What's the big deal?

I'm pretty lucky, my apartment is in a walkable part of town and it allows me to get out and do things without having to worry about parking or driving home after drinking.  I won't live in Midtown forever, so while I'm here I plan to do as much walking and exploring as I can fit into my few years.

On these walks, I often pass a pretty large Starbucks with a nice patio.  The inside and patio of the coffee shop are always full, no matter what time of day I walk or drive by.  It made me curious - what do these people do in Starbucks that makes it so much fun.  Maybe I'm just late to the game, but I've never been one to pack up my computer or a book and head to Starbucks in the chance that I'll get one of their comfortable chairs to sit in for an hour or two.  I don't see the benefits to that.  I love my couch at home, why would I leave?  And at my home I have wine.

So last night I tried it out.  After my run (after only a few weeks I can definitely run longer than I could before) I showered, ate dinner and then packed up my stuff and walked to Starbucks.  Like I suspected it was packed and I had to sit at a weird, uncomfortable high top table until a chair or table opened up.  Eventually I did get one of the giant chairs by the window which was nice, but it didn't beat my oversized chair at home.  I stayed for an hour reading my book and downloading a new one to my Kindle.  It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be but if people are going there to meet other people or to be scene, it's the wrong place.

Things I noticed:
1. 90% of people in Starbucks are on their computers.  80% of those people are on Facebook.
2. Nobody talks to the person sitting next to them, even though they are sharing the same table and electrical outlet.
3. The music was so loud that even people on cell phones (I was one of them for a little bit) were difficult to hear - thank goodness.
4.  As soon as your coffee is done, it's weird to just sit there reading/working.  I had to leave as soon as I was finished.
5.  The patio would have been nice with a dog or a friend - but there are so many other more interesting places than Starbucks in Midtown
6.  Speaking of electrical outlets, there must have been one every 5 feet