Third Place

I'm a homebody. I don't like leaving the house. I'm not gala, layas, lakwatsera, or ma-gimik like most people my age. I'd rather stay at home and watch television, read paperbacks, or surf the Internet. It's usually just school-bahay-school-bahay for me. I do go out during weekends, but that's often just to buy groceries, or go window shoppping. Yes, I'm as boring as they come.

But lately, I've been having a hard time staying at home to study my lessons. I always end up sleeping on the bed, cause that's usually where I read my books. My sister is actually fond of calling me "Masa" because of this. "Masa" stands for "masandal, tulog." Which is true! I can sleep any time, anywhere. I tried using a table to study, but I ended up placing my head on top of it, and just dozing off. So, a week before my midterm exams, I finally decided to drag myself out of the house to study somewhere else where I am in no danger of falling asleep.

I've been coming to this coffee shop near our place for sometime now. Ate and I tried studying there together in January, but we weren't very successful. Well, she was, but I wasn't. I decided to give it another shot two weeks ago. I found a table by the corner, bought myself a cup of coffee, and started studying. Surprisingly, I got a lot of studying done. From then on, whenever I feel like I really need to focus, I leave the  house, and go to this coffee shop - my third place.

By the way, I got the term "third place" from an old Starbucks planner. A third place is a spot you frequent aside from your house and your school/office.

This picture was taken during one of my study dates with Ate.

I remember telling my cousin how ridiculous it is to study in coffee shops because those places are often crowded and filled with social climbers. Some people like going to Starbucks or CBTL just to take pictures of themselves while sipping their 150-peso cup of coffee. Now, I wanna say sorry for my misguided beliefs. I take back everything I said.

It's actually okay to study there because they have spots intended for people who wanna do just that - study.   Most of the people there are also hitting the books. Some are holding meetings; others are just killing time. People aren't loud, and the place isn't as noisy as I thought it would be. The fact that the staff is very accommodating didn't hurt either.

But, as happy as I am about my progress there, I think I need to find a new third place. I don't want to make a habit of spending more than half of my daily allowance for coffee and pastries, just so I can avoid falling asleep at home. I need to find a place that's just as conducive to studying, but won't totally rob me of my savings. Any suggestions? :)