It's a rare occasion, but sometimes even laptop-toting, wireless router-owning modern adults need a cyber cafe. Or at least, a place to print, scan and e-mail a document while you're waiting for your first paycheck in two months in order to buy a home printer. Back in the Pacific Northwest, that place would have been my local Kinkos. Here, the only place we could find in a moment of desperation was Next Step Cyber Cafe.
Now that my new Canon all-in-one printer is sitting so prettily on my desk, I can't imagine needing the cafe's services again, but I think I'll go back anyway. Because it is just so weird as to be a fun place to spend an afternoon.
How weird can it be, you ask?
Well, don't try finding the cyber cafe's website. It very nearly doesn't exist in cyberspace. Here's the only link I found worth mentioning: a business profile that lists the address and phone number.
Now imagine walking into a hole-in-the-wall cafe with hundreds of gaudy purses hanging from the ceiling. And packages marked in Chinese lining the walls. I assume they were snack bags of some kind, but my Mandarin is a bit sketchy. As in, restricted to knock-off pseudo-Chinese words learned from Firefly. The food smells pretty good, and some goth teens seemed to be enjoying their sushi and noodle plates in the corner.
Did I mention the tables are covered in linoleum? The same linoleum that covers the floor?
Are you starting to get why I think this place is awesome?
Back to the cyber part of the Chinese cafe/gaudy purse boutique. There is one computer, that I think dates back to the floppy drive days. But it does have a USB port so I must be exaggerating a bit. You can buy use of this fabulous device for $5/hour or $3/half hour. Don't worry, if you don't use the whole time during this visit, the minutes roll over to the next time you are in dire need of a cyber cafe.
Here's the process we went through: Buy time. Log in and print the needed form. Eat some "Genuine Hawaiiian shaved ice" while waiting for waitress/hostess/girl at the counter to go into the side office and retrieve printed paper. Sign and hand back. Finish your ice while you wait for her to explain to her dad how to scan the page. Several minutes later, get your usb stick back with the scanned document loaded on it. Complete sending of e-mail while Chinese ladies make oogly faces over your adorable daughter. Smile and head home.
Definitely a must-do experience.
EDIT: Aha! I found their...wait for it...myspace page! And it includes a menu. Of course.
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