Thursday, October 8, 2009

My Favorite Things #2: Coffeeshops

2. I love coffeeshops. And I'm not talking about those cute, pretty ones with doilies on the chairs and Korean ballads playing on the sound system, I'm talking about the semi-dark ones with people smoking on the outside seating, and screenwriters/students/slackers taking up all the tables and wireless internet on the inside. And there needs to be a steady soundtrack of whirring espresso machines, people gabbing about inconsequential things, and jazzy/poppy music playing in the background, i.e. Norah Jones/Ella Fitzgerald/Jason Mraz (Who also happen to be some of my favorites :)).

I'm not a indie coffeeshop snob either. The convenient and universal Starbucks/Coffeebean work just as well as The Bridge Cafe/18th Street Cafe/Literati Cafe, as long as the staff are friendly and internet is free, and music is not too loud.

Sometimes the food at indie coffeeshops are the BEST you can find. Especially when it comes to breakfast/brunch items, like omlettes and pastries, or sandwiches and salads.

And for people-watchers like me, coffeeshops are one of the best places to do this, especially if you're sitting by a window, or outside on a patio; if your studying is getting a bit too much, or your eyes need a rest from the computer screen, or you hit a block while writing a report or paper, just take a second and watch people as they go about their everyday lives, oblivious to your silent contemplation on what they're wearing, what they're doing, who they're with. If you've never tried this, it's very eye-opening about the "human condition" of people today, and relieves your stress/tension in just a few minutes.

For example: I am at the Coffee Bean on the corner of Orange and Hollywood right now, right across from Madame Tussauds, and who do I see?

A tall, thin, bald man with glasses, a dark blue velvety blazer and faded blue jeans. He kind of slouches as he walks, and he's alone, and for some reason I know he's an artist. What kind, I don't know, but I can tell he's not a talker either. He pushes his glasses up with his right hand, and he looks slightly down as he does this, as if he's self-conscious, but immediately looks back up, to make sure he doesn't bump into anyone on the tourist-crowded sidewalks. He turns the corner, and he's no longer in my field of vision, but off to meet someone or take care of some business, or just simply take a midday stroll doing the same thing I'm doing right now: people-watching.

Yeah, it's kind of creepy, but I bet you've done this before too :)

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