I study at Starbucks.

I’m reading a book about a guy who built a space to think and write and work. I walked into Starbucks, ordered my tea, and sat down at a small duce to do just that.


There was this older, blonde woman saying goodbye to a couple. She stayed seated. They were loud, and were wrapping up a commiseration conversation about Obama and poor immigrants stealing their hard-earned money. As I got my computer ready, the woman looked my way and sort-of stated a general statement, to know one in particular but for anyone to respond, about the same thing. I didn’t respond. This young guy did. ‘What can you do? It doesn’t help to complain about it if it doesn’t do anything.’ I looked at him sympathetically as he sat down. What was he thinking?

This young guy and this old woman argued, mildly, about politics. They moved on to her cancer history and his recent-grad status. They talked about plans and lack of friends. (His because he just moved here, hers, well, I’d assume because of the way she is). She said she had a beautiful boat. Once, some people she took out on her boat later wrote her a letter afterwards saying that had been the best day of their lives. She asked for his cell number and told him she’d take him out on her boat. They walked out together.

I couldn’t work with while listening. I couldn’t not listen.

Then a little girl and her mom walked in. She climbed in the loud woman’s seat. She wore a hoodie with a magic pocket. I wouldn’t have guessed it was magic but she told me it was. And sure enough, she pulled a zoo out: A lion, a tiger, a rhino, an antelope, three elephants, and a giant horse. Definitely magic. The lion was the leader. The antelope had to ride on the horse’s back because it was too weak.

She went on to tell me that she went to the circus that day, but that there were no animals! (Maybe because she had them all). Her favorite part was at the end, there were two magic brothers that did all these tricks together. She buried her head in the chair while saying she thought they were handsome. She giggled. She blushed. Her mom blushed too.

Coffee shops are weird. I never sat in them till college when I started to go to them as a change of scenery to work and study. I began drinking tea as an adaptation to pay for my space. What happens is I bring my headphones and all my study stuff to go isolate myself in a public place. And everyone practically did that in Austin, a whole coffee shop full of people where you no one talks. A room full of loners. Privacy in public.

Here, that isn’t the case. Which is a relief. People go to them to talk. Politics, cancer, boats, animals, magic.  The stuff spills out when people open their mouths for more than a sip.

It’s not the idealized, picturesque, hyper-isolated space in ‘A Place of My Own.’ But it does provoke thought (in me). Nothing in this post is particularly poignant or inspirational, but for some reason, it stuck with me and inspired something in me.