Gainesville and Its Coffee Shops Swell Back Up With Students' Return

Well, this is the weekend that the population in Gainesville swells back up again with its transient University of Florida student population returning (as well as a few attending Santa Fe College).  It's time once again for me to reconfigure my routes through town, especially to and from work, that have me driving through pockets of heavy student presence.  Looks like I may be taking some detours east on Waldo and Williston Roads or west on I-75 to avoid not just the University of Florida traffic, but also that of the public schools, which are also beginning. Moreover, it will again be necessary for me to keep tabs on important events taking place on campus...not because I'm planning to attend them...but rather because I'm avoiding them and the traffic emanating therefrom.  And, of course, I might as well resign myself to the fact that, starting next week, I'm more likely than not to walk into any Starbucks and not find one empty seat left: that's too bad since going out and sitting somewhere in public tends to focus my thoughts and helps me with some of my personal academic goals...

Maybe it's finally time for me to just face reality and make the big break from Starbucks...and start going to McDonalds instead.  Since I only drink regular brewed coffee, anyway,  why not save some money and go somewhere that I know will provide not only free Internet access (actually, I rarely go online except at home or on my cellphone), but also plenty of empty seats to choose from while charging much less for their coffee?  McDonalds fulfills all of these criteria, and furthermore, it isn't generally considered "cool" enough by those hipster and yuppie types who like to camp out for hours in the more highbrow coffee shops, hopelessly clogging up all of the seating along with the myriad students who use them for study halls (nothing inherently wrong with studying there...I do the same). And since I'm a working-class kind of guy, why not hang out in a working-class place like a national fast food chain?  The only problem I have with McDonalds is that sometimes they act confused when I order coffee at any time other than during breakfast hours.  Still, more often than not I get my order right away and can go on to study, read, and write to my heart's content.  And what's more, McDonalds are just about everywhere...there's even one within easy walking distance of my workplace. Yes, I suppose it's just about time for a change in venue.  I just hope that McDonalds remains "uncool" in the minds of many, especially all those pesky students...