Zach Vineyard

If you were to look at me would you say that I was a risk taker?

Yet I am, I am the Past Date Milk Drinker, the Cheeto on the Floor Rationalizer, the Utah Freeway Driver.

I am the Obscure Dinner Eater!

I didn’t realize exactly how big a risk this was until I was sitting down in an open seat in The Spicy Thai Restaurant. In a moment of clarity I realized that I had just committed myself to a possible  evening of  awkward conversation, bad food, and the ever gnawing feeling that I was one comment away from desecrating someones most cherished childhood memory (Again, I’m sorry Cassandra).

A while ago, I stumbled upon a group of people called Obscure Dinner Night that would meet up monday nights for food and conversation, but the location was only announced a few hours before on twitter with an open invitation for anyone to come. I thought it was a fun approach to eating out and getting to know people, but not fun enough to overcome my busy schedule and even more so, my own insecurities.

What changed?

Unfortunately, I was told that afternoon that an old friend of mine had passed away at the age of 24 while in his sleep. He had a seizure and never woke up. In that one moment all he had dreamed, planned and waited to do was unfolded to me as a reflection of my own dreams and plans, and that I should no longer wait.

Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was surrounded by people who were living in the moment, and possibly taking their lives into their own hands as Thai is not for the weak.

I was also pleased and horrified to find out that I was only the second person to ever walk in cold turkey (without knowing anyone). It had helped to think that everyone else was a twitter follower as well, and would be just as uncomfortable, but no they were all good friends, and good people as it took me very little time to relate and get in on conversations. By the end I was resolved to go back next week.

Before I reached home I had three followers on twitter and a story to remind myself to never let my insecurities stand in the way of doing what I wanted to do.

If anyone has been waiting to go, GO!

I’ll be there…and I promise that I’ll be just as nervous as you are.