversation. I always appreciated their kindness and enjoyed the conversations. I really had to retrain myself to be open to it, because there was a big part of me that kept thinking, "I'd really like to get back to this gripping book instead of talking about the weather with strangers". I broke myself of that bad habit and enjoyed their company when people tried to engage me.

Apologies again for comparing my business travel with your newly single life. I realize that they are very very different.