A few weeks ago I felt quite sorry for myself (long before Katrina, when I didn’t yet feel ashamed to feel sorry for myself). It was Friday evening and I was still at work finishing a report. Usually I leave work earlier on Fridays and I enjoy some Anto quality time by myself. I love spending time in coffee shops. It reminds me of Italy. The combination of being by myself and being in a social environment–creating a sort of semipermeable boundary between me and the world–soothes my soul. I love watching people, reading a book or a magazine, and sipping a good decaf latte.
(After a long period of initial diffidence, I started enjoying Starbucks, especially when they added sandwiches to their menu. For some reason a cafe is not really a cafe for me if it doesn’t serve some salty food. But my favorite coffee place by far is the Gryphon Cafe in Wayne)
So, that Friday I was all stressed out because the report took much longer than I hoped, and I was tired after a long week, it was dark outside, and I wanted to go home. So I called Scott and I asked him: “Can you please make a coffee shop for me?” And he said, “Sure.”
When I arrived home, our dining room, which after months of slow and painful work was finally painted and organized, had been transformed in a coffee shop. Scott found two picnic tables in the basement and some white tablecloths I didn’t even know we had, organized chairs, plants, and candles to create a perfect european cafe atmosphere.
(Note: You will be surprised to learn that Scott really wanted me to write a post on this. About every couple of days he would ask me, “have you written about the cafe in your blog yet?” Yes, he can be really nice at times. Yes, I am grateful and feel fortunate, but I still reserve the right to be mad at him sometimes.)
Our dining room is still a coffee shop. This is where I blog and I spend most of my time when I am at home being myself (that is, not doing laundry, washing dishes, or paying bills). I think Virginia Woolf would be pleased.
September 15, 2005
Hey Antonella, your coffee shop looks wonderful! Has a nice ambiance about it. I think Scott did a great job!
September 15, 2005
awe, that is so SWEET!!!
🙂
September 15, 2005
ho capito bene?
hai creato un coffee shop in sala da pranzo?
è quello nella foto?
O lo ha fatto Scott?
Bhe, comunque è un idea molto carina e la realizzazione è veramente bella!
Baci
September 15, 2005
Wow! I can’t wait to see it in person [hint… hint…]
You don’t want to hang out at Starbucks all the time anyway. Check out the saturated fat in their baked goods. I was SO bummed OUT about this! I LOVE Starbucks!
http://www.starbucks.com/retail/nutrition_freshfood.asp
Bake the woman a cake too Scott! 🙂
September 15, 2005
Scott is definitely a keeper!
Listen up fellas… this is the kind of stuff women really want.
September 16, 2005
that yellow is exquisite.
September 21, 2005
I like Scott’s idea here…a real coffee shop requires additional cleaning and bill paying.
Here’s a “human-computer relationship” question: did he do this because of the blog?
September 21, 2005
Yes, and a real coffee shop might have obnoxious clients…
No, Scott didn’t do it for the blog. Actually he told me that I got it wrong in the post. What he wanted me to blog about is how the environment (a coffee shop as opposed to a desk or an office) influences the content or the style of a blog. Some writers prefer to write in public places such as cafes rather than locked in their room, and I totally understand why. I think these places have just enough social stimulation to foster creativity.
January 22, 2006
[…] When I lived in Pisa–trapped inside my late teens angst during a time of extreme political unrest–I used to find my own flow-like state in a cafe in Piazza Garibaldi, looking at people walking outside from the large glass windows, while the jukebox played '70s and early '80s music. I still love looking at people in cafes while music is playing. […]
April 1, 2006
[…] At Starbucks, drinks and food are good, but they are also so pricey that you would expect your espresso to walk on water, tell you funny jokes, and take your calls when you are out. They only provide paper cups, even when you want to drink your cappuccino on the premises (so much for the flavor and the sustainability). The Starbucks experience seems to assume that you are always on the run, rushing in and out in a cloud of dust (perhaps accurate for most of their customers, but so far from my idea of coffee shop experience). […]