Well I've had a really relaxing day of work here for what feels like the first time in a while, and what do you know, it comes with the triumphant return of the afternoon trip to the coffeehouse.
This used to be an almost daily routine of mine when I lived just a couple blocks from the wonderful Cafe Medici here in town (the beautiful neighborhood of Clarksville, specifically), and turned out to be a useful and very productive time of the day for me. Besides, since I work from home, my laptop/phone/steno pad is my job, and being that these objects are very portable said trip to the coffeehouse seems like a no brainer.
I'd like to comment on the atmosphere of these places with regard to the stereotypes that associate themselves to the patrons. Maybe it's just me, but when I walk into these dens (and most places here in town do feel just that, a den, a nook, a homely place) I get the feeling that I'm being eyed. Now maybe it's just my own ego that can't help but feel eyes upon me when I walk into a room, and sometimes this is just the case, but oftentimes when I see these people I get the feeling that they're here just to be seen doing things. Reading, writing, studying, I mean how can you actually get anything done in a place where birds are chirping, feet are shuffling, trees rustling? The funny thing is that all this noise helps, and so does the caffeine. There's a reason coffeehouses have this old stereotype, where artists and writers go to have a moody time, where cigarettes are welcome and hip cats are bound to breakthrough the next barrier of their intellectual boundaries. This environment breeds thought and damn if it's not contagious the minute you step inside.
Sorry for the unnecessary rant, or verbal expulsion rather. It's just really motivating to burn through four hours of tedious work and be rewarded with another four hours of personally gratifying brain stimulation.
ps - start reading Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One. It is consuming my thoughts.
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2 comments:
I found a little coffee shop that I can ride my bike to from my apartment. People are always chatting away there, strangers meeting strangers. I always thought it was weird I as I waited for my to-go order, thumbing through the free LA Weekly. Then, last week I decided to go spend an afternoon there and before I knew what I had done, I was sitting down with some stranger, having a conversation for an hour...Something about good coffee shops.
I spent Easter weekend in Austin, and tried Cafe Medici for the first time. It's a great environment and such quality coffee - and you have to love the latte art! There's a coffee shop in CS that I frequent where the new owners are taking a lot of cues from Cafe Medici to improve their quality.
If you're an extrovert like me, then you can definitely get things done better in a noisy, bustling coffee shop than in a quiet office or library. We need the sensory stimulation, and it actually helps us concentrate and be more productive.
Way to go Anton, conversing with a stranger in a coffee shop :) Honestly, I'm a litte surprised that you haven't done it before.
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