java junkie

currently at my favorite stop in town for some bottomless coffee and free internet access. i come here at least once a week to just park myself at a table and let the hours roll by. oftentimes i'll come with my parents but more recently i've been a steady party of one, mostly for the reason that there is no telling when i'm going to end up leaving. call me a hipster (as one of my friends likes to), but i just love going to different coffee shops and bakeries to read the paper, work on my computer, or catch up on my correspondence. it makes an unemployed person like myself feel productive. i am especially lucky today because i have a fresh copy of inc. magazine. the articles inspire me to translate my thoughts and ideas to paper...to slap self-doubt in the face. when i read people's personal anecdotes about their businesses, my faith in the equation: a good idea plus hard work equals success, is revived. i am also quite content this morning because i sprung for the bowl of granola over just the cup, something i treat myself with only after bringing home some winnings from my latest beach competition.

i actually have a rather important call to make...i need to follow-up on a coaching opportunity in florida. a women who i've been in contact with is the director of a volleyball club that i wouldn't mind getting involved in. call it a "foot in the door" opportunity. since i'll be in the sunshine state this weekend for a competition, my best-case scenario is to meet up with her over coffee and completely charm her into trusting me to coach at her club. how is it that the act of "grabbing a cup of coffee" can hold so much potential and importance in our social world? i've read that social isolation can actually make people feel cold, so much so that someone on the receiving end of social iciness will crave a hot drink (which gives new meaning to phrases like, "he gave me the cold shoulder"). but surely there is more to it than that, otherwise people would be ordering shots of hot chocolate over tequila on a saturday night. i feel that coffee has become somewhat of a security blanket in our society. we bond around the coffee-maker like we would a fire-pit when camping--it brings us warmth both physically and emotionally. if we are unable to enjoy a cup at home, we take it to-go, or plan a visit to a nearby cafe altogether. some people have to have their cup of java in the morning, making it as routine as slipping their right shoe on before their left. as for myself, i feel energized and particularly ambitious when drinking it. whether you like the stuff or not, i don't think you can deny the leading role it has in the play we call life. if i were to be any food or beverage, i would have to choose coffee. some may say an alcoholic drink would be the way to go (open the floodgates to embarrassing and regrettable encounters!), yet i would forgo the endless entertainment for a chance to witness the power that coffee holds. its presence is at the workplace, the kitchen table, the middle of important business transactions, college campus libraries, that first meeting between two strangers. i would be able to witness those nervous, flirtatious moments that dance around a couples' initial meeting. not to mention, i would get to tap into the creative minds of those throwing ideas around about a marketing campaign, or a movie script, or the design of the newest and most innovative apple product...think of all the conversations i could eavesdrop on!

what just happened? i started out talking about why i like to spend hours inside a coffee shop and drifted to talking about reincarnating myself into a caffeinated beverage. could i ever get paid for just thinking outside the box? what say you? that perhaps i should keep certain things to myself? alright, i can take a hint...my coffee is getting cold anyway. signing off.