There was a change in ownership at the Neighborhood Cup recently. The previous owners haven't made a formal announcement but there were telling signs and activities meant to bring about a fresh face to the establishment – a new arcade game table with most of the classic games including PacMan, Galactica, 1984 and many others for the classic price of $0.25 per game. A few days ago there was a contractor eye-balling the place, measuring walls and doing calculations for what I assume will be a re-design of the cafe. All that is a welcome change that I hope will make the Cup more appealing to a new set of future patrons. I have since met the new owners who confirmed the acquisition of my de facto office and favorite purveyor of caffeine.
With little variations, my routine has been much the same for the last few months. I'm usually one of the first patrons to enter the Cup in the morning. There are generally only two other individuals who would beat me by a scant few minutes – Joel, a corporate lawyer and Mary, an optics technician. When I come through the doors I usually set my bags down at the same table I've been using all these many months. I would make a quick about face to turn on the television and flip the channel to CNBC. Then, I would use the restroom. When I return I would place my order, now called “the usual” – the Neighbor Eggel and a small cup of coffee.
I'm usually still a walking zombie when I enter the establishment. So, this morning when I traversed that corner of the Cup where the television was, a moment of intense anxiety came over me. The television and my eyes to the world was all but gone. All that was left were the wall mounts and the cables hanging off it. The previous owner had taken it as part of, I assume, the transition. I have yet to speak to the new owners but one of the questions that I will ask will be - how big will the replacement television going to be? There used to be a television at the library next door. But after someone started bringing his own remote-control that he had synched to the tv and caused a fight, the head librarian decided it was best to curtail its use.
So, I am now frantically looking for a way to access all the television channels on my computer so I can watch broadcasts live. There are way too many things happening in the world these days and I don't want to miss a thing. The outlet I found a few months ago, JustinTV, a consolidator of different channels had served us well. But for some reason these channels were not available to us this afternoon. There are certainly other ways to access these news outlets. Unfortunately, some require subscription and monthly fees. CNBC, for instance, makes access available for $29.99 per month with all the bells and whistles. At the moment, I haven't the money nor the credit card to acquire a membership. So this presents me with one of those moments. Such is the life of an indigent litigator. It is one challenge right after another as if Nietzsche was thinking of my brethren when he penned for us these words:
That which does not break me, make me stronger.
