caffeine and connection

an hour at Starbucks, and i'm still reading the introduction to my new book -- which i'll be telling you about this week, because i'm very excited.  i just can't concentrate right now or right here.  too many people to watch.  so many connections, i keep thinking.

and isn't that what each of us is seeking, every day?  connection? 

and i don't care if you work in the most bustling, crowded office, but those connections don't count.  i think we're all seeking positive connections.  in my experience, asking a paralegal to help me with a project isn't the connection i needed; being told by a partner to do something certainly wasn't the positive connection for which i was looking.  no, i always find myself seeking a positive interaction.

 a friendly interaction. a smile from a stranger.  (is that why gay boys stare so much? maybe it's not just sluttiness.  maybe we're just more eager for a connection.)  i have a tendency to be very friendly to my coffee-slinging baristas, even when they're bitchy.  i find myself chatting with the person in the checkout aisle of the grocery store.  i tell myself that they could use a friendly face to brighten their day, but maybe i'm just being Hector Projector with that one.

today in Starbucks, looking almost through the book on my lap, i am counting connections.  an old man talking to hot teenage girl about a book he's reading.  an old woman interrupting my daydreaming to ask me a question.  a seemingly bored stud looking around, finally making a phone call.  did he need to call, or did he just need a distraction?  or a connection?

i can't help but think that our habits of updating Facebook and Twitter stem from the same desire for connection, just in a more convenient, micro-manageable context.  when you update, aren't you just hoping that somebody, somewhere, will respond or sympathize or laugh?  will connect with you?

for that matter, i think that Twitter is revolutionary in that it allows us to connect to people who were once unreachable: celebrities.  this medium permits previously unattainable connection, assuming that our idols and favorite stars are reading the messages they receive.  (i bet most of them are.)

what do you think about THAT? i want to know.  connect with me!


in other news, i'm getting jittery after two grande lattes.  even though one of them was decaf.  so here's me, energetically wishing you lots of positive connections today.