Do You Know Where Your Scissors Are?

Because this guys does! 😉

Scissor holster, alright.. 😉

And that is all I have for you right now.  Working on a short fiction scene for Lukasik.  Not happy with it. 😦

The Bohemian

Every Monday around noon, a little old lady cuts through the Starbucks from the DePaul University lobby to the street.  She crosses Wabash confidently and shuffles southward.  Once or twice she has ordered a coffee and sat down and tried to engage those around her in a conversation.  She always manages to sit near business men and women who are reading their papers or in a meeting and therefore receives very little response from them.  That’s probably why she doesn’t do it very often.  She seems lonely.

She looks like the kind of person who was petite in her youth.  She couldn’t have been more than 5 feet, 5 inches tall.  She was probably considerably shorter than that.  Her shoulders are hunched in a way that suggests advanced osteoporosis. She walks with a determined shuffle, no limping, no cane.  She always wears a patterned skirt that reminds me of older immigrant ladies from an Eastern European nation.  Her headscarf is colorful in a bohemian kind of way.  Blues, reds, purples, and a little yellow wrap themselves around her very wispy, thin, grey hair.  Her eyes are dark and hard, her nose long and pointed.  Age- and sun-spots cover much of her pale, wrinkled face.  She always carries a small shopping bag and a tan, nondescript purse.

I bet she’s lived in Chicago her whole life.  Or maybe she immigrated here at a young age.  She raised her family who all went on to become lawyers and doctors and moved to other states.  She’s outlived her husband.  She’s seen the city rise and change.  She’s probably someone who isn’t phased by today’s culture.  She carries on and does as she has always done.  I bet she’s a strong lady.  She would have to be, right?  What does she do every Monday morning that brings her to this Starbucks?  Where does she go when she leaves here?  Maybe she goes to the park to read and feed the pigeons?  Maybe she’s having breakfast with her only son who decided stayed close to home.  Maybe she’s coming from her home in Ukrainian Village and going to China town.  Maybe the different culture intrigues her and she has more time to spend now that she’s grown older.

Where ever she’s coming from and where ever she’s going, I’m sure she has a lifetime of stories to tell.  Stories of heartbreak, of new life, of hope, of prosperity.  She could probably write a book about her life.  Will anyone ever care to hear it?

Overseen in Starbucks…

The Starbucks on the corner of Jackson and Wabash in Chicago has become my favorite place to disappear during my breaks from class.  There are so many different kinds of people going in and out, that I’m rarely disturbed or given a second look.  I actually get a lot of homework done, but my favorite thing to do here is people watch and, of course, eavesdrop.

I’ve become very good at inconspicuously checking people out.  Today, for example, I sat down next to Carl Swanson.  He works at the CNA (or so his prominently displayed badge said 😉 ).  He wore perfectly shined black shoes, a crisp white shirt, and ironed black pants.  His salt and pepper hair indicated his hair had, at one point, been jet black.  He pretended to read his paper for a while and sipped his tall black coffee.  While he pretended to read, he was really observing everyone around him.  He checked everyone out. He kept rearranging his legs and his arms; he couldn’t seem to get comfortable.  After about 10 minutes of fake reading, Carl jumped up and threw out the coffee he couldn’t possibly have finished, looked around a few more times, and bolted out of the shop.  I googled the CNA, hoping it would be some kind of government spy organization, but alas, it was only the headquarters for a major insurance things… or something.  Although, I’m pretty sure that that is a cover and that Carl Swanson is, in fact, a spy.  Or he had a blind date.  No… I’m going with spy.

I’m currently sitting next to three Indian business  men who politely asked to borrow my extra chair.  They are all sporting some very impressive black mustaches.  😉

I really do love Starbucks. 🙂

What I Learned From Eavesdropping Today: Laughter Yoga

“A friend turned me onto something called Laughter yoga!  It’s on Friday nights and it’s just an hour of laughter!  Isn’t that neat?”

I was sitting in Starbucks this afternoon, absentmindedly sipping my iced mocha, browsing facebook, and trying to avoid my Fitzgerald paper for as long as possible when I “accidentally” over heard this women talking about “Laughter Yoga.”  I googled it.

They. Have. A. .org. Website.

“Laughter Yoga is a revolutionary idea – simple and profound. An exercise routine, it is sweeping the world and is a complete wellbeing workout.

The brainchild of Dr. Madan Kataria, a Physician from Mumbai, India, launched the first Laughter Club at a Park on March 13, 1995, with merely a handful of persons. Today, it has become a worldwide phenomenon with more than 6000 Social Laughter Clubs in about 60 countries.

Laughter Yoga combines Unconditional Laughter with Yogic Breathing (Pranayama). Anyone can Laugh for No Reason, without relying on humor, jokes or comedy. Laughter is simulated as a body exercise in a group; with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into real and contagious laughter. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter. One gets the same physiological and psychological benefits.”

Yep, that's right, laughing...

Who knew?  I like the idea.  I might have to check in out.  Goodness knows everyone could use a little more laughter in their lives. It’s also yet another reason that I need (scratch that) MUST go to India one day.  It pretty much has everything.  Color, yoga, elephants, and, obviously, an abundance of laughter. 🙂

Does this count?

How about this? 😉

I have no doubt that sitting and laughing for an hour does a world of good for a person.  Whenever I look at that picture above of my mom and I laughing hysterically about something at my wedding, it makes me laugh and sometime even giggle a little.  It puts me in a good mood.  Laughing does that to a person. 🙂

Speaking of eavesdropping, as much as I HATE professor Lukasik, she told us yesterday that we need to start inconspicuously eavesdropping on random people.  I’ve always been a fan of this as people say they weirdest things sometimes — especially when you come in mid-conversation.  However, now I have permission. 😉
Therefore, I’m starting something new here that will happen every once in a while : What I Learned from Eavesdropping Today.  ha. 😛