Cock Pit Rock Out

Have you ever just rocked out in your car? I mean full on, radio blasting, singing at the top of your lungs, raising your fist to the imaginary crowd that makes up the speedometer, kind of rocking out? Now, have you ever been caught doing it?

Unless you absolutely hate your life, I can safely assume that we've all done this. Maybe you're not a driver, but you've rocked out in public with your ear buds in. I can say that I've worn and have seen them on the city bus. And after catching someone watching us as we 'literally' melt off some faces, blood rushes to our cheeks, our eyes widen, and our mouths shut at a staggeringly slow pace. We turn away from the stranger's gaze and beat ourselves up in our internal monologue. 

Tonight, I vowed to never do that again. I was driving down the road and had been stopped at a red light for about a minute. Foster the People were on and the volume was louder than normal because I was just doing 50mph right before coming to this stop. That's when I started bobbing my head to the beat, then came the singing along. Before I knew it, I was full out singing the words and beating my fist into the passenger seat to the kick drum.

As my 'rock out' is in full swing, I turn my head to the right to see a guy watching my performance from two lanes away. Instantly the thoughts of "you're an idiot" and "I can't believe that dude saw me" came rushing to my brain. That's when I shut off my brain, slapped on a huge grin, and waived to the mustached onlooker. He wrinkled his eyebrows and held up an unconvincing wave. At that moment, I didn't care what this guy thought of me. Hell, I will most likely NEVER see this man ever again and even if I do, I know for sure I won't recognize him. Let him be completely jealous of my good time and bow before the awesome that is my rock out.

Old Man Chai Hands

Anyone notice how cold all of the Starbucks shops are? The A/C seems to be on no matter what time of year it is. Trust me, it's a very welcomed atmosphere during the hot days of Summer. But, I was in there today and completely forgot that it was incredibly humid and warm outside. It's as if they want to remind everyone of autumn and that "hey! Our coffee isn't that great, but at least we have pumpkin spice lattes! Remember those?" I don't actually like them.

Most of the time when I go to a Starbucks, I'm ordering chai and occupying a table with my phone, drink, and laptop. I'll get some writing or reading done and then I'm off. My visits are always either before work or during my break. So, I go from sitting in one cold place to sitting at another cold place.

Then there's the bathrooms. Starbucks, at least in my experience, has always had the cleanest bathrooms around. It's the kind of place I wouldn't mind stopping at to let my kid use during an 8 hour drive to Disney. The soap is never out, the floors aren't wet, and it doesn't reek of urine. Of course, I can't speak for the women's bathroom.

There is one issue I have. Their hand driers are not at all up to par with the efficiency of what lies outside of the bathroom door. A couple of times, I had to hold down the starting bar to make sure it would actually start. Now, I'm the kind of guy who has the use of hand driers down to a science. I've developed my own method and it's very effective. But, somehow these machines leave my hands wet every time, sometimes feeling like an old man had been blowing on them for the last minute.

The first few times this happened, I thought nothing of it. I walked out of the bathroom, sat at my table, and began writing. After a few minutes, I couldn't feel my fingers. I'm telling you, the combination of that A/C and their weak hand drier is not a fun one.

So, why do I go there? Where else can I get some Chai, write this blog on free wifi, and people watch on this forsaken island? Seriously, if you have an answer, let me know.