Rude People As Usual

I love Panera, Thruway rest stops and other places that offer free WiFi. It allows me to get work done when I'm not at the office without going blind by trying to do everything on my blackberry. So why is it that no matter how far in the back of the room I sit or how many seats are available in the area, some asshole always sits right next to me.

This morning as I enjoy my souflee and smoothie in Panera before I head out to a meeting, I am enjoying the pissing match between two "businessmen". I put businessmen in quotes because they clearly come into Panera every morning and bitch about how difficult their lives are but neither of them has a laptop, blackberry or anythign else that they could use to work. One of them is about 350 lbs and wearing a flannel shirt and sweat pants. The other one is in a track suit. I don't want to judge other people but what kind of business are these people operating? Neither of them seems to be very motivated to leave here anytime soon. They are moaning about the government and the stock market etc, they know the names of all the employees at Panera (who also seem to know who they are); it's like an episode of Grumpy Old Men live in here. I think you have assigned seats when you come in here every day and it doesn't matter how many seats are available you always have to sit in your same spot every day even if it inconveniences someone else who was there first. I guess I just have a bad habit of chosing the wrong seat. Maybe if there were name tags on the seats that said "Reserved for loud, smelly fat guy who reeks of cigarette smoke and breathes with his mouth open" I would know not to sit next to that table.

Incidentally, I am here to have breakfast before a 9:30 am meeting. Panera is closer to my meeting location than to my office so it is a common stop for me. I will be here for about an hour total. I am not wearing a track suit or a flannel. I am not talking loudly on my cell phone or trying to prove how smart I am by talking about current events at the top of my lungs. I had a complegtely different blog topic selected but was so overwhelmed by the insecurity of the men near me that I had to change topics. I think I might have to relocate to my car and squint at my blackberry in peace so I'm relaxed for my meeting!