Day 149: Remember the Time... My Friends Would Have Just Gone With Me

I was recently told about the restaurant Paddy Longs, which is a Chicago-area beer and bacon pub. No, it's not an Irish pub or a Bar & Grill. It's advertised as a beer and bacon pub. Awesome.

Immediately after being told about this magical place, which features a bacon tasting platter, my foodie colleague who I've hung out with several times in the past happened to be walking by.

"Hey! Paddy Longs. Bacon tasting. We're going," I said excitedly.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"Who cares? It has a bacon tasting platter," I emphasized in case he misunderstood me. "And beer for you. Let's go!"

"Let me check it out," he replied.

"Wait, what?" I said, dumbfounded. "We are going to check it out. When we go."

"I'll let you know," he said, walking away.

"What, you don't trust me?" I said, confused.

"No," he said, laughing and continuing to walk away, leaving me immediately fiercely missing my friends in New York.

Hanging out with my friends was so much easier in New York. First of all, I had friends in New York. Here, the only friends I have are colleague-friends who have other friends they generally hang out with after work or on weekends.

Second, most of my New York friends were available to hang out, either at the drop of a hat or with plans in the future. Here, many of my colleague-friends are married or have kids and rarely can get away to do something fun. 

In New York, I'd make plans with friends after one of us said something along the lines of "Hey, I want to check this place out. Are you free to come?" I would never have done research about the place before agreeing to go because regardless of whether the place sucked or not, I'd be with my friend and we would make it fun.

One friend in particular would not only always be up for something fun, but would also be up for not-so-fun activities, no matter how much notice I'd give. But regardless of what we were doing, I'd have fun every single time we'd hang out. I miss that. A lot. And I miss my crazy fun-loving friends in New York a lot.

So when my colleague came back to me later that afternoon saying he'd looked up Paddy Longs online, checked out the prices, called the place to see just what types of bacon were on the bacon platter, and then decided he'd go with me when he was free later in the month, I had completely changed my mind about wanting to go.

A friend wouldn't have to do all sorts of research before agreeing to hang out. A friend wouldn't not have time for me until later in the month. A friend would have just said, "OK! Let's go!"

I miss my friends.