Coffee Shop Stories - The Groups

This particular post dwells on the phenomenon known as the “barkada.” We all know that the word is the Filipino term for a collective group of friends, and the social interaction that coffee offers brings the barkada closer.

I’ve seen this up front, and have been part of a group countless times already. By my limited powers of observation, I’ve tried to classify the coffee shop barkada into the following:

1.) The Sales Meeting group – These guys would bring all their laptops and occupy one half of the floor with their gear for a “meeting” that lasts the whole day, and they use up all the power outlets. If this group is here for work, their cousins aren’t…

2.) The Slackers – When I was still on the field, this was the most convenient way to get out of the work (still is, actually). It won’t be surprising to see a group of Med Reps assigned to different areas, er, meeting up. I’ll have to say, I would do that before, calling my team to a CBTL to meet up because being in the office was just too cooped up.

3.) The Study Group – Most commonly applied to law and med students who would use the study tables with the matching lamps. It baffles me why these students do decide to study in those places.

4.) The Serious Folk – Applicable to Congressmen and Senators who decided to get coffee with us common folk. The only difference here is that they have their bodyguards in the other table. It can also apply to revolutionaries and the anti-capitalist people who decide to contribute to the economy with their hard-labored salary.

5.) The Friends – This group I have a lot of umbrage with, especially if it’s a High School or College group. I’ve seen this countless times where there would be a group of 7 to 8 kids gathered around a coffee table, with one cup of coffee between them. I wouldn’t usually mind this, if the coffee shops weren’t full. I’d love to see an fistfight between these two groups just to see who can stake a territorial claim to their tables.

Any other group you can think of? Hit me up, let me know.

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