Wednesday Cafe

its not done yet.

Theodore strolled down 73rd street early Wednesday morning, just like he had done for the past 5 years. After every ten steps he would take, he would breathe in the cold crisp air that was a marked sign that it was, once again, winter. As Theo turns the corner, he notices the same layout of the yet-to-be busy street: the old Yiddish man on the corner of Winston and 73rd setting up his boxes of oranges, the old decaying gypsy woman next to him offering palm readings for only 10 dollars and the middle-aged black woman that sells poultry. He smiles and nods, quickly (and purposefully) losing eye contact in order to avoid any conversation with people he considered to be 'common folk'.

Everyday before today was the same routine: walk to Yard House cafe, pick up a brew, grab a paper and head to work. But today would be different. Today, Theo would have an encounter that would affect his life, as well as the life of his family forever. But Theodore doesn't know this yet. No, poor naive Theo is unaware that one young woman, full of bright hope and aspirations of her own is going to ruin his life.

Theo grips the cold door handle and pushes effortlessly. The small golden tinged bell rings, allowing other customers and the cashier aware of a new presence in the coffee shop. His eyes quickly graze over the small crowd of business people -- the 26 year old paralegal, giving his friend legal advice while he adjusts his tie to his liking, the middle aged brunette striking up a business proposal over the phone. But as Theo looks around, he notices something different- a young blond, seated near the floor to ceiling window, not dressed in business attire, flipping through an issue of Vogue. He is automatically intrigued by her presence in the coffee shop and finds himself unconsciously staring. She feels him stare at her, almost as if it was an invisible force on her front body. Her eyes innocently roll up to meet his gaze. Both become instantly embarrassed at the situation and look away. "I'll have a large Columbian", says Theo still taking small glances at the young lady whose eyes seem to get more enveloped in the magazine the more he stares at her. As Theo lightly grips the coffee cup, he finds that his legs have a mind of their own and start walking in the direction of the young girl. She looks up and smiles as she notices him walking to her table. "Hi, I'm sorry but I think I've seen you around before", Theo says his voice slightly trembling. "Hi, I'm sorry, but I think I've heard that line one too many times before", responds the girl with a slightly amused tone in her voice. "Your clever lines amaze everyone but me", Theo declares. They both smirk at one another and the young lady turns her head as she feels her cheeks starting to heat up with embarrassment. "Can...I, uh, join you?" he asks with slight hesitation, afraid of being shot down. "Yeah sure!" she remarks with a shot of excitement as if Theo were the first person to ever talk to her in her life. She reaches for her bag on the empty seat and throws it carelessly on the floor. "I'm Theodore by the way", he says as he plops his bottom on the cold steel of the chair. "Emilia", she quickly responds, "so what important place are you headed to mister?"
"Ha, I doubt you could consider it 'important'", says Theo with a chuckle, "it's just another day at the office, nothing as exciting as sitting here with you chatting".
"Oh so what is this boring job you do?" she asks with a curious tone.
"I'm the executive manager of Paper Age...and I didn't say it was boring, I just said it wasn't so important..." Theo reflects on the thought for a brief second, "Well, okay fine I guess you could say it's kind of boring, but after 10 years of working there, wouldn't you get bored out of your mind too?" he asks.
"You work with a paper company!? Like in that show "The Office"! she says with a bright smile on her face.
Theo accidentally lets out a large snort as if he's laughing at her. As a result her head pulls away as a sign that she is slightly offended.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you..." he says, his voice trailing off.
"Yes you were, do you think I'm mentally retarded or something?", she says defensively
"No--" she interupts his defense
"I can tell when people lie, and you're obvious because your eye does this retarded twitchy thing. You are a bad liar."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just haven't heard anyone compare my office to the office on the TV show. You just say things that are new and fresh, and trust me that's not a bad thing...are we okay now?" he asks.
Emilia looks at him and laughs.
"I was totally joking, I can't believe you bought that, you look so cute when you go on the defensive."
Theo sits in dazed disbelief, "wow that was harsh! But I forgive you..."
"You seem very
Emilia slowly opens up a wide grin. They stare at one another for what seems like an eternity. Their seemingly romantic staring contest is interrupted by a cell phone ring.
"Holy shit," Theo says as he jumps off his seat
"I'm 20 minutes late for work, I have to go, but is it possible if I could call you?"

Losing my religion

WOW i haven't been on here for a while. excuse my unintentional vacation from here. wellll here's a article i wrote for the Union. enjoy. or don't. its up to you, really.
I believe it was around 7 years ago, during the ‘millennium’ period that I had first seen the phrases, “The world is going to end!”, “God’s wrath lies ahead!” and my all time favorite, “The end is near!” posted everywhere – on billboards, bumper stickers, and sometimes even t-shirts. Now do you notice how all of those phrases ended with an exclamation point? It’s because if you’re reading it, the religious psycho wants you to know that they would be yelling it in your face if they were there.
Honestly, I’m sick of having people force their views on me, especially if those views are about religion. Don’t get me wrong, I have my own views on religion. After all I grew up in a strict catholic household where I was taught to pray every night and do things such as the rosary or a Friday night prayer. But in all of those years I spent being taught how to be a good catholic, I did not once voice/force my opinion on anyone who didn’t want to hear it.
I think it’s pretty obvious to everyone by now that religion is a very touchy subject – one that is almost always avoided as much as the subject of abortion, but let’s not get into that topic. So if almost everyone knows that religion is such a sensitive topic, then why still talk about it or even preach it to uninterested parties? Granted you want to “save my soul from the fires of hell”, and thank you for your generosity, but I’d rather save my own soul on my own time.
Everyone’s views on life, religion, or politics are all great in my eyes. Hell, I’m even content with the fact that you even have a view on any one of those things to begin with. And I will appreciate and always respect those
views – so long as they are not forcefully thrown into my face (and the small spit particles that fly from your mouth onto my face won’t help the situation either). I will only overreact if you overreact. And chances are if you are preaching about religion, you’re pretty much overreacting. But all that your constant preaching is going to do is make me lose my faith that much more. Since I’m in college, I’m already on the bends about my religious views, and it doesn’t help that an (annoying/arrogant/
inconsiderate) outside source is getting in the way of me making up my mind on religion. So do me a favor my fellow religious recruiter, and leave me alone while I am walking towards my destination. Because if you preach in my face about my existing religious views, I will just look at you straight in the eye and preach my opinion in your face. And I won’t be quiet about it either.