Starbucks, Marina Square

Friday, 1 June 2012 - Back when I was in university, and I think for a few years afterwards, one of my favourite things to do was to sit in a cafe in the city for a few hours and read a book. There were a few places I liked to do this. One of them was a Coffee Bean at Millena Walk. The other was a Starbucks in Marina Square. The former I would sometimes meet my mother at for coffee during her lunch break, and then after she went back to work I would stay, and sit for a few hours more with my book. The latter... I think I started going because one day I went with a friend of mine from National Service. We were just hanging around Marina Square and stopped by there for a drink, and afterwards I kept going back, because it was a good spot to people-watch from, as well as to read.

The Coffee Bean at Millena Walk is gone now. Since 2023, apparently. My mother has since retired as well. The Starbucks in Marina Square closed for a while, but re-opened again in the same spot. I walk past it sometimes during my own lunch breaks. I haven't really been back since.

It's not really something I do anymore: sitting in cafes to read. Maybe nowadays cafes feel a little too crowded to be sitting in for hours at a time. Or maybe it's just that I have to be a lot more careful with caffeine now. But I miss those days.