9/30 Who needs TV when you have customer service at Barnes & Noble?

Shirt: Elle for Kohls, Jeans: Old Navy: Shoes: Steve Madden: Scarf, Ralph Lauren, thrifted

Yesterday morning I awoke to a downed Internet and a repair guy who couldn't show up until "sometime between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and midnight, never," so I was forced to scramble over to the nearest Panera to mooch off their free wi-fi and gorge myself on pastries.

After several hours in my booth, I ran out of things to order, and the Panera staff ran out of patience with me stealing table space from their dining customers. So I picked up my computer, capitalized on free refills at the coffee carafe for the 20th time, and headed down the road to Barnes & Noble to see how long I could stay before the magazine section caught my wandering eye.

Turns out, I was not the only one turning the bookstore into my office, and the sole open seat I could find was a recliner set directly next to the customer service counter. And in this position, I discovered it wasn't the magazines that I had to worry about, the customers at the counter were a far better distraction.

Here's some highlights:

- Middle-aged man approaches counter looking for a book called Magnetics. Employee asks who it's by. Customer: "No one that I know of, I'm just hoping there is one."

- Man in construction gear looking for The Sourdough Cookbook. Looks like someone's aiming to please at the company bake sale.

- Mohawk man in search of The Ultimate Pregnancy Journal. What a sweetie, right? And please, oh please, give your baby a matching 'do. See here for why.

- Middle-aged woman looking for a book with a title I couldn't make out. Employee says they don't have it, but she can put it on order. Customer: "No thanks, my book group is meeting to discuss it at 6:00." Tsk tsk procrastinator.