I’m bored of Van Pelt. I don’t want to Rosenparty, I just want to get my work done. But I’ve exhausted my alternative study spots. Saxby’s suxbys, Green Line’s tables wobble and I run into too many people at the Bookstore. I’m way too lazy to leave the Penn bubble, so where do I go? McDonalds. And you know what? It’s pretty perfect.
First and foremost, you no longer have to buy a value meal to use the WiFi — it’s free. Only families with adorable children come to Mickey Ds in the afternoon so I never run into people I feel obligated to talk to. It also never gets so quiet that you want to fall asleep. Unlike the unbearable soundtracks played at other cafes — stop with the easy listening, please — McDonalds plays all jazz all the time. I bet you never realized that Ella and Miles serenade you as you buy your Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT. Then, there are these timers that go off every seven minutes reminding the employees to throw away food that is ‘too old’ to sell. It sounds like an emergency room in there. Far too annoying to lull you to sleep.
But the best part of studying at McDonalds is that I want to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. Not only does it smell like a mixture of grease and BO, but there are no outlets. Normally, this would be the downfall of any study locale, but it motivates me to stop procrastinating and get shit done before my computer dies. I have never been more productive. If I’ve learned anything from chilling at McDonalds, it’s that studying is not about comfort; it’s about getting work done. And McDonalds sure is uncomfortable.
