Ann Arbor Coffee Shop Blogging...

It is really cold and windy here in Michigan today so I didnt want to go far for lunch. I figured it would be fun to take my laptop over to the coffee shop across the street.

Coffee shops are such interesting places and coffee shops in Ann Arbor are especially interesting....

It's mostly women here at the moment. I dont know if there are actually more women in the coffee shop but the there is only one guy in the back room here. Maybe women prefer this back room because it has an intimacy to it and is a good place to sit around unnoticed. I have had lots of people tell me that this particular coffee shop is known as a "pick up place" so maybe people sit back here in order not to be noticed. I like to sit back here so I dont get distracted by people coming into and leaving the coffee shop.

The conversations are what you might expect. Lots of liberal politics. Some gossip. Some business conversation. That sort of thing. One of the reasons I like the back room is that it actually is difficult to eavesdrop because the conversations blend together. I interviewed for my current job here and didnt worry about people listening in.

I come to this place often enough that they know my name but I usually just get coffee in the morning before work and dont hang out so it is kind of neat to sit here and see whats going on. There is such a different atmosphere here than there is at coffee shops in Ypsilanti. The people in Ypsilanti feel more real to me somehow. I always feel like I am "hanging out with the cool kids" when in the coffee shops in Ann Arbor. Isnt that funny? I think it is just that so many people are clearly very affluent while in Ypsilanti, people look different. I know that if places were like houses, Ann Arbor would be some kind of model home used to show off some designer's work while Ypsilanti has a more "lived in" feel to it. If you went to Ann Arbor's house, the dishes would all be done and the only clutter would be a stack of Russian novels on the bedside table. But in Ypsilanti, you might find things a little less put together and showy and more homey and comfortable. Like you could put your feet up on Ypsilanti's coffee table but you might feel you had to take your shoes off when entering Ann Arbor's house. :)