Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th, which is supposed to be unlucky. So far, so good.

Cartoonist Walt Kelly had a thing about Friday the 13th. He almost always pointed it out in his Pogo comic strip whenever it rolled around. And sometimes, on months when the 13th fell on another day, one of his characters would observe, “Friday the 13th fell on a Tuesday this month.”

Marisha, my favorite barista, tells me this is her final day at Hastings. She starts at Seattle Grind on Monday.

So Seattle Grind, which I discovered has a very pleasant ambiance – much better than Hastings – will become my official favorite coffee and Wifi joint starting next week.

Hastings seems rather indifferent about customer service (with the exception of Marisha), and I was somewhat put off when they moved the coffee carafes behind the counter and no longer allowed customers to pump their own refills. It makes more work for the baristas and suggests they don’t trust the customers.

And the unwashed masses don’t seem to have discovered Seattle Grind yet. So there’s no problem finding a table near an electrical outlet. All of the outlet tables were occupied when I walked into the Hastings Hardback Cafe this morning, so I’m working on battery power.