Sunday, February 5, 2006

My LCD is Bigger Than Yours, and I Know How to Use It

America's coffeeshop culture is really getting me down. What used to be a haven, a neutral territory rewarding introspection and trivial diversions, has for me become a hostile battlefield, overrun with climbers inflamed with visions of success. Sure, you can hang out and read a book if you want to, but if it's just for fun, nowadays, you really get the sense you're just wasting your time. How can you enjoy yourself when there's so much striving going on at the next table?

The problem really began when laptops entered the realm of affordability. Next thing you know, would-be novelists, students, and shouting entrepreneurs are scurrying from shop to shop, like frightened rodents, monopolizing the cushiest chairs and questing for self-realization. Their power cords wind across the floor, entangling the feet of passersby and confirming, in the event of uncertainty, that public safety is a small price to pay for a chance at true success.

What can they all be working on? Should I be working on something too? I wonder, as I page through my City Paper and ponder things to do, if I'm overlooking - or worse, purposefully evading - the hard work needed to achieve my dreams. But then again, what if they're only playing solitaire?