mishipete's posterous

My work is sporadic (that word always makes me think of "Clueless") and typically comes in 6 month bursts. I don't mind this per say, I mean I would prefer working over not working but I do appreciate the time off as I can turn off the overdrive and settle back into neutral gear. Last hiatus, a friend of mind took me along on many of her city-wide explorations and I really enjoyed getting to know LA. Even though I've lived in LA for the majority of my life, I never gave myself the opportunity to court LA. Rediscovering this crazy city was like being friends with someone for a really long time, thinking you know everything there is to know about them and then BAM your friend lifts up their skirt and shows you a giant green birthmark shaped like Bob Hope's face you've never seen before. Not only that, your old friend has male AND female genitalia! Neat! Right in the middle of mapping out these newly discovered nooks and crannies (these body metaphors are weird), I started back at work and had to put my relationship on pause. I mean we saw each other on the weekends still but it wasn't the same. Fast forward 6 months and here I am, unemployed and eager to jump back into the folds of my metropolis. Instead of doing an assault on all fronts, I decided to narrow my mission to finding the coolest cafes around. Finding new places to sip warm beverages and snack on tasty treats sounds like a fabulous and (hopefully) relatively cheap way to spend one's time. I know it's unrealistic to expect I'll be able to do a comprehensive study of LA's coffeehouses; there are probably billions and I would die the death of the over caffeinated. Hopefully, I can find at least a few awesome nearby options that will keep me out of the overly convenient and boring starbucks/coffee beans of the world.

So today I began my mission figuring it would be best to start looking into the nearby options. My expectations were low since my neighborhood is known more for creepiness than coziness. I did a quick yelp.com search (without you I would be nowhere) and found a highly rated place less than a mile from my abode. I packed up my computer (they advertised free wifi on yelp) and rushed out the door. This coffee shop was situated in a small strip mall that also housed a vacuum repair shop, an h20 retailer, and a suspiciously signless store that had the most traffic of any of the other businesses. Not sure what they were selling but a bunch of colorful individuals were definitely buying. The coffee shop didn't advertise it's actual name (which I am withholding for reasons to be seen later) but sat under COFFEE SHOP lettering that was arguably a chip off the Starbuck trademarked block. The storefront also had signs loudly calling out 100% organic beans. My hopes dipped a little but I remained positive. Inside were three men, two behind the counter and one in the back of the store leafing through a magazine. Of the two behind the counter, one was a tall nice looking young man whom i'll refer to as Greeter and the other was an older guy who reminded me of all boxing movies rolled into one. I'll call that one Angry Irish Stock Bostonian with Maybe Some Jail History, or Ralph for short. Anyway, Greeter stepped up to the register and looked expectantly at me for my order. Ralph refused to acknowledge me and continued yelling into his phone. I briefly perused their menu, which was small and had the standard coffeehouse fair, no shop specific specials or anything of that sort. I quietly ordered a chai so as not to disturb Ralph. While Greeter mixed my drink, I backed up to further take in the coffee shop. Dark leather furnishings, warm paint tones, colorful hanging light fixtures. In short, like the lettering outside suggested, this was an imitation Starbucks. A strange hubbub of boxes occupied one back corner of the shop that I assume contained their inventory. Despite the attempts at invoking Seattle's most famous bean peddler, the general atmosphere wasn't inviting and the heat was turned up to inferno. Shouting Ralph aside, I couldn't picture myself staying there for any length of time. In the middle of making my chai, Ralph started interrogating Greeter about a situation that involved pills and bleach strips. I debated sneaking out the door sans drink. Ralph began pacing and yelled more into his phone; I started counting the Izzy bottles that were stacked under the register. Greeter finally finished and I zipped out of there without pausing to open my straw and taste the fruits of his labor.

Back in the safety of my car, I cautiously eyed my drink. Bleach strips? Pills? Odds were Ralph's conversation had nothing to do with my particular chai but still...it was a weird situation and in my opinion Ralph should find himself a back room elsewhere to exercise his emotions. I went bold and tried my chai. It was good but I forgot to tell him not to use whole milk so I knew a stomach ache was in my future. I finished the chai whole milk and all within five minutes. I'm an animal for chai. Like I said, it was good and I'm probably a masochist and/or dumb. Atmosphere wise, nameless Coffee Shop failed. Ralph is probably a murderer but he employs people who make good chai so minor plus. Probably won't be returning as I value my life more than tasty drinks.

<div style='padding-bottom: 2px; line-height: 0px'></div><div style='float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;'><p style='font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;'>Source: Uploaded by user via mary on Pinterest</p></div>