One, two, three, four hours at a cafe? Been there, done that…way too much, its great. Truth of the matter is, I love coffeehouses, homey cafes. Empty or full of people, I find myself heavily inspired every time. I literally can sit and forget I’m sitting where I’m sitting, which is a neat thing. Perhaps it’s odd, but hey, I’m pretty productive. A majority of my work, as far as brainstorming ideas for any given subject such as painting, photography, graphics, even for the nine to five or simply just rendering thoughts are executed at cafes.
It doesn’t bother me to spend time at cafes alone, though once in awhile engaging in conversation can soothe my soul. Thinking back, I’ve met several people especially at Portfolio Cafe in Long Beach, where I spent a handful evenings after school. From Brazilians encouraging me to visit them, local musicians before or after their performances at open mic, sharing a table with another for the nearest outlet, on the spot networking-some with random design/photo job offers, or simply friends meeting me up, convos were always entertaining. Though I’ll have to admit, in a way it’s different now. I spend time at local cafes in the valley like Aroma Cafe and Marie et Cie, and it’s nothing like Portfolio. Sure, there’s people to be around though unless I’ve arrived with or are meeting friends, conversations are scarce.
With or without conversations, my productivity and creativity is definitely on track when I’m passing time at cafes-so I’ve noticed more than anywhere else. I could only imagine, if I opened up my own cafe, I’d have a life…with less quarters.