Six Degrees

I really don't know how I meet people at Starbucks. I mean, sharing a table with someone does help. But I'm not the one who usually starts the conversation. 

Yesterday it was my new Starbucks banana chocolate smoothie that began the convo. This fifty-something year old woman sitting across from me asked me what I thought about the new drink. I gave it a high rating and proceeded to tell her that any combo of chocolate and banana is good in my book- it doesn't need to be blended together. The conversation then turned to our mutual enjoyment of our neighborhood Starbucks and then to Manhattan in general. Meryl then told me about her family and how everyone in her family lives in New York. Born and raised NY-ers. I then told her about my family from Boston and what brought me to New York. 

When she asked me about what college I graduated from, things got interesting. She kept on saying that she knew someone who also graduated from my college when I did. And of course she names my freshman and sophomore roommate who is still one of my best friends today. It turns out that her step-father is my old roommates great uncle. She has Christmas dinner with the family every year, and I have Passover with them. 

Weird.

She then told me that she was an ESL teacher and loves summers off but hasn't really been able to sleep in all summer because her contractor has been making early morning appointments. And tomorrow, she says, she has to get up early to do a favor for a friend of hers who works at Chanel in Bloomingdales. 

This is when the bells in my head went off.

She said that national makeup artists are coming to the Bloomingdales Chanel counter tomorrow to test out the new Fall line and they needed special clients to come in to get their makeup done. I cleared my throat politely and said...Well you know, I AM between jobs right now...and I happen to be free tomorrow. 

Meryl got all excited called up Luis from Bloomy's Chanel and booked me for 1 pm. 

And that my friends, is how I managed to get a free makeup makeover today from one of the top Chanel makeup artists in the nation. I feel pretty.

But anyways in short, it somehow always pays to get the new Starbucks drink. 

These Times They Are A Changin'

      In my thoughtful little neighborhood not a lot changes and I think that’s why I like it. The guy who owns the corner store down the block has been the same owner since the store opened fifteen years ago. The family who owns the dry cleaners next door to my apartment all know my name though I’ve only officially met one of them. Perhaps a new restaurant will open up in an unused building but we all know they won’t last. Two have opened up in the last three months: one is an Italian wine bar and restaurant so dark that you can’t even read the menu, the other is a French cuisine lounge filled with finger-food and top-shelf vodka.

       The owners stand outside of their new establishments handing out hologram business cards where you can’t even read the name or address of the restaurant. In my opinion these places won’t last, especially when you have three iconic Irish pubs less than a block from you. They simply just don’t fit in. They belong in the meatpacking district or even better: in Italy and France. The demo that takes up the neighborhood has high expectations: we don’t need romantic candlelight, goblets of merlot from Tuscany, or over anxious euro techno music to lure is into a bar. Give us shotty florescent lights, a rude bartender pouring us a six-dollar pint and a wobbly bar stool we can call our own for a couple hours.

      With that said, I think there’s a new homeless person wandering around. There was only one before, and I’ve known about him since the first day I moved in. He sits on different stoops up and down First Ave. saying one phrase and one phrase only: Please be kind to human kind. That’s it. He doesn’t even ask for money, which is pretty refreshing. I haven’t seen him in a couple weeks and today I actually saw a new homeless man. He was walking down the sidewalk with a large shopping cart covered with a black tarp. And he was asking for money. I’m not sure what happened. But the only thing I can reasonably come up with is that there was some kind of battle to gain the territory of First Ave. between 57th and 68th street that I just didn’t hear about somehow. And the previous homeless man clearly lost. Maybe he got moved downtown, or worse…uptown.

      I picture that the contest was intense yet simple. It probably included events like an egg toss (not boiled of course), a timed penny spinning competition (had to ask for one clearly) and some kind of belting or speech trial. Now I haven’t heard what the new homeless man’s mantra is but I honestly don’t know what can beat Please be kind to human kind. Unless he has a harmonica or throws in a second line in there then I don’t know what else could’ve made him the winner. I may need to talk to the MTA bus driver or the late-night shift Starbucks worker, or whoever judged this competition because so far I think there was some serious fowl play. I’ll keep you updated, obviously.

Over Active Judge

I’ve been actively overhearing strangers’ conversations recently and therefore judging strangers more. I’ve heard a lot more people make big absolute, definite statements more often then not, like:

“I will never like stand-up comedy.”
“I hate all eggs.”
“My friend, Joe, is the most brilliant person I’ve ever met.”
“My brother has the biggest heart of gold I’ve ever seen.”

I listen to these people and I think:

Really?

If I met Joe would I think he’s the most brilliant person I’ve ever met or will I think he’s a total douche bag?
Do you really hate all stand-up comedy or is it just all comedy in general and all good happy things?
Or maybe it’s the whole brick wall and standing microphone that irks you.

Do tell.

Just to put me and my rude eavesdropping at ease, the next time you make an overwhelming statement like that- please have something to back it up. Like, “I hate all eggs cause one time I had the stomach flue and the last thing I had to eat was eggs.”

See that makes sense. It’s logical and I won’t judge you for hating eggs for no reason.

Am I alone with this pet peeve or do people agree? No, nothing? Just me. Okay then.

Happy commuter judging!

And Now for Something Completely Different...

I ventured to a non-Starbucks today by recommendation of an ex-Starbucks writer regular like myself. The small cafe joint was a couple blocks from my apartment on 66th street in between 1st and 2nd ave. Java Girl is a smaller, woodier version of Friend’s Central Perk. Including funky, local artists playing through the speakers. Though Java Girl isn’t as big as Starbucks and can be compared to a log cabin’s living room in the Berkshire Mountains, it does have more personality and ambiance than Martha Stewart’s kitchen. With wooden benches and chairs against each wall and window, a simplistic, earthy environment is created.

A woman approached me as I set up my laptop and asked if I needed anything. She let me look at the menu and then returned and in the nicest way possible explained the difference between table service and counter service. I feel like if I was in Starbucks the barista would’ve called me a dumbass and told me to go to Dunkin Donuts. This woman, who I’m guessing was the owner still waited on me at my seat and then politely explained the specials off of the food menu. She seemed to be very excited that they were serving hot dogs today.

The prices are in fact cheaper than Starbucks though. I got a large (AKA Grande) chai latte for $3.50. It was a real chai too…not some watered down, overheated latte with three specs of spice. I could still taste the warm spices fifteen minutes after being served.

Java also has board games and newspapers spread out around the Café, as well as yummy merchandise like chocolates, coffee beans and of course, T-shirts with the Java Girl logo.

Though Java Girl is relaxing and has accommodating service, I must say they get some checks off because they don’t have electric outlets. They may have taken the granola-crunchy eclectic theme a little too far, by not putting in a couple outlets for laptops. I may have to go to the Starbucks one block away once my battery runs out.

All in all, as an alternative to Starbucks and Dunkin, I’d have to say that Java Girl is a refreshing change. It makes me feel that I should be sipping my latte while sitting on a bench at the edge of a soothing lake anywhere South of New York City.