I've been married for more than a month now. The apartment is furnished and most of our gifts have finally made the trek from CA. I came back to a schedule of mostly closing the store, which doesn't make it easy to be a wife and make supper. I like making supper so this has been frustrating. I took it up with my manager and now my schedule promises to give me time to make meals and have relaxing evenings.

Working at this particular Starbucks is like participating in a new urban experiment. Really, that's what the Town Center where I work is as far as I can tell. Most everything you might need is within walking distance if you live in the condos and townhouses nearby, and farther away there are houses which seem to house an active set of walkers and runners since they show up in my store winded and sweaty, but they arrive on foot nonetheless. You can buy groceries, get your haircut, buy a beautiful flower arrangement, go out for ice cream, get your car insured, send a package, get your nails done, go to the bank, buy comic books, furniture, and picture frames, and go out to dinner at a number of nice restaurants. Soon you will be able to gas up your car. And yes, of course, you can get your morning latte. There is really a lot to do. There is a fountain that the little kids play in in their swimming suits and occasional concerts on the lawn. Another aspect that will soon come into play is the offices built directly above some of the shops. This means that we'll not only have local residents milling about, but the people who work there as well. The goal, it would seem, is to have local residents be the ones working in those offices and eating at the restaurants. I think a lot of people, whether they achieve this community centered life, would at least like to. The personal interaction is fascinating. I'm going to try to blog about it in the future.