the concept of "opportunity cost" seems to be the main thing I've taken away from my NYU continuing ed econ class

Today I went to Coney Island, ate two hot dogs and a mozzarepa, had an awkward and unexpected one-second run-in with a woman who once spent half an hour trying to convince me to go home with her, napped on the beach on my Dartmouth reunion commemorative towel, watched a very happy, laughing Muslim woman in a headscarf, long-sleeved shirt, and ankle-length skirt play in the surf with her kids (apparently named Suzanne and Ali), saw the sideshow, and, overall, spent at least an hour walking past all the food stands several times, to make sure that the two hot dogs and the mozzarepa were exactly the things I wanted to eat.

The extended food-shopping is just the sort of thing that is difficult to do or justify in the presence of others; however, I feel that we live in a world of paralyzing overpossibility, and that the effect of having too many choices is that every choice is marred by the agglomerated opportunity costs of all the choices not taken.

(That is, when there is one good thing to do and you do it, you feel great. But when there are ten good things to do and you can only do one, you feel a sense of loss, even though the good thing you did in the second scenario is just as good as (or identical to) the good thing in the first scenario).

If there is but one ferris wheel in town, riding it is a joy; if there is an entire amusement park and you are permitted to ride only the ferris wheel, that's a bummer. This is why monogamy is difficult in, say, Manhattan. And why one wants to be sure that a bacon-cheese dog is an unregrettable option.