Assuming that I were to be here on any kind of semi-permanent basis, I believe I’ve found my local hangout.
Anyone who knows me, or for that matter, has read any given entry of this humble excuse for a blog will know that I spend an inordinate amount of time at the local International House of Pancakes in my hometown.
Why? Well, I need my third place…
A local coffee bar in my hometown run by a friend of mine is named the 3rd Place. A photocopied flier, so ubiqutous in any given coffee shop, explains the rationale behind the name:
Everyone has their places. Their first places are their homes, where they sleep, take care of themselves, raise their families, etc. They have their second places, work, which is where they receive money to pay for their first places, as well as fulfill their career desires, and then, they have their third places…
A third place helps meet the social needs that everyone feels, while giving them a place they can call their own, but which of course really isn’t their own.
IHOP, for several years, has been my third place.
My third place requires several things to be able to be called my third place, of which I will list here in no particular order:
1. Coffee: I am a coffee adict, simply put, and require a significant amount of it imbibed on a daily basis to function on more than just a biological level (and sometimes even then). Therefore, an ample supply of java-based refreshment, with at least a modicum of quality and taste is necessary.
2. Wi-Fi: As I am a coffee adict, I am also an Internet junkie, and require access to the Internet to be able to function mentally, beyond that of just being the equivalent of an uninspired, instinctual raving animal, possibly a caveman on a good day.
3. Power: I have a laptop which is extremely powerful, meaning that it sucks down batteries almost as fast as I suck down a pot of coffee. A nearby plug is therefore essential if I wish to make use of #2 for more than any kind of significant time.
4. Food: As I can spend an inordinate amount of time at my third place, it should probably serve food so that I don’t suffer from malnutrition, or more likely, suffer from a sever caffeine overdose since that would be the only thing to quench any digestive-based desires.
5. Friends: As man is a social creature, I occassionally feel the need to commisserate with other beings that share a similar genetic structure to my own. Additionally, if these individuals are of above average intelligence, have a rather liberal viewpoint of art, music, culture, and social interaction, then being able to come to call these individuals “friends” will be much easier.
6. Entertainment: When it’s time to put the headphones aside and listen in on conversations and other goings-on in my general vicinity ever few minutes, it’s nice when those goings-on can bring a smile to my otherwise cynical face.
5. Beer: Actually, this is not a requirement, as I can always find an additional third place (which I suppose would make it a fourth place) where I can get a nice, tall, frosty adult beverage every once in a long while when I’m trying to cool down from a long week. Basically, beer would be a nice plus, and it would be an even better plus if such an establishment were to serve some real, honest to God beer (such as a Kostritzer, Guiness, Boddington’s, Shiner Bock, or anything else that doesn’t hail from America or at the very least tastes marginally better than this piss-water most people laughingly call beer).
6: Long Hours: IHOP has been a 24 hour restuarant for a while, and this has been mighty convenient. However, if I can’t get 24 hour Third Place enjoyment, then a late-closing establishment will suffice. I should probably get some of that mythical sleep everyone talks about anyway.
Last night, in my attempt to find additional Third and Fourth place-ish establishments, I first visited the little coffee bar that I mentioned in one of my previous entries. However, it closes early, and I doubt I’ll find much in terms of entertainment, as it seems oft-purused by serious individuals intent on finishing assignments. Strike one.
I walked into a couple of bars to quench my thirst for #5. The first one was a rather college-oriented place on the main strip, whose floor was coated in peanut shells. However, it would nowhere near suit my needs, since the bartender thought that Killian’s and Guiness were German beers. Strike two.
The next place I dropped by indicated outside that it was an authentic Irish Pub, and indeed, this was even part of the name. As the Irish are probably world-renowned for their drinking abilities, and therefore their ability to make things to drink, I was hopeful. Unfortuately, upon my entrance, instead of hearing over the speakers a traditional Irish drinking song, or Celtic music, or anything that would remotely remind you of an Irish pub, I heard Britney Spears. Strike three.
Tonight, however, I have found what would be my third place if I were to live here. It even fits my need for a fourther place, as it not only serves rather tasty coffee, it serves alcohol, food, has wireless internet, and so far the entertainment part has been fulfilled by a couple of rather attractive lesbians dancing to techno music playing over the radio. Always a hoot, in my book. One even did a little shoulder shuffle while giving me a smile while passing by. Definitely brownie points for this place.
But, of course, the real need is met by the ambiance, and the Boheme, a little art coffee/beer/music bar in a little corner of town, not too far from the University here, meets that in spades. Ligths are dimmed low, candles on each table, tasteful oil paintings of nudes line the wall, and the music is an eclectic, yet enjoyable mix of techno, world music, ambient, and classical, all of which are personal favorites for me. The people here I feel I could immediately connect with, if I weren’t buried in my computer writing this down, of course.
In short, if I were to be here for any non-impermanent length of time, I know where my third place would be. Now all that remains is to find my first and second places…
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