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June 13, 2008
The peculiarities of public places (on coffee jitters)
I've been sitting here at Panera writing some papers and reading for classes for the past two hours. Just making good use of my time while I wait to begin my evening plans...
My laptop, binders, and textbooks are spread across my tiny table. I finished my cherry pastry long ago, but my napkins and tray remain. My coffee cup has gradually been emptied of its delicious hazelnutty contents and now sits begging me to refill (but my jitters beg me not to).
There's a fellow two tables away from me plugging away at his laptop, it seems. But he gets up every five minutes or so and meanders over to the sample table. I don't have a clear view of it, but I know he must have cleaned it out by this point. He carries slices of bread back to his table two at a time. Three water glasses filled with lemon peels and a single coffee cup crowd his laptop on the small geometric table. And the bread crusts. They are stacked on a few napkins he's unfolded onto a chair adjacent from him.
Just as I'm wondering if I should relocate, it hits me: public places have their own set of unique rules (or unique lack of rules).
There have been children running off from their parents and people having loud phone conversations as my afternoon has dwindled into evening, but I've still been able to accomplish several things. I feel like I'm nearly immune to distraction at times... But restaurants like this often remind me of how messy humanity is because so many things are going on at once. I guess the self-serve beverages probably make me think of the messes, specifically, but free samples are a different issue altogether. Public places are just that: public, and they shift as the public within them shifts.
I could only write something like this with caffeine overrunning my thoughts... I had to stop reading though because my hands were shaking my book and my highlighter and it was making my head hurt. Too much coffee...
Posted by KarissaKilgore at June 13, 2008 5:09 PM
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Comments
I read somewhere recently that there's a distinct time of the afternoon when "self-employed" people all crash the Panera Breads of this wi-fi world, seeking free connections and free food samples. Like a secret sect, they tacitly agree to occupy the place between rush hours -- and arrive late enough in the afternoon that they can sleep in. I'm not sure whether I love this or hate it. But in any case, I think it's a noteworthy cultural trend.
Posted by: Mike Arnzen at June 14, 2008 12:47 PM
WOW, if you are busy noticing all of these "cultural" issues and taking the time to blog about them, it makes me wonder how much of what you are reading and studying you are actually going to remember........lay off the java...LOL
Posted by: Sarah Farmer at June 15, 2008 9:04 AM