Lorianne here:
I’ve always enjoyed writing in cafes, sustained by the soft stimulus of having other people in the room with you. It’s a collegial sense of anonymity: there is no need to talk to anyone, but your mere presence is enough to establish a friendly connection. You and I might not have much to say to one another–we might not speak the same language, and we might not have much in common in terms of politics or perspective–but we can sit companionably side-by-side, you sipping your chocolate while I sip mine.
Lorianne and I don't see eye-to-eye much when it comes to politics, but she perfectly evokes the mood I feel on those rare occasions that I find myself in a coffee shop with a laptop.
I can relate in a somewhat twisted kind of way. As much as I enjoy my beers, I almost never drink at home. Even if I'm sitting alone in the bar, the ambiance of being in a room with other folks enjoying adult beverages is somehow comforting. Funny how that works.
ReplyDeleteHJ and I were just talking about this yesterday. For the life of me, I do not see the appeal of sitting in a coffee shop by myself. I can hang out in a coffee shop with other people--that is, people I specifically decided to go to the coffee shop with--but that's about it. On an intellectual level, I understand that there is something about being around others, the buzz and hum of human activity, that some people find comforting(?), but I would rather be someplace quiet by myself--like deep in the stacks of a library somewhere, browsing through books and enjoying the silence.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was on sabbatical, one of my favorite places to be was deep in the subterranean Pusey library, which had to be accessed by going into Widener, heading down into the basement, and then burrowing through some steam tunnels. Then I dropped another level down to a place deep underground, near the earth's core, where it's still warm... and where they also happen to keep the folklore books. I spent hour after hour down there, emerging blinking into the sunlight to procure some food before delving back down again.
I probably spent a total of an hour or so in coffee shops (and never by myself) over the course of the entire year. Not that there were ever any seats in the popular spots anyway. For some reason students felt that buying a single cup of coffee entitled them to claim a spot and then just leave their stuff there, preventing anyone from taking the place, while they went off and did whatever they had to do.
"I probably spent a total of an hour or so in coffee shops (and never by myself) over the course of the entire year."
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's about how frequently I find myself in coffee shops. They're not my go-to place, either, but I understand the appeal. These days, I'll find myself in a coffee shop only if someone asks to meet there.