Loitering

I am looking for a new job, which means that I spend a lot of time networking and interviewing -  over coffee, over lunch, over a drink etc.  One day last week, I had a coffee meeting at 8:00am, lunch at 1pm, and coffee at 3pm.  I never had enough time to go back home, so I spent the day loitering in the Loop between appointments.  After the 8am coffee, I went to a diner to get something to eat, and drank more coffee. I lingered there for most of the morning, then went to my lunch, then loitered at the Starbucks where I had my 3pm coffee.  Then loitered some more - over coffee.  By the time I got home that night, there was a hole burning in my stomach and I was three times more over-caffeinated and jittery than I usually am (for anyone who knows me, you know that isn't good)!  So, I needed a new loitering strategy.  Now, I am a brand marketer and consultant by training, so before embarking on a loitering strategy, I did what all consultants do.  I came up with some evaluation criteria.  No, I didn't use Harvey Balls on a PowerPoint slide.  Really.  I did it in my head - still nerdy, but it could have bee worse.  

Here is the criteria that I determined to be "drivers of success" for loitering locations.  Of course, this is a decision that everyone has to make for themselves, but for me, the criteria are:

1.  You can stay a long time without anyone bothering you.  At a chain coffee house, they tend to have limited seating, so I feel obligated to continuously buy things to justify the seat I am in.  This leads to the painful, over-caffeinated state mentioned above.

2.  No weird smells.  I should preface this by saying that I am taking the McSweeny's approach to reviews (also very similar to the Jiminy Cricket philosophy).  I am not going to slam things here.  If I don't like something, I just won't mention it.  There are plenty of other places to read meanness and snarkiness.  That said, I have always found that if I spend to much time at "chain" coffee houses, I leave smelling like burnt coffee.  It's in my clothes and in my hair.  Yuk. 

3.  Free wireless.  At this point, I refuse to pay for wireless - it is everywhere and should be free (especially somewhere where I am already paying for for coffee).

4.  Good music (or bad music played softly enough that I can put on my ipod loaded with good music and drown it out).

5.  Comfy places to sit - I am going to be there for a while, so this should speak for itself.  

Based on this criteria, my new favorite places to loiter are the lounges of boutique hotels.  Think about it - cool, comfy couches and chairs where you can stretch out, or sit at a table.  It's a hotel, so no one kicks you out - they just assume you are waiting for someone.  Music is usually of the Ultra Chilled, Buddha Bar variety so pretty good, but easy to drown out if necessary.  There is free wireless and lots of outlets, so if I get bored reading or done with the crossword puzzle, I can check email, surf random websites, and write this blog.  And, if I do decide to eat or drink, there is always a coffee stand or restaurant to get re-wired.   Brilliant, right?

Now of course, in my neighborhood, I am partial to the cute little coffee house around the corner.  I am there a lot (I have quite a bit of free time these days), so the people that work there all know me.  The music is great - you never know what is going to be playing - sometimes it is Johnny Cash, sometimes it is Belle and Sebastian, sometimes it is jazz, and once, for the life of me I could not figure out what it was.  Oh - and the coffee is yummy with no burnt smells permeating the air.  But, when I have to leave the 'hood, I am now quite partial to the boutique hotels.  See ya there - I'm the one in the corner, on her laptop.

World Peace

A few years ago, I had an epiphany.  While walking between stages at Lollapalooza, I made what I think is a powerful observation.  But first, some background on Lollapalooza for those of you who have not experienced three days, eight stages, one hundred and seventy bands, fifty port-o-potties, soap for forty port-o-potties and ninety degree weather.  It is actually a pretty incredible experience.  At this music festival, I was able to see an hipster indie band, a classic punk band, an aspiring hip hop artist and a Brazilian electronica dj all in the same place.  What makes this experience even more amazing is at this festival there are fans for all of these various types of music.  The punk fans walking around with Dead Kennedy "Nazi Punks F#@k-off" t-shirts, shaved heads, scary tats.... and cargo shorts.  The hip hop playas sport white tank tops (Why are they called "wife beaters" - isn't there a less violent and unacceptable name for this garment?), basketball jerseys open, diamond stud earrings... and cargo shorts.  The vegan singer songwriter fans in their cliched tie-dyed t-shirts, birks, hats and necklaces made from hemp.... and cargo shorts.   That is when it hit me.  People of all ages, races, nationalities and seemingly conflicting musical tastes all wear cargo shorts.  Now I realize that guys have fewer options than women when it comes to shorts, and cargo shorts are extremely practical.  Comfortable with lots of pockets.  But still - this seems to be a common element that is shared across cultures.  Perhaps this is the key to bringing peace to the world.  If the Israelis and Palestinians both realized that they share a bond of similar shorts, would that get them to the bargaining table?  If the Pakistanis and Indians realized that not only they all put on their pants one-leg-at-a-time, but the legs all go through cargo shorts, would the tensions diminish?  A naive proposition?  Perhaps.  But hey - what we are doing now clearly isn't working, so why not.  I say use the Cargo Shorts Unification Strategy.  If this doesn't work, I do have a Plan B.  I think all warring parties should be forced to watch Daffy Duck and Marvin Martian in "Duck Dodgers in the 241/2 Century."  The plot is aimed at the futility of the cold war, but I think its message would still resonate among all.  "Where is the Ka-boom?  There was supposed to be an earth-shattering Ka-boom?"  Let's face it.  It all just ends in an earth shattering Ka-boom.  Seems pointless to me.  I say put on your cargo shorts and just dance.

Home Improvement Neuroses

Recently, I went to a hardware store to get tools for a home project.  It's true.  I am an independent woman of the new millennium (and I have some time on my hands), so I decided to buy some Elfa shelving systems and install a closet organizer by myself.  Unfortunately, my "drill starter kit for girls" did not have the appropriate size drill by for my needs.  So, I went to the hardware store to buy a ginormous drill bit.  I'm always overwhelmed at hardware stores.  Particularly one as big as Home Depot (it was a Sunday, and my neighborhood store was closed.  This, of course bugged me as I would always prefer to shop at the independent guy.  This one makes it hard though - they are never open when people need them).   Anyway, Home Depot overwhelms me.  All this stuff that I have no idea what it is or what it does.  As I am leaving the store, I saw a young couple leaving with a 3'x4' metallic sheet of some kind.  I am thrown into what started as curiosity, but ended in near panic.  What is that?  And, more importantly, how did they know that they needed it?  Do I need this and just don't know it yet?  I am clearly failing as a homeowner.  No doubt, the fact that I unknowingly need this metallic sheet (or the important looking thingamajig that the guy in line behind me has) will come back to bite me.  Maybe I should get one of each just in case?

Here is what I have learned about home ownership (or in my case, condo ownership - I live in the city).  Homes, like the human body, need proactive management and care.  I try to stay healthy rather than wait until I get terribly sick and have to rush to the ER.  Similarly, I believe that it makes sense to do a certain level of ongoing care and maintenance at home to ensure that things don't ooze or explode without warning.  But here is the catch.  I have no idea how to determine if my house has the sniffles.  I don't know what the home improvement equivalent of Echinacea is.  I have a friend, who when I pointed out the cracks along the edge of my ceiling, said "your drywall tape is peeling."  How did she know this?  Was I watching Three's Company when other people were reading the Time Life series on drywall tape?  Was there a Bob Villa fan club that I should have joined (I joined an Encyclopedia Brown fan club when I was nine - that proved to have no pertinent information)?  It is a mystery to me.  Maybe I should just stop stressing.  And, keep the number of HandiCo nearby.