This is what happens when I eat Au Bon Pain instead of Panera

Alright, so earlier today, as I wandered about my school's main campus in search of sustenance, I found an Au Bon Pain that - thank the universe - is on my school's meal plan.  As I sat and ate my late lunch, I found myself writing a prospective blog post in my dear little Moleskine.  And this, ladies and gents, is that very post:

I'm one of those people who hates to eat alone in public.  I would rather not eat than sit all by myself in a crowded restaurant - nothing in my mind screams "I have no friends" quite like that. 

And when I do break down and eat alone, it's in a fairly empty Au Bon Pain (at least today).  And, because I'm really lucky, the cute guy who sold me my iPod at the school bookstore thirty minutes before walked in.  Thankfully, mine is a face that people tend to forget after any encounter shorter than ten minutes.

What made this situation so much worse was the law student to my left and the pair of pretty girls on my right - you know the type: wavy hair, TOMS, short shorts, loose t-shirts... slightly bo-ho yet almost entirely mainstream.  (I'm as terrified of ladies like them as I am of eating alone, but that's another post entirely.)

So in an attempt to seem less pathetic - just in case Mr. Gorgeous Bookstore Tech Clerk recognizes me - I pull out my handy-dandy Moleskine and began to write this very post.  Unfortunately my attempt to look like I had an ounce of class had certain unforeseen drawbacks.  Namely, I had to stop ogling the attractive bookstore employee (who was so my type).

Even after Mr. Bookstore had left, I still felt compelled to spend time with notebook out.  Why?  Well, part of me felt compelled to finish this, but another equally large part of me said that if I shut just after he left, I would officially be a poser.  So I continued to sit in Au Bon pain with my new psych book, fruit cup, my lesser-than-Panera's mac n' cheese, and my bottle of Nantucket Necters, listening to a wholly acceptable playlist, thinking about my new green iPod and the handsome clerk who fetched it for me.

Oh, and so long as I'm being overly detailed, I'm also thinking about where the nearest Target is.

And that, boys and girls, is exactly why I should not be allowed to eat alone in public.