The Muddy Cup: Where You Find Someone Just Like Yourself

Name of Place Visited: Muddy Cup Coffee House
Street Address:1038 Madison Ave
Date, Time of Day: Thursday, January 31st around 11:10 am.

Oh The Places You’ll Go... I am sitting in the Muddy Cup Coffee House, it lies in between Price Chopper and Madison Theater. The neighborhood is not the best, but not the worst either. I mean let’s put it this way: under no circumstances would I walk alone at night or even as soon as it gets dark. Maybe this is because I come from Colonie, one of the safest towns in the country. I may also not prefer to walk alone in the dark due to the fact that for the past year and a half I have lived here I’ve had way to many bad experiences. I’ve known way to many friends who have gotten jumped or robbed late at night, which has discourages me walking alone in the dark. This place has no real significance to me, although one time I did go there with my roommate over the summer and we were there for hours on end talking. Other than that I do not even think I have ever even been in this place. When I first sat down I am I bit nervous and feel like a bit of a loner. I am just sitting on the couch writing in a notebook, but as the hour continues to go on, I feel much more comfortable as I realize other people are there doing the same.

The People You’ll Meet...A guy who is probably in his twenties or so sits near me wearing khaki pants and a maroon t-shirt while listening to a cassette player and looking at his laptop. Who listens to a cassette player these days? He just screamed, "Wow," at his laptop and just looked at me and apologized for being loud, maybe I starred at him a bit to much, oops! There’s two women sitting in back of me and I can hear that they are talking, but I do not know what they are talking about. No one is coming up to talk to me; but oh wait Aprille just walked in from class. I wonder if she is doing the same assignment? She just came over and said hi and asked if I was doing this assignment as well and laughed and said yes. This makes me feel much more comfortable to be able to know someone else here. The man who works at Muddy Cup behind the cash register must know a lot of people. Some customers come in and have five minute conversations with him about all sorts of things. He is telling one girl now how he is looking for a new apartment. Now there’s another guy sitting in the corner in a sweater and jeans probably in his forties. He is also wearing glasses he looks very professional typing on a laptop he reminds me of an author. I also see a girl in her twenties doing some homework at the table. She looks very studious and stressed out. She reminds me of my self. My roommates are often telling me I’m to stressed out, and in all honesty I usually am. I’m always worried that I’m not going to get everything done or that I am forgetting something. Now the guy who works at Muddy Cup behind the counter is talking to some girl about being naked? Whatever is he talking about?

The Things You’ll See.. All the colors around me remind me of earth tones. Everything is very yellow, green, or brown. I see painting and flyers for missing cats and an open night mic. I also see many people drinking coffees and working on laptops or reading newspapers. The Muddy Cup has very few lights on and the bright light that is shining on me comes from outside. It is a very bright day! I am freezing sitting here and I am still in my winter jacket! I am probably also cold because I have a cold drink. I pick up my SOBE vitamin water that I am drinking and it is freezing. The plastic itself feels cold and is making my whole body cold. I decide against coffee because I am going to the gym soon and the two do not make a good combination. I’ve learned this after being an absolute gym-aholic. Caffeine, as good as it is, is never usually good before the gym or working out. I can smell the cream cheese on my bagel and coffee. I can hear the faint sound of the music playing in the background. None of it I recognize though, I do not mind it because it is very faint it actually is kind of relaxing. I hear people talking to each other, and others talking on cell phones. I can also hear cars from the outside or buses as they roar down the street. I hear a machine every now and then, probably when they make a specialty drink. It makes a loud roar and is quite noisy for such a little place!

Other Notes:
-Man next to me is constantly clicking his mouse button, it is starting to get on my nerves. I hate when people are constantly clicking away. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves!
-People’s phones ring with very obnoxious ring tones at least be courteous enough to put it on vibrate
-Faint music playing in the background
-Aprille from class walks in I wonder is she is doing the same assignment that I am!
-I watch the traffic and the cars pass by me and I watch my car that is parked outside the Muddy Cup. I did not put money in the meter outside. I hope I do not get a ticket! I’ve gotten tickets in the city of Albany and they are not fun. They require giving the city of Albany a great deal of money.
-I look at the Gold velvety couch that I am sitting on it must be from the 50's
-People come in, in groups and meet up with people here, this seems to be a common meeting spot
-Man working behind counter talks very loudly
-Watch someone try to parallel park outside in front of my car and they do an awful job, they remind me of myself, my parallel parking skills are not very good, he practically leaves half of his car in Madison Ave in order to run in and get a coffee. I cannot say that I blame the man however I’ve left my car half in the street many of times, because I just cannot parallel park.
-UPS outside delivers 2 packages across the street