Medium iced tea. regular. plain. nothing in it.

I went out on a limb yesterday and stopped by dunkin donuts for some caffeine before class and remembered why I never go to DD. The tiny little dunkin located basically in a hallway and a doorway was excessively crowded between classes so the workers (should I still call them baristas?) were all awry and generally unpleasant (although these Dunkin Donuts people are not rumored to be particularly pleasant anyway). So the woman who was taking orders suddenly had an important mission to attend to, abandoning me at the register with the non-English speaking woman who had been previously preparing peoples' drinks. I order my plain bagel and medium iced tea (easy right?) and she doesn't understand. She grabbed a hot cup and asked me what size. I said iced to get her in the right section at least. Then I said medium. She asked what size again. I pointed to the exact cup. Then the abandoner came back and asked me what I wanted so she could punch it into the cash register. Meanwhile the confused one is asking me something about my tea. I say black tea. regular tea. plain tea. (how many more ways can I describe this?) Finally I turn to the abandoner and she says (in a way that conveys her annoyance/bitchiness) "what do you want in it?" Me: "nothing!" her: "thats all she was asking!"

WOW!

THEN, some girl took my bagel, looked at it in clear confusion because it was not her bagel, reached in to the bag and touched my bagel before I could inform her that it was, in fact, my bagel. (Note to people: don't touch food if you suspect it might not be yours)

So this brings me to a bigger picture beyond my general dislike of Dunkin Donuts. Dunkin Donuts is not a coffee shop; its a pharmacy. People come in get their dose of whatever poison and get out. Their cups even have a little man running across the bottom because "america runs on Dunkin" America literally runs. according to Dunkin Donuts. But really I still consider DD an East Coast thing only. There are none on the West Coast and only a few scattered about in the middle and westernish states.

People always ask me what the differences are between California and New England and I have finally figured out how to respond. New England runs on Dunkin; they get their caffiene and get on with their lives. Californians sit in their Starbucks and read the paper, meet with people, chat about life, or go to the drive-through Starbucks on their way to somewhere else. We all know Californians live in their cars but could it be that this makes them more relaxed and laid-back? More "lets chill at the coffeeshop" than "give me my caffeine." I would even take this argument to the fact that West coasters are more social. (I know, that’s quite a claim, but hold on—I have a theory for this.) People in California or other driving-centered locations have a release, an escape, from other people: their cars. Drivers must pay attention to other cars but not directly people. People on the East coast, particularly in cities, have to rely on public transportation or walking where they are in constant contact with others. So as a California girl I will profess my love for my car and my coffeeshops and quit with the overgeneralizations and tangents.