No Coffee for You!

I had an interesting experience on Saturday! I decided to be courageous and ride the L to a coffee shop on the other side of town. I am one of those people who thrives in coffee shop environments. I simply cannot get solid work done at home!

I went online to read all about riding the L. I looked up the location of the coffee shop and (thought) I found the nearest L train station to the shop. I walked about 3/4 of a mile to my nearest L station, purchased my handy-dandy Ventra card (used to pay for all L trains and buses in Chicago) and found my way to the correct Orange Line track. I hopped on the train and got off at the stop I had read on the map. I plugged the coffee shop name into my phone's GPS before exiting the station, all to find that my GPS signal had been off when planning my trip. I was eight miles from the coffee shop!

I could not locate any other good places for work near that particular station, so I decided to get back on the L going the other direction (back towards the Loop). I noticed on my phone that there was a coffee shop near the next closest station, so I got back on the train and off again. I walked to this shop, crossing a very crazy intersection with three intersecting roads. I could not believe when the sign on the coffee shop door said "Closed. Out of Business." I rolled my eyes and walked back to the train station, determined to find another place. I tried one other shop along the L route back to the loop and had a similar GPS problem.

I decided that three times was enough. I rode back to the L station closest to my apartment. There is a small Starbucks attached to the station. Although it is not the best work space, I thought it would do considering the circumstances. I walked in, ordered my non-fat caramel macchiatto, and observed a the weather outside raining cats and dogs while waiting for my coffee. I got my coffee, and searched the room. There were literally no seats available. My phone was at about 3% by this time, so I thought I would simply locate an outlet and stand. No outlets. No room to even stand. Time to leave.

I didn't want to be without my phone away from home for very long. I decided, in spite of the weather, to run/walk the 3/4 of a mile home. How bad could it be? I ran outside, across the street, and realized there was no way I could possibly run WITH my coffee in hand. It was either the coffee or home, and at this point in the day, I decided home was a better option. I threw my cup in the nearest trash and sprinted home.

I entered the apartment building completely soaked. Then, I found out the elevator was broken. I started my five-story climb to my apartment, all to find out that my key for the door between stairwells 3 and 4 would not work. So there I stood soaked, exhausted, coffee-less with a dead phone and a stupid key. After much jiggling and twisting of the door handle, I finally got the rusty lock to open.

Successes of my day: Riding the L with ease (yippee!)
Failures of my day: Basically everything else

What an interesting way to start my first full weekend in the big city!