cafes today

When out of doors for a cup of coffee I usually head down the alley (as everything that is on Main Street is called) to Cafe Express, which has undergone a name change recently to Brother's K Coffeehouse. Not only did I go to Cafe Express, I also went to Peet's later in the day to meet up with a colleague for coffee (who forgot about me in a prospectus induced fury, literally). Now I generally like Peets on Chicago. They have a pew which reminds me of the many, many nights spent at my favorite (now defunct) coffeeshop in Denver, St. Mark's. Usually every Friday and Saturday night of my first two years of school, I would ride the B bus (Broadyway and Baseline stop) downtown, get off at Market street station then walk two blocks to St. Mark's. Pews lined both walls. There is nothing like drinking coffee out of an old pew. You can scoot your ass around (which I do frequently when I am reading under the influence of caffeine). They are great for socializing. In any case, the bad thing about the pew at Peets is that people feel compelled to flop themselves into it when they sit. I find myself being banged around on account of such people. There is one young Italian man who is particularly obnoxious who showed up today. I could only stand sitting down the way from him for a few minutes until I abandoned my spot for the chair opposite me. So much for the sociablity of pews!