interrupted

As previously mentioned, I enjoy coffee.
A lot.

If I get a day off to myself, typically you'll find me in a coffee shop, likely reading. My last day off was just that - reading a new book in a coffee place I had never been to. While I tried to read, my nose was ruthlessly attacked by something that I was violently allergic to - the kind of sneezing you can't stop and that makes people around you uncomfortably shift away. I helplessly made accidental eye contact with a stranger as I got up to get myself some napkins with which to blow my nose (desperate times). Post-nose blowing, said stranger decided this was the moment to come talk to me.

He wanted to talk about where I was from, whether I was in school, where I worked, if I was Vietnamese (I'm not), Korean pottery and Korean tea, my scarf, and who knows what else he would have gotten to if I hadn't cut him short and said, "well... it was nice meeting you" and looked back to my book.

Hold onto that story.

This is my friend Christina. She has one of the most dynamic and welcoming personalities of anyone I've ever met. When we've been out for coffee together or at a store or anywhere really, Christina is always stopped and interrupted. People want to comment on her hair, her style, or little kids just want to say "hi" to her and when I'm around her, I wonder at the sheer volume of people who just want to talk to this beacon of light and life.

And I want that.

I want her charisma and her easy smile that makes people - even complete strangers - want to be near her (in the least creepy way possible). With her friends, she asks good questions, listening carefully to the answers so she can ask an even deeper question. And I realized, as The Interrupter in the coffee shop walked away to find someone else to talk to about his music career, that I am always looking for the first out, the first chance to walk away and continue what I'm doing because it's what I want.

And when it comes to people - friends, co-workers, the occasional cashier at the store - that might not be what I'm supposed to be doing.