~I must write it all out, at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
When I first started hanging out at local coffee shops, I felt like I was entering the world of the oppressed. I was out of my element among people who I viewed at the time as hippies, tree huggers and uber intellectuals. The atmosphere was sobering. It was quite a contrast from pubs and restaurants where I never saw people reading or working on laptops alone. I used to feel semi-depressed walking into coffee shops after work. Happy hour was so much more happier. There was camaraderie and laughter. People were all talkative, cheerful and boisterous on the outside. The loudness drowned out the noise of the day. The coffee shop energy was more subdued, serious and introspective. Since becoming sober, I've spent hours at Spyhouse Coffee Shop at their East Isles and Nicollet locations. I like sitting belly up at the table in front of their huge windows spying on all the traffic and people.
My favorite spot is the East Isles one on Hennepin for it's quirkiness, so I especially blend in well. It also feels less morgue-like now. I enjoy sitting and drinking coffee or tea while writing, thinking, observing, staring and spying. It's situated between a vintage clothing store and a salon. Across the street, there's a Red's Savoy Pizza, a Valvoline, an empty shop and a Fifth Element. Spyhouse is dimly lit and there are mirrors, maps, animals, boats, games, etc, hanging on the walls. They serve my favorite decaf, skim hazelnut lattes using organic hazelnut. It's subtle and not as sweet as some of the syrups used at the chains. I've become a syrup snob now. My favorite vanilla latte is at Dogwood Coffee in Calhoun Square. The syrup is so delicious and they add real vanilla beans that I like to nibble on.
From my post at Spyhouse, I've secretly observed lovers and quarrelers. I've overheard first dates and death threats. One person was so upset at the other for losing millions of dollars in multiple real estate deals. I felt very badly for the woman who looked so defeated during this verbal assault. I was afraid to say something to the abusive man who was sitting near me, so I just looked at him a few times. He just ignored me. I wonder how many books and scripts have been written at coffee shops compared to bars. I've been to the Target in Crystal several times where Diablo Cody wrote her Academy Award winning script Juno while sitting at the Starbucks there. I grew up in a city nearby and at one point, lived blocks away from that Target during the time she might have been writing her script. Coffee shops are great places to write and think. I escape internally rather than externally now. I escape in thoughts, senses and feelings whereas before I escaped amongst people, places and things. The challenge is to find a balance.
Spyhouse is open until midnight. There's another coffee shop in Uptown that's open until 1 am, but it's kind of smelly and semi-gross. I don't mind the art and graffiti, but I do mind uni-sex bathrooms especially when consuming diuretics. I've gone there a couple times and both were bad experiences. I paid almost $6 for the grossest hazelnut latte that I've ever tasted in my life. Of course, being from Minnesota, I didn't say anything. On top of that, their internet wasn't working, so I just bought the most expensive, grossest hazelnut latte ever in exchange for nothing. I flagged down the "barista" who was out smoking with her friend and she didn't know how to fix it. Another time, I felt like writing somewhere and it was late. The only spot that I knew of that wasn't a bar was this place. I walked up and there was a sign on the door saying that they were closing an hour and a half early. I took it as a sign that I should just stay away. Besides, there are separate bathrooms at Spyhouse that are clean and fragrant in a good way.
I came to Spyhouse on New Year's Eve. It was my first NYE sober and I was fresh out of rehab and on the verge of bronchitis. I felt crappy, so after AA, I went there to write, but the barista said that they were closing at 10 that night. "You just want to drink," I thought to myself half joking. "Don't you know that some of us are trying to get sober." So, I went to my other favorite sober spot; a grocery story that was open until midnight. The week that I first got sober back in mid-November, I spent every night at Spyhouse. I would write for a few hours and then decompress by driving around for an hour or two as I was suffering from insomnia anyway. In the months following rehab, I've written many nights until "coffee time" at Spyhouse. Instead of last call for drinks, they call out when the internet will be turned off and then I head home. Grateful that I made it another day sober thanks to spying.
When I first started hanging out at local coffee shops, I felt like I was entering the world of the oppressed. I was out of my element among people who I viewed at the time as hippies, tree huggers and uber intellectuals. The atmosphere was sobering. It was quite a contrast from pubs and restaurants where I never saw people reading or working on laptops alone. I used to feel semi-depressed walking into coffee shops after work. Happy hour was so much more happier. There was camaraderie and laughter. People were all talkative, cheerful and boisterous on the outside. The loudness drowned out the noise of the day. The coffee shop energy was more subdued, serious and introspective. Since becoming sober, I've spent hours at Spyhouse Coffee Shop at their East Isles and Nicollet locations. I like sitting belly up at the table in front of their huge windows spying on all the traffic and people.
My favorite spot is the East Isles one on Hennepin for it's quirkiness, so I especially blend in well. It also feels less morgue-like now. I enjoy sitting and drinking coffee or tea while writing, thinking, observing, staring and spying. It's situated between a vintage clothing store and a salon. Across the street, there's a Red's Savoy Pizza, a Valvoline, an empty shop and a Fifth Element. Spyhouse is dimly lit and there are mirrors, maps, animals, boats, games, etc, hanging on the walls. They serve my favorite decaf, skim hazelnut lattes using organic hazelnut. It's subtle and not as sweet as some of the syrups used at the chains. I've become a syrup snob now. My favorite vanilla latte is at Dogwood Coffee in Calhoun Square. The syrup is so delicious and they add real vanilla beans that I like to nibble on.
When I'm trying to cut down on my coffee intake, I sometimes order a cute pot of their delicious tea which Spyhouse purchases from TeaSource in St Paul. I love their tisanes or herbal teas called Red Berries and Evening in Missoula. It's perfect aromatherapy and a garden of tastes; calming and beautiful. Red Berries has a very sweet smell and taste as it's made from hibiscus flowers, elderberries, bilberries, grapes, and citrus peel. Evening in Missoula has a romantic scent and spiciness with chamomile, rosehips, raspberry, papaya, peppermint, spearmint, strawberry leaf, vanilla, passion flower, red clover, star anise, and wild cherry bark.
From my post at Spyhouse, I've secretly observed lovers and quarrelers. I've overheard first dates and death threats. One person was so upset at the other for losing millions of dollars in multiple real estate deals. I felt very badly for the woman who looked so defeated during this verbal assault. I was afraid to say something to the abusive man who was sitting near me, so I just looked at him a few times. He just ignored me. I wonder how many books and scripts have been written at coffee shops compared to bars. I've been to the Target in Crystal several times where Diablo Cody wrote her Academy Award winning script Juno while sitting at the Starbucks there. I grew up in a city nearby and at one point, lived blocks away from that Target during the time she might have been writing her script. Coffee shops are great places to write and think. I escape internally rather than externally now. I escape in thoughts, senses and feelings whereas before I escaped amongst people, places and things. The challenge is to find a balance.
Spyhouse is open until midnight. There's another coffee shop in Uptown that's open until 1 am, but it's kind of smelly and semi-gross. I don't mind the art and graffiti, but I do mind uni-sex bathrooms especially when consuming diuretics. I've gone there a couple times and both were bad experiences. I paid almost $6 for the grossest hazelnut latte that I've ever tasted in my life. Of course, being from Minnesota, I didn't say anything. On top of that, their internet wasn't working, so I just bought the most expensive, grossest hazelnut latte ever in exchange for nothing. I flagged down the "barista" who was out smoking with her friend and she didn't know how to fix it. Another time, I felt like writing somewhere and it was late. The only spot that I knew of that wasn't a bar was this place. I walked up and there was a sign on the door saying that they were closing an hour and a half early. I took it as a sign that I should just stay away. Besides, there are separate bathrooms at Spyhouse that are clean and fragrant in a good way.
I came to Spyhouse on New Year's Eve. It was my first NYE sober and I was fresh out of rehab and on the verge of bronchitis. I felt crappy, so after AA, I went there to write, but the barista said that they were closing at 10 that night. "You just want to drink," I thought to myself half joking. "Don't you know that some of us are trying to get sober." So, I went to my other favorite sober spot; a grocery story that was open until midnight. The week that I first got sober back in mid-November, I spent every night at Spyhouse. I would write for a few hours and then decompress by driving around for an hour or two as I was suffering from insomnia anyway. In the months following rehab, I've written many nights until "coffee time" at Spyhouse. Instead of last call for drinks, they call out when the internet will be turned off and then I head home. Grateful that I made it another day sober thanks to spying.
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