Morning Coffee Confusion

The general American work day, last time I checked, begins at 9:00am. In most cases, this would suggest that coffee shops would be loaded with people betweeen 8:30 and 8:50 as they dash to get their morning infusion of Chai lattes, Venti Red-eyes, X-large Dark Roasts, or their soy-no whip-halfcaf-decaf-Americana-mocha-macchiattos.

Knowing this, I of course try to avoid these morning rushes by coming in a little later or a lot earlier, but I'm starting to think that this theory about a 9:00 start is no longer proving useful. The last two mornings I have gone to a new coffee shop as I have slightly changed my route to work in order to mix things up a little bit in my life. Yesterday, I got to the coffee shop at approximately 8:45; the height of what would be the morning coffee rush. There were precisely three people in the coffee queue. As astonished as I was I made a mental note of this fact and planned on returning the next morning, rather than waiting in the long line at my regular place.

This morning, I arrived at the exact same shop at 9:10; a time when everyone should be busy shuffling papers around their desks and checking their personal emails before doing those reports that take five minutes and then playing a game of computer solitaire. Certainly if no one was here at "Coffee Hour" then no one would be here after 9:00. Boy, was I wrong. The place was packed. A line wrapped around the small store. It ran in such a way as to block the front doors, making it rather difficult for any newcomers to enter. Couple this with a bunch of personalities that have not had their personal cup of morning joy and you've got a bit of a situation on your hands. A little shove here, a bump there...no 'excuse me' or 'sorry, I didn't mean to wail on your groin with my handbag'.

Needless to say, I'm making one more attempt at this place. I'm going at 9:00 on the dot tomorrow and see what happens. If anything similar to the cluster-fuck of this morning is visible, I'm really going to have to re-think the timing of my morning coffee. Or maybe I'll just have to start going to work on time so I can get my coffee in peace...before all these other slackers start ruining my morning before it really even starts.