Although today is one of the three days of the week when the writer's MeetUp group meets, after last week's discomfort - when I was being triggered so much that I couldn't sit with the rest of the group - I decided to go to a Starbuck's and try to write on my own. Not a successful endeavor. Perhaps if I arrived at the café early in the morning there would've been less distractions, but I was slow to get moving today. I didn't make it there until after noon and it was quite busy.
I first sat at one of the elongated tables attached to the wall by the door - where people would all be facing the same way towards the window. Despite it being empty when I sat down, a young (college aged?) couple sat next to me - the woman on her cell phone seeming to give directions to someone else where the place was located. (They interrupted me to ask what the street name was.) After her call, they kept gabbing, so I collected my stuff and wandered over to the other side of the room - where two people were leaving one of the tall ~24" diameter tables for two. I sat down and was about to get into my writing when I noticed a man at a similar table facing me chomping very loudly on his salad. I then noticed diagonally behind him a woman at a shorter table with one leg crossed over her other knee while bouncing her foot on her knee. I swear... It's like someone telling you not to think about a white rabbit... Once you notice the trigger, you can't pull your attention away from it. :-(
I switched sides of my table, so the salad chomper and foot bouncer were behind me. Now I'm facing the long window table on this side of the café (similar to what I experienced on the other side of the café.) In my field of view - just above the top edge of my laptop - is one guy tapping away on his computer and another guy who picks up his cup, slurps his drink, and puts it back down every 10 seconds - over and over. The constant up and down motion just as annoying as the woman bouncing her foot. Damn my visual misophonia triggers and wide peripheral vision!
I switched to the original side of the table where I was sitting and although the salad chomper is gone, the woman who was bouncing her foot goes between having both feet on the floor wiggling her knees in and out to bouncing both feet as if she was doing the foot portion of the crawl swim stroke. (Fair warning to those who have visual triggers... The video below shows some of her fidgeting under the table.)
I've had it... I'll find some other time and place to write... Just more incentive to finish unpacking and set-up a nice desk to write in the "controlled" environment of my townhouse. ("Controlled" is in parentheses because Tooki was being especially whiny today, even while sitting right by my ear. That loud, high pitched sound drove me away to find somewhere I could get a break from his whining.)
I first sat at one of the elongated tables attached to the wall by the door - where people would all be facing the same way towards the window. Despite it being empty when I sat down, a young (college aged?) couple sat next to me - the woman on her cell phone seeming to give directions to someone else where the place was located. (They interrupted me to ask what the street name was.) After her call, they kept gabbing, so I collected my stuff and wandered over to the other side of the room - where two people were leaving one of the tall ~24" diameter tables for two. I sat down and was about to get into my writing when I noticed a man at a similar table facing me chomping very loudly on his salad. I then noticed diagonally behind him a woman at a shorter table with one leg crossed over her other knee while bouncing her foot on her knee. I swear... It's like someone telling you not to think about a white rabbit... Once you notice the trigger, you can't pull your attention away from it. :-(
I switched sides of my table, so the salad chomper and foot bouncer were behind me. Now I'm facing the long window table on this side of the café (similar to what I experienced on the other side of the café.) In my field of view - just above the top edge of my laptop - is one guy tapping away on his computer and another guy who picks up his cup, slurps his drink, and puts it back down every 10 seconds - over and over. The constant up and down motion just as annoying as the woman bouncing her foot. Damn my visual misophonia triggers and wide peripheral vision!
I switched to the original side of the table where I was sitting and although the salad chomper is gone, the woman who was bouncing her foot goes between having both feet on the floor wiggling her knees in and out to bouncing both feet as if she was doing the foot portion of the crawl swim stroke. (Fair warning to those who have visual triggers... The video below shows some of her fidgeting under the table.)
I've had it... I'll find some other time and place to write... Just more incentive to finish unpacking and set-up a nice desk to write in the "controlled" environment of my townhouse. ("Controlled" is in parentheses because Tooki was being especially whiny today, even while sitting right by my ear. That loud, high pitched sound drove me away to find somewhere I could get a break from his whining.)
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