Try this on for size. Next time you’re out at a coffee shop, watch and count all the people looking for an outlet to plug their laptops into. Bonus points for:
- Balancing coffee
- Balancing a plate of food
- Balancing a child
Extra bonus points for:
- Balancing a combination of the above
- Trying to quiet a screaming child
- Dropping any of the above and making a scene
In addition, sitting in a St. Louis BreadCo (Panera for those who live outside St. Louis) I got to see this:
Three young couples wander in, order their food, and try to find a table. There’s about six of them, all being led around by a tiny, diminutive woman who bounces around from section to section, looking for all the world as if she’s giving a tour of the dining area. She goes from table to table (all seemingly available to sit at for her party), until she settles in the very back corner. At this point, I’m considering making this another game, as the guys in her party are just along for the ride.
“Want to sit here?”
“Okay.”
“How about over here”
“Okay.”
“No, maybe back over there”
“Okay”
ad nauseum…
Finally, they find a table, and lo and behold, another couple tries to join them. Of course, one of them has a laptop. So looks for an outlet (didn’t we already go through this?) and, not finding one at their table, looks for another table. He finds his outlet (oddly enough, next to a table they had turned down) and proceeds to plug in and boot up. While he’s booting up, he decides that it’d be a fine idea to start shouting conversation back to the table everyone else is sitting at. Oddly enough, this does not go well, as the other patrons glare at him, and the other table ignores him. *cough* Douchebag! *cough* Eventually, he gets the brilliant idea of calling the other table! This could not possibly go wrong, now can it!? The other table gets the call, they all make a spectacle of turning around and looking at him, and one gets up goes over and asks, “What the hell is wrong with you?” Absolutely dumbfounded at this, the guy finally gives up, turns off his computer, and joins the rest of his party.
Me? I’m just laughing at this whole spectacle.
Finally, a third game that can be played is, “Count the people eating alone.” But that’s just depressing.
When I was visiting New York, my friend and I would sit in Grand Central Station and try to guess who was a native New Yorker and who was a tourist. It was all about the shoes and coats. Fun game. =)