~ °Café de Terrasse° ~

~ vendredi, juin 06, 2003 ~

Mambo-ing on down the Royal Oaks Railway Trail, I noticed that in the morning, all of the promenaders would greet each other "good morning" and "hi there". However, the afternoon is when the mean people come out- you know those people you say greet but they just face on foreward and completely ignore you. They make me feel like a fool for greeting them. But it's really wonderful to know that the world is still full of nice people who greet random strangers. I personally love the thought that we can all be strangers yet friends at the same time... even for those few seconds. But can't a young man say hi to a young lady without her thinking he was getting at something? It's interesting that at my age, talking to strangers just seems too weird i guess because we aren't totaly part of the world. We've been here for what, 17-19 years and that apparently isn't enough to give them enough credentials. And what is this situation of randomly greeting other youths, especially of the other gendre? Even in church, the hesitance to bid another young'un with a "Peace be with you" is taken over by total ignoring (ignorance?). To all the people I don't know who are reading this, I bid you hello.

~Benjamin 6/06/2003 04:57:00 PM

I was lounging in the local Starbucks this afternoon and it was one of the most interesting café experiences ever. In the coffeehouse, conversations are publick. When people speak there, it is often that other people hear. In the early part of my lounging, I was listening in on a business executive defending his recent actions against the attacks of two enfuriated employees. Apparently, he borrowed some company money and is now unable to pay it back. It was an interesting defense because they used coffee as an analogy saying, "It's a lot like drinking coffee... you can't get it refilled without losing more money." Then there were these two girls who walked in and I eavesdropped, I mean... overheard their voices... they were actually studying! I couldn't believe it... that progressive study groups actually exist. Hmmm... Anyway, a highpoint of my coffeehouse lounging was definitely when Justin, Michelle, Gurpreet, and Sameea stopped by for some coffee. We got to talking about a few things... light conversations about graduation, petty complaints about classes, and petite little comments on current happenings. I felt wonderful for seeing them again. It's too bad they couldn't stay. I love the weather we had today. Twas rather overcast, dreary and absolutely Romantic. It was the perfect coffeehouse weather. A day to sit with your feet up on the couch for a nap; a book on your lap; and in your hand, a cup of capp.

~Benjamin 6/05/2003 10:32:00 PM

I'm supposedly sleeping right now but I have to check and make sure that my friend Sonya sleeps early enough tonight so being on appear offline mode, I can determine the hour of her temporary repose. For now, I am swamped with work for Dr. Brown and Mr. Flores. I need a break. I'm not in college yet!!!

~Benjamin 6/04/2003 12:08:00 AM

Would you ever pick up a ringing pay phone? I just spent a few minutes calling random public pay phone numbers seeing if anybody would pick up. Don't ask. I was bored. So anyway, I called this pay phone at an Arcadia McDonalds and a girl actually answered it. You know, a ringing pay phone is oftentimes a sign of criminal activity. Why is that? What's the matter with calling pay phones to say hi to random people? It's often said that greeting strangers is a good thing- unless you're a little kid, i guess. Well anyway, I just thought I'd have some fun with random public calls. I wasn't prank calling, just fun-calling. I learned my lesson after the disastrous incident during my high school freshman year. That call ended up with my friends and I being surrounded by two police cruisers at 7-11 and our names being jotted down by a deputy who broke three laws in front of us. So I guess pay phones really do spell criminal activity. But we weren't criminals... we just wanted to see if anybody at 911 knew a Seymore Butts.
Anyway, here is part of the transcript of my call:
girl: "hellooo."
me: "Hello there. What's your name?" (lol, I know that's kindof scary, but I wanted to see if she'd hang up right away)
girl: "who's this? this is Kristin. who's this?" (I hope that's how you spell this stupid girl's name)
me: "How are you today Kristin?"
girl: "i'm ok, but who's this?"
me: "Well, that's not important, now is it Kristin."
girl: "..."
phone: "click"
me: "hello?"
It wasn't really a prank call... my main objective was really just to see if anybody picks up a ringing pay phone.
Ring Ring* Ring Ring* Would you pick it up?

~Benjamin 6/02/2003 07:26:00 PM