fieldworking: frothy monkey.

I went to Frothy Monkey to do some practice note-taking.  I really enjoy coffeeshops, so it was nice to spend some time there actually paying attention for once.  I saw some interesting things...  There was a couple that showed up that looked like they belonged (they were dressed like Nashvillian hipsters, if I can use the term), but they had two kids with them.  I don't think I had ever seen that before.  I wrote: "Hipster meets parenthood?"

A little later, a family came it.  Mom and Dad were in their 50's, with a daughter about 15 years old.  They came in, proceeded to the cash register, ordered drinks (Dad got plain coffee to go, Mom ordered an iced fruit tea, and their daughter got hot chocolate), and then left.  The longest part of their experience was waiting for their drinks.  And those 45 seconds were very awkward for them.  Why didn't they just go through the drive-thru at Starbucks?

I wouldn't say that anything disturbed me while I was there.  After all, I'm as much a part of the culture as any.  I was a little taken aback by the guy that walked in with a 2-3 ft. long beard.  But he didn't seem out of place.  Any other day, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it.  It's interesting how your perspective changes just because you're paying attention.