coffe shop observations

notebook passage 113
august 2009
starbucks patio, taipei

we sit camped beneath sun-devouring umbrellas. drinks drippingly melt as passers-by offer, return, break a shared stare. going somewhere, some going where? sunday urgency dictates the walking pace of most. sobriety is a common weekend waking theme. business exchanges and map consulting surround my circular work station. pink personal umbrellas are working hard this afternoon. 101's celebrity status grows with more camera flashes. young women pass, hand in hand. a positively warm sunday.


notebook passage 237
November 2009
outdoor cafe, Fong Yuan

the intersections is flanked with fried chicken and fruit juice stalls. echoing its friendly yet relentless tune againt apartment windows is the daily garbage patrol. plastic bags devoured, it continues on after a momentary, non-melodious pause. seemingly no different than a stop by this town's residents into their beverage shop of chice. headphones drop, brakes are pressed, good and currency exchange hands. a split second of absorbing one's surroundings. receipt is grabbed and this vehicle sculpted in human form carries on in its mindless, unwavering pace.