Pros and Cons of Writing at Starbucks

Yes, it is pretentious. Yes, it's annoying. Yes, its absurd. But writing is Starbucks is so just damn easy that I find myself doing it all the time. I have no idea why going to a coffee shop to write is more conducive to my writing style than sitting at my desk, but it it, and I'm not gonna fight it. Any writer (like any athlete) will tell you, once you find something that works - don't question it, and just stick with what works. 

Getting more to the point, there are certain pros and cons associated with writing here, and I'll try to break them for you now...

FREE INTERNET

PRO-

This is good if, say, you're writing a blog and you want to, say, post it. This is gonna be integral in that process. And furthermore, if, say, the hotel that you're currently staying at, say, during Spring Training,  doesn't have any internet, this added bonus is top notch. I have a solid amount of patience (my job and LA traffic has helped develop this) but I refuse to wait for more than a minute for google to load. I will become violent and throw the nearest non expensive thing I can find (sorry books, but y'all don't break). 

CON-

YouTube. Facebook. Twitter. FunnyOrDie. Also every other internet site. Writing is the easiest way to get caught in procrastination station (which is not a real place, but a made-up thing I created instead of writing). Anyone who has ever written even a thank-you-email can attest to this. Step one of writing is usually opening your computer, and that's where they get ya. After accomplishing such a titanic feat, you deserve a break will now spend 50 minutes finding that Tosh.0 clip you don't know the name of, and watching every related video.  

PEOPLE WATCHING

PRO-

For a writer this can be exactly what you need, maybe it's a guy that comes in and sits down wearing bedazzled cowboy boots and swim trunks with a sports coat. Maybe it's one side of a phone conversation that you have the privilege of overhearing because the person next to you hasn't heard of inside voices or going outside. People are fantastic for kickstarting your way out of writer's block.

CON-

First and foremost, hot girls are able to kill such a steady train of thought its scary. It's one of their many super powers. Along with the ability to make you answer the phone at weird hours of the night, drive way too far out of the way, and not eat meat cause, "you're totally up for trying to be a vegetarian". Hot girls are very prevalent in Starbucks, though not as prevalent as they are in Panera Bread which I believe to be their mothership. 

Second thing you have to look out for is the Chatty Kathy. These kinds of people always show up when you're in no mood to talk to anyone; they're most commonly seen on airplanes, busses, bars during happy hour, and any time you hate everyone. A Chatty Kathy can absolutely ruin a good writing streak, and unless you're extra snappy, there's just no way to stop them (even head phones don't work, because they're all masters of charade-type sign language). 

JUDGEMENT

PRO-

I can't really think of a clear pro for this one, but it has to be addressed. Im not sure about everywhere else, but in the great city of Los Angeles, Starbucks is the place to go if you want to publicly show people that you're not unemployed, but instead, you're an aspiring writer. It's bad. It's like the guy who keeps tweeting, "Going to the gym", and then tweets "WOW!! I feel like so good after a workout" like 15 minutes later. So ya, writing at Starbucks does have a bit of a stigma attached to it, but I'm telling y'all - it works! It's a great place to study, or read, or do some work, or even write. It's not as stuffy and horribly boring as a library, and it's not your desk (where no one works, they just use it as a kitchen table/storage unit for any paper that you've ever gotten). 

CON-

Read the above thing. It's all con -- are you just skimming this?

Alright, that's all I have for you guys today - hope you liked it, and thanks for checking in. Got my first outting facing hitters tomorrow, pretty excited about it. Follow me on twitter (@C_M_Cook) and tweet at me or email me (colecook.soc@gmail.com) with any questions or comments or suggestions for the blog. Have a good one and Go Tribe!!