"Can you see by your lonely light of day"

I'm sitting in Atlanta Bread Company, drinking coffee, listening to the Up in the Air soundtrack, doing nothing. Every now and then I'll check out digg or/film or the obvious facebook. Nothing is happening. The internet is boring (although this page on Panda cubs in China is pretty dang awesome). I think some kids in here are playing tag. Is that allowed? I keep feeling the wind rush over my ear buds as they pass. If I was studying I may be annoyed. I'm not studying though. It's creating more of an atmosphere than anything.

I like Panera Bread and other coffee shops better than Atlanta Bread Company, but you miss something in those places. This place has variety. I think it may just be the side of town that it's on. Southeast Huntsville is slightly less than diverse. I enjoy the diversity. I don't enjoy it for any particular reason... it's just nice. ABC is currently filled with a number of college students, an indian couple, two older black ladies talking, a father and daughter of asian decent talking about school together, an emo couple quietly eating and not talking with each other, an older wealthier (in appearance) white couple talking, a homeless man hanging outside, an older interracial couple in the corner, and then that huge family of kids I was referring to that were playing tag. And then there's me: 20-something white sweater-wearing male with a macbook and a cup of coffee with ear buds in typing away at a blog. Hah. As I stereotype people, I become my own stereotype. Nice.

Variety truly is the spice of life. I'm more comfortable around people just like me but I love being alone amongst people I'm completely different from and cannot relate to in the least. Maybe it's because I love stories so much. When you're surrounded by middle-class/upper-class white people, the stories may be slightly different, but there is going to be some relatability between everyone. Here, the stories are completely different. Every person grew up in different situations, different places in the world, speaking different languages, having different world-views. Chances are ridiculously high that I won't ever learn any of those stories. That's fine though; I may be less interested if I knew the stories. Then again, maybe stories have nothing to do with why I enjoy being around people I'm different from. Maybe I'm just talking like I know what I'm talking about. Hmmm?? The probability is high.

As much as I enjoy being out and about in society on a Saturday with friends, being alone in society is just as nice. There was a segment in Up in the Air where Geroge Clooney was convincing a guy that your favorite memories involve being with other people. I completely agree. I'd go a step further and say that most things I actually remember involve me being with other people. I probably won't ever remember specifically sitting here in Atlanta Bread Company on February 6th, 2010. It definitely won't stick out. I will remember the atmosphere though. I will remember, even if it's subconscious, what this place feels like. When you're with other people, you can't soak up your surroundings. There are pros and cons to each scenario. I think we need both. At least I know that I need both.

en memoriam

Last spring I was introduced to a coffee shop by a few friends of mine - stearns (http://www.stearnscoffee.com). I went to it sometimes, good hangout, decent coffee (though my taste in coffee is quite limited. cream + sugar = necessary). As school was wrapping up in Spring, I found myself going there more and more often and staying for longer periods of time, doing school work, working on support stuff, listening to music and talks and such. The best part? Friends. It truly was a hangout... I'd show up for 2-5 hours at a time, and see no less than 2 or 3 other friends of mine every single time come in and out. The perfect niche to hang out at, stay awake with the best coffee Huntsville has to offer, get work done, listen to up-and-coming artists, find out about events going on around huntsville, and even see some local artist materials.

East Asia. I go there and am extremely blessed and excited to hear about Mocha, another coffee shop there. Admittedly I didn't go there THAT often, but it was frequented to some extent (1-2 times a week). Quite place to hang out, journal, listen to a pastor's talk, read, whatever I felt like doing outside of the dorm. Before we left the country to come back to the states, I remember struggling immensley to come up with things I was looking forward to back home. Stearns was one of those things.

After getting back home, I was at stearns probably 5 days out of every week. I wrote thank you letters, updated facebook pictures (the crapton I had), and definitely had a great time hanging out with friends. Living at home during the summer gave me the opportunity to bring a laptop to the coffee shop which was a huge change from the norm (I didn't own a laptop).

The fall semester left me hungry for Stearns, but without a laptop I didn't have as much reason to go. I didn't journal like I used to, I could have gone, looking back I don't know why I didn't just go to hang and do homework. Got too used to the laptop I suppose. Anyways, thank goodness come November I got my first laptop ever - one of the new macbooks (which I love by the way, macs are indeed awesome, but PCs have their place). Once again, I start back my regular trips to the wonderful coffee shop that is Stearns. Until one day...

Day before exams start. It's snowing outside (albiet nasty rainy-ish snow). I need a place to study. I pull up to Stearns only to see Dustin pulling out. I pull up next to him to see what's up. He says it looked closed. Odd. I pull up and read the sign - turns out there was a fire. Burn most of the inside up, happened about 5am that morning (the 1st of December was it? I don't remember). They said it'd be open again in about 2 weeks (praise God!).

The next few weeks are odd. I'm mobile, but don't have anywhere to go. I show up to Atlanta Bread Company a lot because they have coffee, are close, and they have internet, but it really isn't the same. There isn't the community. I can't walk in and say "hey" to a friend. So we have all been anxiously awaiting the opening of Stearns. Then came yesterday. They aren't opening up again. It's done. The experiment is over.

Now I'm at a loss. Dustin, Dan, and I are hanging out at Atlanta Bread Company right now, but it seriously isn't the same. The coffee isn't even that good. We need a new place. We need that perfect location. It sounds like an exageration, but when all of us got the news, it was like a punch to the chest. We're all kind of at a loss. Aroma's (another local coffee shop) closed up on December 20th, Stearns isn't opening again... Sam & Greggs is okay but definitely not the kind of place to stay multiple hours. Starbucks doesn't have free internet. Other coffee shops are wayyy too far away and not good anyways (terrible coffee). Where!? What is there!? What options do we have!?

Goodbye, Stearns. We'll miss you.