We had to checkout of Moxy at 11am, and our next event does not start until 5:30pm. With several hours to fill, my colleague and I came to the Starbucks at the Domain, about fifteen or twenty minutes from the University. I had visisted this area in my previous two visits to Austin and I liked it, so it seemed like a familiar place to spend the afternoon.

Right now, we are sitting at Starbucks, observing the world unfold around us. This post will probably be a collection of random observations. I will try to make it coherent later (or will not).

A couple just came in and took the circular table across from the sofa where I am sitting. Both are leaning forward, their gazes fixed on their phones, shoulders slightly rounded. One of them has a leg tucked beneath them on the chair while the other rested normally on the floor. They are sitting together, yet for the moment each seems occupied by a separate world on a screen.

There is another women in the corner by the window. Her countenance is quiet and absorbed, her eyes fixed on the MacBook Screen in front of her with airpods in her ears. Every so often, her expression shifts from concentration to faint amusement, as though something on the screen has briefly interrupted whatever she is working on.

A latina family is sitting on the sofa in the middle of the store. The Sofa itself curves around the center of the room in a U-shape. A young mother is holding a tiny baby, perhaps only a few weeks old, wrapped in a blanket. She keeps the baby close, occasionally looking down and adjusting the blanket with the careful attention of someone still getting used to having such a small person in her arms.

An old couple just walked in. After placing their orders, they settled onto one of the tables at the U-shaped sofa in the middle of the store. They are sitting at the edge of the table they have occupied, as if they are not quite ready to commit to the seats yet. A name was called and the lady went to pick the order. I was right, they just moved out of the store.

Behind the counter, the Starbucks staff keeps the store moving. Someone greets people as they walk in. Others move between the espresso machines, cups and counters, preparing the steady steam of orders. Their voice mix with conversations around the room, the music playing in the background, the sound of the machines, and the occasional call of a customer’s name.