The Virtual Life - Le Pain

I've actually never come to Le Pain Quotidien to work.  I didn't even know it wifi or that people work here.  All of my involvements here have been lunch, dinner or coffee dates.  Usually I'm more of a dive shop type girl, but there is something to be said about working to my own choice of music on headphones with a nicer than usual cider in hand.

What I find about my working at coffee shops is that things that took two weeks to get done at home get done in a matter of minutes.  I don't have a particular diagnosis for why that is.  I have the same access to materials at home.  Maybe it's just that I don't want people in coffee shops to creep on what Netflix show I'm watching and therefore avoid television altogether.

That's not to say I don't have distractions.  There's been a lot on my mind today - things that people have said to me in the past that randomly emerged from my subconscious on the subway, my desire to forgo drinking for a few days, how annoyingly fun and necessary it is to have crushes in the fall...

Well let's start with things people have said to me.  It's actually one specific thing.  And I was on the subway when I remembered.  About a year ago - last fall - somebody I cared about told me that I had screwed (not exactly language but bear with me) him up.  I had forgotten about that.  But I guess God felt it was time that I remember.  Of course, that's feedback nobody wants to hear.  It's jarring and it feels like a slap in the face, especially coming from someone whom I really wanted to help and who I feel like I did.  The thing is though, it is a bit of a relief to remember.  The reason for that is that if someone really believes that you screwed them up, they are the type of person who is incapable of taking responsibility for their own actions and that's someone who will always find a reason to blame you over and over again.  I don't have the power to screw anyone up or the ability to hold the weight of that statement.  Sure, my actions do have the power to positively or negatively affect someone, but in the context of a longwinded, complicated relationship, anyone's actions would naturally do both throughout.  As much as I understand why I blocked said statement out of my memory, I do believe that I can handle it now.  If I had the power to really screw someone up, I'd also have the power to save them.  Turns out, I have neither.

As for forgoing drinking for an undetermined amount of time, that's mainly because I've been getting sick the day after a big night out.  However, it's a good cleanse in general and a good reminder not to be too reliant on anything.  Drinking is fun, but it's nice to know that I don't have to - that I can still see friends, be social and be happy while sipping diet coke.  Plus, as a side benefit, I start craving sweets more!

And as for fall crushes, you're pretty out of line if you think I'm going to tell you.  :P

The Virtual Life - Darling Coffee

Foccacia at Darling Coffee

Hi Everyone,

I must say, I do think the virtual life is the dream.  Think about it:  securing interviews while lying in bed, the sound of new indie music or Netlfix playing in the background, the ability to meet whoever whenever and perhaps most important to me, the ability to work out in the mornings and never put a cap on my evenings.  It's the dream.  And I have no complaint.

Still, every world has obstacles to navigate.  My main one is not even how I am going to meet people. Being involved in the fashion, music and financial industries all at once, that tends to happen through the glorious internet and being in the luscious hub that is NYC.  It's more - how do I feel like I'm in the swing of things? How do I feel like my life is in motion?  My cozy, artsy room in Washington Heights is a perfect place for inspiration.  But nothing compares to being out on the town with fellow New Yorkers - watching them converse, type, rush into and rush out of their obligations...

Basically, each coffee shop in New York City is a microcosm of the world.

Early this morning, I decided that I would get up and try out a coffee shop near where I live. It's called Darling Coffee and I remember it from the one time I rushed in for breakfast before my cousin's fifth grade graduation.  I fell in love with the pictures on Yelp and of course the fact that it has unlimited free wifi.

The way the shop is set up is that there are several communal tables where computers are "allowed." There are smaller tables where computers aren't,  I guess to dissuade people like me from chilling all day.  Olivia and I settled at one of the larger tables and quickly realized that two other young people about our age were deep in the job search.  When it became obvious that we were listening in, the introduction was quite easy.  It is my belief that no one is really a stranger in NYC.  Whatever people say about us, that we are cold and unfriendly, it's simply not true.  Finding common ground is easy when you're in the same space with the same goals and the same plight.

Gangsta Mo told me that I should blog about all the coffee shops I go to.  It was the idea that made my day.  I'm already getting grounded in the virtual world.  What I'm lacking is grounding in the "real world" - the world of NYC that I belong to.  Writing about the coffee shops I visit not only makes me present in this world but also inspires me to get out and explore.  I'm working but I'm also enhancing my knowledge of the city I love and hopefully building my network along the way.

The virtual life is a dream.  A multi-faceted, laptop lugging, wooden-tabled, coffee roasting dream.

http://www.darlingcoffeenyc.com