friends don't waste wine when there's words to sell

today i spent the day toiling away at work, then came home and taught myself some guitar. i also experienced an interesting phone call.

this is a photograph of the student prince, which used to be one of my favorite places to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee. it was a casual, little mom and pop-esque joint that was frequented only by grizzly regulars including a regiment of tobacco smoking farmers and their gritty, stubby fingered wives.

that's all changed. first there was the smoking ban, which eliminated the hazy atmosphere that i had grown used to over the years. of course, now i could actually taste my 60 cent plate of wheat toast, so that was a positive. but this summer the establishment underwent a remodeling.

now, the interior is a stark, bleak, clinical whitewash with poorly stapled leather benchseats to replace the undeniably torn and worn but still cushioned former seats. the menu also altered: no longer is their a focus on the good old homestyle cooking, a diner-esque palette. now it features ice cream specialties, and is trying to tote itself as a more commercialize, family friendly establishment.

wtf- i just want some sleazy, unknown, grimy little diner in which to get my cup of coffee and socialize with friends of old. now where am i supposed to go?

even mcdonald's has wi-fi these days.