I have been having to work at or near home a lot more lately (oh, the shenanigans of That Darn Elderly Relative), and — in order to force myself bathe and dress and interact with functioning humans — I  often work from one of two cafes near-ish to my home.

They’re both large chains (one more Evil than the other) and both suffer from the same annoyances: the music and air conditioning blasts. Blasts! The air is full of cold air and non-threatening bland pop music. The air is also full of the babbling of humans as these places are hopping — that I don’t mind so much, as it’s usually a decent people-watching blend of studying students, 12-Steppers, first daters, and standard Cafe Weirdos*.

But the cold and the music have been driving me crazy. Crazy! I usually can stand it for about one cup of coffee before I have to .. leave … oooooooh.

Well, duh. The powers that be don’t necessarily want you to snuggle in for the long run, do they? They want you to be cold enough to order another hot bev, or get the hell out. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure this out. In fact, it took me until about a minute ago, as I drained my coffee cup the precise moment I thought to myself “I can’t stand this place anymore.”

This realization doesn’t put me into any better sorts, and now having to blog about it is making me shiver. And THIS doesn’t help, a sign I noticed far too late, on the side of my purchased Protein Bistro Box:

The Protein Bisto Box without peanut butter is a horribly dry, unsweet experience. Preparing my mouth for peanut butter and being denied of peanut butter is not something I’d like to repeat. Not for $4.50, at least!

So here I sit, cold, coffee- and peanut better-less, aurally overwhelmed, and yet I type for you. For you!

PS I’ve been really cranky lately.

* “Hi! I’m studying foot massage. Can I ask you about your feet? Maybe can I please look at them?  A picture would be great.”( Yes, true story.)