one is the loneliest number

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The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
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Hana Maru, used up old slutbag on the pole
06:30 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
This sounds like something from Ally McBeal, except the woman would then sue the cardboard man for something insane and the lawyers would talk about how she was a crazy single woman. Then she would give an impassioned monologue about something, and it would convince them to take her case, and the Ally would realize that they are just the same.
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Tartan_Tart
04:19 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
Jeez, Dodai, don't you know it's performance art? We're used to seeing restaurants a specific way, but this woman wanted to test our perceptions by bringing in James Fr...I mean Stan.
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TildeMarks
02:35 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
As a woman whose boyfriends official online persona is 'bauxboi', I find myself in similar dining situations every week.
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
02:33 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
You know something funny? You can be in a cozy relationship with a great person. You can go to dinner with that person and sit across from him/her, and smile, and still feel alone and lonesome. You can go out with a group of friends and laugh and dance and booze it up and still feel all alone. I don't think loneliness is something only this or that person experiences in this or that situation. I think for some people, loneliness is always close by, and no matter what you're doing or who you're spending your time with or how many minutes per day you spend on the phone or the internet talking to people, you're pretty much guaranteed to feel lonely at some point or another. I don't think it's like that for everybody, but I've always been that type, and even though I'm never alone anymore, I still feel lonely sometimes. Having endured plenty of isolation and loneliness in previous days, I can see why people might go to such lengths to have something to connect with. Sometimes you just get tired of your own company, I guess.
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Ratinski
02:01 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
I've lived alone since I graduated from my masters program and moved 1500 miles from home. My family and closest friends are between 1500-3000 miles away from me. As a result I eat out alone, I go to movies alone, I go shopping alone. I'm okay with this.

I think it's an important thing to learn how to do, honestly. You shouldn't miss out on something just because everyone else you know doesn't want to do it.
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Residentdrunkgirl
01:15 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
You can't take your TV out to dinner with you just yet, but you can take your iPhone/iPod/iTouch with recently downloaded tv shows on it.
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SouthernSatine
01:43 PM

@Residentdrunkgirl: You know, those portable TV's just came out. I can't remember what they're called but I keep seeing the commercial for them with the Mom who pretends to be haggered so that she can have an hour with her portable TV. My point is, it may not be long before people just bring their TV with them to restaurants.
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Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.
01:10 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
When I was waiting tables I had a couple come in with two garbage bags and request a table for four with high chairs. They proceeded to remove about 20 stuffed animals from their garbage bags and set them around the table. (putting their two favorite in the high chairs) They then ordered kids meals for the two in the high chairs and proceeded with their meal like everything was normal.
I didn't mind. I just figured they were lonely and couldn't have kids. I felt glad more than anything that they found each other.
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funzette
01:02 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
"So how was your date with Peter?"
"Well, he's got a gorgeous square jaw and paid for dinner, but he has the personality of a cardboard box!"
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Tchotchke
01:01 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
Aw, he's kind of cute, no?

I lived alone for two years without roommates or pets and to be honest, it was very lonely at times. However, living alone turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made in terms of my development. It made me independent, made me appreciate when I was around friends and loved ones more, and it gave me a lot of time to soul-search and figure myself out. I recommend it.
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Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
12:41 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
Totally an art project. And I love it. Plus it's totally possible she got fewer stares and less sympathy than she would have had she eaten dinner alone.
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madeofawesome
12:41 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
I got my friend a lifesize cardboard cutout of Zac Efron for her birthday last year. We talk to it. He's a creeper, because all he does is stare and smile. But he doesn't eat, so there would be no reason to take him to dinner.
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PaigeTurner
12:44 PM

@madeofawesome: What a waste of food. I hope she at least took it to go and gave to someone on the street. Or would that hamper the illusion?
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mizzmarvel
12:47 PM

@PaigeTurner: Why a waste? She got an appetizer and a main course -- she could probably finish them both herself.
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PaigeTurner
12:52 PM

@mizzmarvel: Missed that. Thought she ordered 2 entrees. You're right, no waste!
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Edited by PaigeTurner at 12/08/09 12:53 PM PaigeTurner was starred PaigeTurner was unstarred

madeofawesome
12:57 PM

@mizzmarvel: OMG, I have figured it out. Guys, she was just really hungry. And being the lady that she is, she felt she could not very well order that much food for herself. Better to look crazy than look fat.

( /sarcasm)
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girlgonemild
12:57 PM

@madeofawesome: Haha! There is a cardboard cutout of Robert Pattison that lives at my friends' house. He likes to hide on the stairs and wear other people's bathrobes. And watch you while you sleep, of course.
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mizzmarvel
01:50 PM

@madeofawesome: I need to try this next time I go to a buffet.
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madeofawesome
12:39 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
I vote the cutout's name was Stan and the woman in question was just taking part in an elaborate Flat Stanley experiment.
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Sputnik_Sweetheart
12:36 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
I can't really judge either. I often have long conversations with myself when I am alone at home or in the car. At least she is talking to something. I just talk to the air.
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PaigeTurner
12:33 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
I've always been pretty much a loner. I enjoy time by myself and would always rather hang out alone than with people I'm only so-so about. I prefer going to movies and shopping alone. That said, even when I'm alone, I rarely feel lonely. It's just something I'm comfortable with.

If this experiment was real, I would suggest the woman featured think about getting a pet, and practice becoming more comfortable being alone in public. The alternative solution (a cardboard man she refers to as either Peter or Stan), unfortunately sounds totally insane.
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Edited by PaigeTurner at 12/08/09 12:34 PM PaigeTurner was starred PaigeTurner was unstarred

special_boots
12:33 PM

In reply to The Allure Of Having Dinner With A Cardboard Man
"I guess what I'm saying is: I've been lonely. So I can't judge."

Dodai, can I nominate you for COTD, or is that not how that works?
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A Small Turnip
12:44 PM

@special_boots: I know. I second that nomination. Tiny wee tears just sprung into my eyes when I read that. Here I was, happily reading along, imagining the lady and her companion having a lovely dinner, and then Dodai quietly slides that knife right into my heart.

There was a time in my life where I felt lonely too. I'm one of nature's cheerful loners, and generally love my space as much as I adore my friends and family. But I think we all sometimes go through periods of terrible, bone-aching loneliness, and that experience makes it very hard to laugh at someone else's desperate attempts to hold back the tide. Laugh with, definitely, and with great affection, but not at. Never at.
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LBB
01:09 PM

@special_boots: I'll second that nomination.
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