Mi Coffeehouse Es Su Coffeehouse

For old times’ sake, we decided to spend the evening at Beatnix, and I’m blogging on their unreliable wireless connection. For the first time ever, I am actually composing in Word so that I don’t accidentally lose my post in the event of a power failure.

I’ve forgotten the special types of people who can be found at a coffee house on a Friday night. There are some Young Folks strutting around in well-planned outfits, obviously feeling very grown up and mature to be sipping coffee and listening to live music. They’re wearing the cutest outfits in the room, but they still carry too much of an air of playing dress-up for anyone to feel threatened by them. I can actually hear their conversation from over my shoulder, and they are discussing the intensity of their coffee selections like true connoisseurs. The adult conversation would be more convincing if they would stop referring to each other as “Valley Girl.”

Anyway, on the couches nearby is a person who has bought into the TV reality myth that people who hang out in coffee houses all act like friends. I sat down at my table and was greeted with a very enthusiastic welcome. Over the course of the small talk, he revealed that he was working hard to finish a paper. I suspected, due to his ready conversation, that he was not really working that hard, and my hunch was confirmed when I noticed that the open window on his computer screen was a game of Spider Solitaire.

There are a couple of men sitting together at a table listening to the live music. Hmm…are they…? are they not…? What show was it where a character bragged about his (her?) infallible “gay-dar,” which could determine a person’s, ahem, orientation with just a glance? The “signs” you learn from watching Will and Grace are not quite so obvious in Mid-sized Town, Texas.

Everyone else here is pretty boring. Regular couples are sitting on some couches, some students are actually working on computers. You can tell the authentic scholars because they are hiding in corners, facing away from the crowd, with their heads plugged into their iPods.

I actually wouldn’t mind being one of the scholars right now…I could turn my back on Mr. Conversation and use my iPod music to drown out the iffy live music selections. But, I don’t have an iPod and there aren’t any other seats next to a plug. So…I guess I’ll just sit back and enjoy the company. At least I’m getting a good blog out of it!