The only thing I wanted to do was get some coffee in my system, focus, and unwind in peace. Instead I had to listen to two hours of very screechy high school girls talking about someone they disliked--redundantly and not, as much as they tried, wittily. Granted, I was in a whiny mood too, but still--rule number 2, ladies, rule number 2. (Inside voices, for those of you who don't want to scroll to the last post).
Regardless, I have two more really basic coffee shop rules. These aren't rules, persay, because they're really not as important as 1) taking up a reasonable amount of space, and 2) being quiet. Rather, they're just nice things to do. Especially now that it's officially the holiday season :).
Buy something to drink.
Yeah, I know it seems obvious, but if you're going to enter a coffee shop and sit down for any amount of time, it's only polite to offer said coffee shop your patronage! I think of it as paying for the atmosphere--I can make coffee at home, but it's basically paying for a quiet place to work and people-watch. Plus, it's really hard not to feel guilty when you're sitting there drink-less. I once forgot my wallet and as a direct result, I didn't get a single productive thing done because I could feel the glares of the barista burning into the side of my head.
Ok. I'm realizing that most of my pet peeves about coffee shop behavior are all related to people being loud and annoying. I do also hate having to clean up after whoever had the table before me. If you're going to eat a scone, do try to eat it without crumbling half of it onto the table and then not cleaning it up. It's sort of gross.
With that being said...happy December everyone! It's the most wonderful time of the year! Fingers crossed that we have snow for Christmas! I find myself feeling jolly already.
Buy something to drink.
Yeah, I know it seems obvious, but if you're going to enter a coffee shop and sit down for any amount of time, it's only polite to offer said coffee shop your patronage! I think of it as paying for the atmosphere--I can make coffee at home, but it's basically paying for a quiet place to work and people-watch. Plus, it's really hard not to feel guilty when you're sitting there drink-less. I once forgot my wallet and as a direct result, I didn't get a single productive thing done because I could feel the glares of the barista burning into the side of my head.
Ok. I'm realizing that most of my pet peeves about coffee shop behavior are all related to people being loud and annoying. I do also hate having to clean up after whoever had the table before me. If you're going to eat a scone, do try to eat it without crumbling half of it onto the table and then not cleaning it up. It's sort of gross.
With that being said...happy December everyone! It's the most wonderful time of the year! Fingers crossed that we have snow for Christmas! I find myself feeling jolly already.
I don't go to coffee shops much -- I'm more of a library person but I can definitely relate. Sometimes I get pissed when there are no open seats or tables at the library even though half of the people aren't even there to look at books. If you're at the library to lounge and drink, you should go to a coffee shop. Though, my library problems are much less severe than your coffee shop problems. People tend to stay appreciably quiet at libraries, thus I am able to focus wholeheartedly. On the rare occasion when a loud patron enters the vicinity, I need only to give him a hellishly cold stare for silence to ensue.
ReplyDeleteMy point is, maybe the library is better than coffee shops. Sadly the open hours are less pleasing so I only go there on the weekends.
Nevertheless, happy December! It's my last winter as highschoolers so I plan to enjoy it as much as possible.
Oh, Vickie I thought your first paragraph of this post was hilarious because you sound like a grumpy 80 year old who's mad at some "screechy high school girls" even though you yourself are also in high school. Maybe you're an old soul. :) Or maybe you're just more mature than them...either way works! Anyway, I like this post because it's both humorous but also has a point so good job!
ReplyDeleteGrace Anastasio