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Reading is Important, Kids

In general, I really dislike the concept of tl;dr. If you care enough to read about something, just read the darn thing. Sure, there are cases where people are overly verbose, but those are the exception, rather than the rule. Instead, tl;dr gets used as an excuse for people to avoid reading. In its most common usage, it's a form of laziness.

The real world is full of nuances, and you miss out on all of that if you see the world through CliffsNotes glasses. In particular, I tend to think that you miss important details when you're constantly asking for the executive summary.

You want to know why I think this? Because I learned this the hard way.

My friend was in town a little while ago, and she wanted to get some people together for a meal. After a little negotiating on what would meet everyone's dietary restrictions, she settled on Samovar. Now, if you either know San Francisco or if you clicked on the link, you will notice that there are several locations with that exact name. Knowing this, she made sure to specify at which of the three possible Samovar's we were supposed to meet.

I remember seeing the invitation, and I also checked the location to make sure. I saw the word "Mission," so I made plans to get myself to the downtown location. That one is in Yerba Buena gardens, which happen to be on 3rd St and Mission St. It was a fairly straight shot on the bus, so I figured I'd just take public transportation to get there.

I planned out my arrival fairly well, since I arrived a few minutes past the appointed time. Not seeing anyone, I called my friend to verify where they were, if they had made a reservation, and how many people were in our party.

My friend was a little confused, since she was sitting inside the venue and did not see me anywhere. In a moment of realization, she asked where I was. With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I told her where I was. Her response:

"Oh, no, it's not that one. We're at the one in the Mission, on Sanchez St."

After apologizing for my idiocy, I flashed back to the invitation and realized that the location had actually said "the Mission" instead of "3rd and Mission." Like I said, you miss important details when you don't read. The worst part of it all was that the actual location was closer to my house than the incorrect one. I could have actually had a shorter bus ride had I actually, you know, read the invitation properly.

Fortunately for me, I caught a bus fairly quickly, so it only took me about 20 minutes to get there. Combining this with the fact that everyone else was also running late, I was able to sit down at the table before anyone had ordered their food. All in all, it worked out all right, other than some mild embarrassment on my part. Still, all of the laughter at my expense could have been avoided.

Learn from my mistake, people. Don't whine about reading. It's good for your social life.
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