At 360 Uno

Sunday, August 29, 2004

blue_skies.jpg

Blue skies a few months back...

Everyone not working here has a laptop. Six of us. We sit at our individual brushed-steel tables in our perky red vinyl chairs, facing west into the sun rays that run obliquely from the windows across the people, furniture, variously placed ceramic plates and mugs, crumpled napkins, and red Segafredo napkin dispensers, leaving sharp, snaking geometrids and shiny quadrilaterals on everything they touch. Each of us type importantly, holding the same slightly round-shouldered posture. The three women closest to the window hammer away at a collective writing project of some variety — a script, maybe. The two men behind them — Trilogy Software employees according to a brief conversation early in the evening — flit hither and thither through various windows of code and compilers. I sit behind them writing this, enjoying the opportunity to invade the privacy of others by watching the work on their screens.

Haley works here, now. At 360 Uno Café right at Loop 360 and Westlake. I stopped by out of curiousity and ended up with a cup of minestrone, an iced mocha coffee, free samples of about a dozen flavors of gelato, and a hard-boiled egg. I hope I haven’t spoiled my dinner.