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This is one of my secret guilty pleasures. I like to spend time alone at my local cafe/coffee shop. When I say “guilty pleasure” I know I make it sound like I’m hiding some illicit activity, but sitting in the coffee shop is not even the slightest bit naughty. In fact, it may even sound vanilla &/or mundane. Hey! This is MY pleasure, guilty or not. I call this a “guilty pleasure” because I do in fact feel slightly naughty/guilty for taking this time out of my day to sneak out of the house (I work from home) for a few short hours.
There is a big box coffee shop a few streets down from my house. A few times a week, I like to bring my noise-canceling headphones, my mobile phone (a.k.a. Alphonse), & my iPad (a.k.a. Richard) & just sit in a corner sipping my coffee drink & eat a pastry while listening to music &/or surf the Internet. Yeah, sure. I can do the exact same thing at home. I can brew my own pot of fresh coffee. I can sit in front of a larger computer & even surf the Internet in my slippers & house clothes. However, the coffee shop provides an escape, leaving the confines of an overly familiar place.
When I’m sitting in the coffee shop I feel like I’ve actually “gone out” even though I’m not that far away from home. I get the feeling as though I’m out of the house. I also like the feeling of being around an ever-changing environment full of strangers without having to interact with any of them. I love the smell of coffee & warm pastries, the dull buzzing sounds of machines, conversation, & cars passing through the bustling parking lot. From time-to-time a random stranger will approach me & ask a question or offer an unsolicited piece of advice (usually I get these advice from much older gentlemen), but mostly I am ignored. I don’t mind. I like being cocooned in my tiny little bubble, nestled in my “usual spot”, sipping my now lukewarm caffeinated beverage.
If the seats weren’t so uncomfortable, I could probably while away a couple of hours here at this coffee shop. I usually spend only 1 hour (at most 2 hours) here, then I pack up my belongings & head home to finish my work & chores. (I must say that I am extremely fortunate to be able to work from home.) Spending this private time at the coffee shop brings a little piece of relaxation in my daily routine of working at my desk job, doing household chores, & care taking for my shattered-and-put-back-together family. Then, when I get home I am refreshed & ready to get back to work. I don’t do this every day, just once or twice a week. It is my little escape.
Well, it’s time for me to go home. My time is up. Cheers.
Today’s song of the day:
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 3,700 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.
The stationery/office goods addict in me has come out to play again. This side of me has been left dormant since last year’s trip to Tokyo. I haven’t really added anything new to my hoard of stationery goods recently, so there hasn’t been much to report back on in that area. But now I’m back kids!! It’s the end of the year (2014), & everyone knows what that means…NEW 2015 CALENDARS!!!
When I buy calendars, I mainly look for 2 things: 1. Clean font/lettering & 2. Large squares. I don’t like overly busy designs, or crazy layouts. I like minimal & fun designs.
This was my calendar for 2014:
This calendar is a little bit more on the colorful side than I’d normally choose for an everyday calendar. I ended up picking this one because, at the time, I was really in love with a Japanese animation called 「紙兎ロペ」(Kami Usagi Ropé). This animation is a comedy about animal characters, in paper doll form, who are navigating through the adventures of high school life. I liked this calendar because it had large enough squares for me to write all of my appointments & special events while also having easy-to-read letters & funny screenshots from the animation.
This upcoming year, I have a bit of an issue. I have two great calendars, but I only need one. This is option 1:
Since subscribing to Whisky Magazine, I received this awesome calendar as a free gift. It’s a bit on the small side for my taste, but it is still very functional, & it has the large squares to write in…which I love. This calendar not only has beautiful photos, but it also contains interesting facts about whisky & whisky distilling. I am eager to learn more about my favorite libation throughout the year.
This is option 2:
I made a slight mistake when I bought this calendar. I ordered this online through my all-time favorite shop Tokyu Hands, but I sort of forgot to read the measurements of the size. I had no idea how big the calendar was actually going to be until I received the package in the mail. The box this calendar came in was large enough to store a coffee maker AND a blender. Yes, folks. This calendar is huge (by my standards…at 17.5″L x 12.2″W), & it’s supposed to be a wall-hanging calendar. The squares are large enough that I could write whole paragraphs inside each one. Aside from the size, I enjoy the clean & minimal design of this calendar.
Whichever one I choose to use in 2015…it’s going to be a banner year. Cheers!
Today’s song of the day:
Rabbits & Foxes 
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