Friday afternoon, I left work with a plan. I was going to go home, change clothes, eat dinner and then ride my bike to the movies. Alone.
This is not new for me. I’ve always been a fan of going off and doing things by myself, whether it be walking around the city, buying groceries at Reading Terminal, hitting a thriftstore, or sitting in a coffeeshop reading. I like being independent, and I don’t like feeling like my range of activities are limited by the fact that I’m the only one doing them. But sometimes, even I have a bit of a hard time going to the movies alone of a Friday night. In our culture, it is a night to be social, to be with friends if you aren’t with a romantic or possibly romantic partner.
I once had a friend tell me that I had no mystery, that I was so totally open that I rendered myself unappealing. I think that being out in the world by myself, without anyone to engage or interact with, lends me a sense of mystery, at least for the time that I’m out there by myself. (Besides, I actually think that whole mystery thing is a load of crap, as my mom said when I told her this comment, “Mystery is just another way of saying neurotic.” I’m not looking for mystery or to present mystery to others, the world is complex enough without veiling yourself. I am open, I look for it in others and I’m not going to change).
The movie was cute (okay, so I broke down and saw “Just Like Heaven.” What can I say, I have a thing for Mark Ruffalo), but the evening as a whole was really nice. I have to say, it was the best date I had in a while.
You know what you like to see, you don’t have to share the soda/popcorn/candy, you can do whatever you want before/after the movie. I agree, sometimes the best date is going alone. I also agree about the mystery being crap.
I’m much the same way – very independent. People often don’t get it; some find it threatening. But I’m with you: I’m often my own best date.
I know! my friends call me a weirdo for wanting some nights alone…they seem to want to see each other 24/7.
btw…they say the same thing about me…i’m too open. But isn’t it better? I prefer to use my energy for useful things, learning new things, etc rather than just to play games with people’s heads…
I have to say, it was the best date I had in a while.
Boy, do I know that feeling…
I’m an only child, so I learned early on how to amuse myself alone. I think it’s a good life skill, if not something I want to do every day!
No mystery = no interest. The mystery is what makes people want to come back and learn more, I think. The mystery helps romance.
I like doing stuff a lone too… movies, theatre, even travel… best vacation was 3 days alone in Key West.
I like heading to Chinatown for the day… you can be surrounded by people but still completely isolated.
My friends say the same thing about “no mystery”. My feeling is, you want mystery read a novel… I am who I am.
I relish the alone time in my life these days. Going to workout late at night, being in the LR by myself after everyone goes to sleep, going to the grocery store alone, shopping alone, and just the car rides where I’m alone I enjoy every nano second. When I was single upteen million years ago, I also enjoyed my alone time. I remember living w/ my dad a few months after I graduated from college a few months before I graduated and him being gone on the weekend and having the entire house to myself. Those weekends I would stay in and not go anywhere. I say keep enjoying your alone time b/c sometime in the uture you’ll find yourself w/ a husband and children and then your alone is almost non-existent. 😉
I love going to the movies alone. I never felt self-conscious about it until a friend said she liked going alone but was too embarrassed to do so on a Saturday night. I’d never realized that going to the movies alone was shameful.
I don’t understand the “too open” comment. Open is so much better than mysterious. Life is complicated enough.