starbucks is the new place to people watch........with the few authenics aside....I enjoy watching those who are so important acting like they need to get to work.......I mean if you needed to get to work ? why did you stop ?  those who open up their laptop to look like there working ! reading a book in a crowded loud coffee shop ? aspiring writers, salespeople, people who spent half the night figuring out if they want lo fat or no fat......Starbucks IS the best for people watching ...........it is the place to be...so for less than 5 bucks it beats the movies.....

My little sister (she's 16) loves it when the two of us go to Starbucks.  We both enjoy a white chocolate mocha, settle into the plush comfy chairs, and talk the night away there.  It's a nice spot for a girls night out where we want to discuss problems or issues for her at school. 

Refi -If i'm going to Starbucks alone, I always take my laptop.  Their internet service is wonderful.  When power gets knocked out at home, it's the first place I find to try to get back to work.  Of course, I'd have my laptop surgically attached to my hip if that was possible.

Linda, you would have loved the two blog meet and greets then..both of the two last ones were at Dagney's.

I can't stand the pretentuousness of the majority of the folks who hang at a Starbucks. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with going there for a cup of coffee(if indeed it can be called coffee after all the stuff they put in it), but to hang out there..well..look at what you see there. For the most part they are people who seem to have the need to be seen as important, motivated, serious, successful people, to which I agree with what refiguy said..Then why are they there? I have seen people with piles of books, laptops, I have seen them meditating, I once saw a woman chanting quietly and a guy with a very cool Telecaster(a guitar)with micro recording equipment. I guess those people just have nobody with whom to share that stuff at home and need the attention of teh public to get them by.

I also see the folks who just want to relax with a cup of..um...whatever it is they are having (my g/f likes some thingy that has very little coffee flavor when they are done with it), and enjoying themselves as they talk with whoever they are with and do some of the aforementioned peoplewatching. The last time I went to  Starbucks so Jen could get a whitecaramelsomethinghotwhipwithatwistandasplenda (this from a woman who can't  remember why she went to the store!)and  watched the "toohipsters" in what resembled some poorly acted commercial and politely shook my head when the associate looked at me(I only drink black coffee and Starbucks has HORRIBLE black coffee), I actually met a couple of pretty cool people(the guy with the Telecaster was one of them)and had a great conversation about the local band scene and I did it all without any props of any sort. Of course we got the requisite looks of disdain from the laptop bag toting whatchamacallit drinkers who wanted me to get up after five minutes so they could get my table and sit there for a few hours, but that's OK, we left when Jen was done with her thingy.

If I want to get online I will do it in a more private setting. If I want to study, I will do it in an atmosphere conducive to good study habits. If I want to play and record my guitar, I will do it at home or a jam session, where I have room for my equipment and can crank it up should I be so inclined. If I want to meditate and chant..Please..I beg of you,,,Just shoot me.

 There are a lot of pretentious people in the world.  In fact, most of us are pretentious in one way or the other.  We think that because we wear shorts and t-shirts instead of button-down shirts and suits that we are somehow more real, but we aren't really.  The more comfortable a person is in their own skin, the less they criticise others.  Criticizing others is a way of making ourselves feel better.

I lack the critical ability that allows by merely looking at someone, being able to judge them. I find humans fascinating in all their aspects,downtown at 19th and Chester or at the local coffee house.Sometimes it is fun to imagine the ins and outs of a particular person life,but unless I really sit down and get to know to know them~ it is just imagining.

 I've never been a fan of Starbucks.  To me, the coffee is overpriced and too strong.  I have a little hang out that is just perfect.  It is Angel Doughnuts.  The coffee is perfect there every time and not expensive.  No one pressures me to buy a doughnut either.  They are so good they practically sell themselves.  I meet my father-in-law there every Friday to get caught up on  our lives.   The cambodians who run the place are always extremely friendly.  I highly recommend you try it!