I’ve been going to Starbucks every workday for almost two weeks now. I’m pretty ashamed for getting myself into that sort of routine, which is not only helping to destroy the independent coffee house, but it is costing me a good deal of money - and I can’t even say that their coffee does it for me.
However, had I not been at Starbucks this morning, I would not have been able to have a … moment, encounter, I don’t even know what to call it.
I ordered my Americano. I sat down because I had like seven minutes to kill. I pulled “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair out of my purse and began to read. And then came the nice young man that I ordered my coffee from. He was wiping off tables and asked me casually “What are you reading?”
I quickly realized that I’d have to give him an honest answer. “‘The Jungle’ by Upton Sinclair” I said, knowing full well that even a few weeks ago, that would have meant nothing to me, and figuring it probably wouldn’t to him, either. He would probably ask what it was about, and I would have to tell him.
I was right. “What’s it about?” he asked. To which I launched into a little summation about the meat-packing industry in Chicago at the turn of the century. “It’s really pretty gory,” I said, thinking that I didn’t sound much like a nicely-dressed-in-pink, twenty-something girl who stopped at Starbucks on her way to her professional job. I wondered if I should give him details about the plot so it would sound more interesting, until I realized that maybe it wasn’t the best conversation piece. So I didn’t. And he politely said “Oh, I’ll have to read it sometime,” and went on his way.
It seems ridiculous to be self conscious about what I’m reading. But I have to admit, I would have felt a lot more like a normal, pleasant, professional yonung lady if I had been reading something by Jane Austin. Stereotypes. Oh well.
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Anastasia said:
It works the other way around, too. Once I went to a coffee shop dressed in raggedy jeans and a grey T-shirt and pulled out my book and began to read. The girl serving coffee (maybe a year older than I) asked me what I was reading. I said, “The Lord of the Rings” and then looked down at the large red book engraved with swirling red and gold designs and realized that I was not dressed to match the book. I found it somewhat amusing, since the size and quality of the book attracted some attention from the other customers.
August 12, 2008 @ 5:28 pm