I mostly make a choice based on convenience. Do I need to go to the U-District, to grab some books from my office, for example, or can I just stay in Ballard?

But sometimes I wonder to myself… do I want to be surrounded by White people or by a diverse population? Most of the time I am in the Cafe on the Ave, I am part of the norm since most of the customers are other students and half of them tend to be Asians. Here in Ballard, well.. I guess it feels more like the rest of Seattle. I don’t believe I’ve seen a single Black person step foot in Cafe Verite/Cupcake Royale as a customer.*

I like both environments (and anyone who knows me knows I am attracted to White women) but sometimes I feel like one setting over another, you know?

*Once, a young Black kid stepped in selling candy bars, obviously for some sort of charity. No one gave him the time of day. Most people immediately looked away after seeing him. (Admittedly, he was a horrible salesperson, not even plugging the charity in his sales pitch, but ya got to wonder… was it because he was selling something or because he was Black?) Nice. And this is in a coffee shop that supposedly cares about the community. Makes me wonder if they actually mean lower-class White folk when they say “community.” Or perhaps they just don’t see a connection between everyday life and charity.