Single Serving Friends

I'm currently sitting in the "business lounge" at the Wingate Hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois with some time to kill in the morning. About three times per semester, for the past two years, I come up to the Chicago area to observe student teachers in "the field." Most of them are placed in schools in the Chicago suburbs because they live at home when they student teach and commute to nearby schools. It's a pretty sweet deal for them, and for me it's a chance to get out of Champaign and visit the sprawling suburban wasteland that surrounds the city of Chicago. But I digress.

This morning I awoke in the "post-Valentine's day" world at the Wingate Hotel and ate breakfast with all of the other stiffs. It makes me think about this clip from the movie Fight Club, where the main character, played by Edward Norton, speaks of the depressing nature of a travel life of travel - shuffling from hotel to hotel, running to catch flights, always eating out of single serving packages of food. This morning I had a single serving cereal, juice, and yogurt!

I want to make it clear that this is not my life - really. Sometimes I like to imagine that I'm catching a glimpse into that world, especially when I rub elbows with all of the business people dressed in their matching muted color oxford shirts and dress slacks, eating their single serving breakfasts, trying to "be friendly" with their colleagues or complete strangers, and discussing the "plan of action" for the day. Just wait. It gets even more depressing at happy hour when the same people will line up at the bar with their two free drink vouchers given to them by the hotel and attempt to "unwind." Don't worry, I'll be right there with them. I mean, two free drinks - I am not going to pass that up.