The Cool Kids
So after not buying a laptop we went to eat dinner at Panera Bread. Which was uneventful except for the part where Emily basically said I was like a female who could makeout with a guy in a casual way but end up emotionally attached while the female would develop no feelings at all. I said that was probably no entirely inaccurate but that I didn't see it as a huge problem. She then compared me to this really desperate girl who acts very slutty because she absolutely hates herself. She said "well, she's playing in the major leagues, and you're playing t-ball...but it's still the same sport." I feel like if she's a major leaguer though, then I am a whiffle ball player. Sure, some foreigner might mistake the two as being similar, but everyone knows that they are really distant cousins. Plus, no one gets hurt playing whiffle ball.
Anyway, after Panera we resorted to our favorite hangout, the Barnes&Noble bookstore. So much to read, so much coffee to drink, so many people to watch. I have a long stated history of people watching, and have been practicing it on various levels for several years now. It provides me with an excellent opportunity to criticize strangers and never ceases to be a source of merriment for me. What I failed to realize, before yesterday, is that the cafe's at bookstores are the IDEAL place to people watch. First of all, they draw in an age group (17-40) that is ripe for mockery. Secondly, people sit in these places for a VERY long time. We were there for at least 2 hours and numerous people whose seating predated our arrival still remained. What this prolonged exposure leads to is ample time to sit down and really analyze them, and make conjectures about their personalities and their relationships with their companions. Conjectures=hilarity...always. Now you'd think that this might mean that their was low-turnover and eventually one would get bored looking at the same people, but in reality it means their are a few stalwart entrenched patrons and then numerous ones who come and go. It's the best of both worlds.
We sat off to the side by the windows. It allowed us a wide view of the store including the cafe and the entrance (nothing like fresh meat walking in the door). It was somewhat isolated, which meant that with the exception of the times I projected my voice (sometimes I think people need to know that what they are wearing or doing is unacceptable), few people could hear what we are saying. There was a man sitting at the table next to us who, if he was paying attention, could have easily heard our entire conversation. Emily concluded two things. First, that he was not a native English speaker "while you were in the bathroom he dropped something and when I picked it up he said 'tank you'." Thus, in order to really get what we were saying he would have needed to be paying attention to us (I don't know if I necessarily by that argument, and if anyone here speaks another language fluently I'd appreciate some input). Her second point was more convincing: Had he, or anyone else, actually been listening to what we were saying there is no way they would have walked away without informing us of the eternal damnation we were sure to suffer for our cruelty.
One girl sat down behind me along the window, and I hadn't noticed her before I turned around. Her back was facing me and her shirt had ridden up to expose the tattoo on small of her back. It was in prime "tramp stamp" real estate, however it was most definitely not a tramp stamp. It was all writing and looked rather faded, which seemed quite odd since she was no older than 27. I tried to make out what it said, and eventually determined that it was most definitely not English. Emily was all for the idea of asking her about it, until she realized that I really would ask her. She finally relented but insisted that I wait until she went to the bathroom.
Once she was out of sight, I got up and stood in front of her and said "can I ask you a question?"
"ummm, sure," she replied, seeming a bit unsure as to where I going with this (and leading me to believe that she wasn't eavesdropping).
"What does your tattoo say?" I had no intention of just beating around the bush.
She suddenly became mildly flustered and very self conscious and I think acutely aware that she had been the subject of conversation. "Well it's a latin phrase, and it means "I owe my life to the ones I love."
I replied with a hearty "thanks," and resumed sitting. When I glanced back at her I realized that she had pulled down her shirt to cover the tattoo. I felt very comfortable at this point and realized that I should talk to strangers more often. That girl was 18 bajillion times more nervous and embarrassed than I was, and for some reason that makes me feel wonderful about myself.
When Emily came back I told her I had asked, but I didn't share what she had said until the girl walked away some 15 minutes later. At this point I suggested that we should do more random stranger talking, but she said shot this idea down. Apparently talking to strangers is creepy. At this point I through a story she told me about a random stranger sitting with her and her friends at a diner.
"But he was really attractive," was her quick and valid point. I told her that we could pretend to be working on some sort of project for [insert college humanities class] and thus be interviewing people. In my opinion she overstated people's intelligence by claiming that no one would by that. I for one think they would, for a couple of reasons. One, in general people are dumb and want to believe what other's tell them. This is the reason cons are successful. Two, people like to feel important, and talking about themselves gives them that opportunity. Especially if the person listening is pretending to take notes on what they are saying.
Even if we don't do interviews, I feel like we should definitely talk to more random people. You never know who you are going to come across.
Anyway, after Panera we resorted to our favorite hangout, the Barnes&Noble bookstore. So much to read, so much coffee to drink, so many people to watch. I have a long stated history of people watching, and have been practicing it on various levels for several years now. It provides me with an excellent opportunity to criticize strangers and never ceases to be a source of merriment for me. What I failed to realize, before yesterday, is that the cafe's at bookstores are the IDEAL place to people watch. First of all, they draw in an age group (17-40) that is ripe for mockery. Secondly, people sit in these places for a VERY long time. We were there for at least 2 hours and numerous people whose seating predated our arrival still remained. What this prolonged exposure leads to is ample time to sit down and really analyze them, and make conjectures about their personalities and their relationships with their companions. Conjectures=hilarity...always. Now you'd think that this might mean that their was low-turnover and eventually one would get bored looking at the same people, but in reality it means their are a few stalwart entrenched patrons and then numerous ones who come and go. It's the best of both worlds.
We sat off to the side by the windows. It allowed us a wide view of the store including the cafe and the entrance (nothing like fresh meat walking in the door). It was somewhat isolated, which meant that with the exception of the times I projected my voice (sometimes I think people need to know that what they are wearing or doing is unacceptable), few people could hear what we are saying. There was a man sitting at the table next to us who, if he was paying attention, could have easily heard our entire conversation. Emily concluded two things. First, that he was not a native English speaker "while you were in the bathroom he dropped something and when I picked it up he said 'tank you'." Thus, in order to really get what we were saying he would have needed to be paying attention to us (I don't know if I necessarily by that argument, and if anyone here speaks another language fluently I'd appreciate some input). Her second point was more convincing: Had he, or anyone else, actually been listening to what we were saying there is no way they would have walked away without informing us of the eternal damnation we were sure to suffer for our cruelty.
One girl sat down behind me along the window, and I hadn't noticed her before I turned around. Her back was facing me and her shirt had ridden up to expose the tattoo on small of her back. It was in prime "tramp stamp" real estate, however it was most definitely not a tramp stamp. It was all writing and looked rather faded, which seemed quite odd since she was no older than 27. I tried to make out what it said, and eventually determined that it was most definitely not English. Emily was all for the idea of asking her about it, until she realized that I really would ask her. She finally relented but insisted that I wait until she went to the bathroom.
Once she was out of sight, I got up and stood in front of her and said "can I ask you a question?"
"ummm, sure," she replied, seeming a bit unsure as to where I going with this (and leading me to believe that she wasn't eavesdropping).
"What does your tattoo say?" I had no intention of just beating around the bush.
She suddenly became mildly flustered and very self conscious and I think acutely aware that she had been the subject of conversation. "Well it's a latin phrase, and it means "I owe my life to the ones I love."
I replied with a hearty "thanks," and resumed sitting. When I glanced back at her I realized that she had pulled down her shirt to cover the tattoo. I felt very comfortable at this point and realized that I should talk to strangers more often. That girl was 18 bajillion times more nervous and embarrassed than I was, and for some reason that makes me feel wonderful about myself.
When Emily came back I told her I had asked, but I didn't share what she had said until the girl walked away some 15 minutes later. At this point I suggested that we should do more random stranger talking, but she said shot this idea down. Apparently talking to strangers is creepy. At this point I through a story she told me about a random stranger sitting with her and her friends at a diner.
"But he was really attractive," was her quick and valid point. I told her that we could pretend to be working on some sort of project for [insert college humanities class] and thus be interviewing people. In my opinion she overstated people's intelligence by claiming that no one would by that. I for one think they would, for a couple of reasons. One, in general people are dumb and want to believe what other's tell them. This is the reason cons are successful. Two, people like to feel important, and talking about themselves gives them that opportunity. Especially if the person listening is pretending to take notes on what they are saying.
Even if we don't do interviews, I feel like we should definitely talk to more random people. You never know who you are going to come across.