We Need People (And Dartboards Apparently)

3:59pm
Starbucks - Chapters Waterloo
Soundtrack - k.d. lang

Good afternoon. I got up at the crack of 2pm today, and now find myself sitting at a crumb-laced table at Starbucks inside Chapters. I was all excited to sit here and watch last night's premiere of The Bachelor or to blog on my laptop. Alas, Windows has decided that it's time to undergo a massive update, so I was left to download the Blogger app and blog from my phone, all the while sipping on a grande blonde roast.

If you're like me, you love being around books. So, finding yourself in a bookstore is the nearest thing to heaven. For me today, it is a warm refuge on a -20 (with the wind chill) day. I shuffled in out of the cold a few minutes ago, only to be greeted by books, yes, but also...dartboards. Yes, dartboards.

This is the problem that I have with today's bookstores. It used to be that you could walk into a bookstore and only find, well, books. Now, Indigo, in all their wisdom, has decided that we also need pillows and wine glasses and blankies...and dartboards? I mean, who wakes up in the morning and says to themselves, "I really need a dartboard...I think I'll go to Chapters!" No! Bookstores were meant for books, and over-priced beverages.

One of the things that crosses my mind today, as my computer restarts for the umpteenth time, is that we need people. At least I do. No person is an island, even someone like myself who teeters on the border of introversion. Perhaps you're an extrovert and you have dozens and dozens of good friends. Or maybe you are happy with only 2 or 3 close friends, that's all you need. One of my goals for 2018 (not resolutions!) is to continue to reconnect with friends here in the city and to make new friends. Also, I need to get out of bed earlier. Take depression and anxiety issues, then throw in hypothyroidism, and you have 3 very tempting reasons to stay bundled up under your blankies.

Yes, we need people, even if that means we surround ourselves with strangers, like here at the bookstore café. There's something oddly comforting about being here, surrounded by strangers waiting patiently for their lattes or doing research on their non-updating computers. And there's something reassuring about humanity when a stranger makes eye contact and offers you a smile.

I also think that we need physical touch from time to time. Ideally this would come from someone whom you are in love with, but it can also come in the form of a big hug from a platonic friend, or perhaps a FWB arrangement.

I hope you're having a great day, and if you need a dartboard, there are plenty here at the bookstore. One would think that people would go to Target instead.

mark andrew