Cliches

I think I'm becoming a total cliche yuppie. (Is this amplified by my writing a blog and drinking *gasp* another Starbucks coffee?) Grant McCracken says you can't really escape trends. Even if you go out of your way not to consume or purchase something, you are still acknowledging the thing by doing (or consuming) its opposite. So I got a venti bold. And its not bad.

The other thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is headphones. People- everywhere- walk around in this town completely disconnected from one another, in their own little universes, jamming along to their own personal soundtrack. I used to be one of these people. Then, someone accused me of being totally incompassionate, and it occurred to me that by disconnecting myself in this way I was missing so much about the everyday things that I couldn't hear or wasn't aware of, including the fascinating nature of other people- even complete strangers.

However, in a city of 5 million, to constantly be aware and conscious of all the people around you- is a very overwhelming task! I honestly was trying to be compassionate to every complete stranger I met, but it was so wearing on me.

Now, I've got the headphones back on, but not all of the time. It keeps me a little more sane when I am crushed like a sardine on the subway next to hundreds of strangers and their problems.