Looking Up At the Rooftop

Walking down East Burnside towards "Burnbux," as the Starbucks there at the corner of 28th, calls itself. I see two women, about forty standing right on the corner. looking out towards the intersection and talking with each other at close range. They are attractive and nicely dressed. One is gesturing to the other woman as she talks. She strikes me as South American in her accent and body posture.

"He just went like this," said the gesturing woman, making a diving motion with her arms.

Then a beat later, "It was the most beautiful suicide ever."

Not surprisingly the Burnbux vibe was a bit off this morning. During the day it's mostly the low end crowd. It's a "keep the restroom key behind the counter" type of Starbucks. Some days its good for work, but other days it is challenging. You get used to type of people you see there, like the guy with headphones who air drums wildly (apparently) along to music on his laptop. I learned not to sit directly facing him, as my peripheral vision got too distracted by his motions.

In the late afternoon, now that school has started, the place is given over to smartly dressed middle schoolers from a nearby private academy, mostly girls. They fill the place and sit on the banquette along the window, crowding their tables in quick converstation. This is actually a good vibe for work, I've found, since all that sound drowns each other out, and the kids are involved in their own thing.

Today I didn't stay the whole day at Burnbux. The vibe was just too weird today. I fled up to the clean well-lit little 'Bux across from the hospital complex on Glisan. A whole different vibe. Unlocked restrooms. Peppier jazz. Fingers moving on the keyboard.