Floofasaurus Rex
Floofasaurus Rex (Defintion): a huge, dominating, powerful animal, thought to be the biggest and most amazing creature in the world. Catalogists have since concluded that Floofasaurus Rex did not exist, but was the product of people’s overactive imaginations.
In Use: “A T-rex came over the hill, shaking the ground with its weight. and splitting the air with its sound. Hearing it, the Floofasaurus Rex stood up from where it had been sunning. Floofing out its fur, the Floofasaurus bared its canine teeth and issued a long, sharp growl. Hearing the sound, the T-rex carefully backed away from the Floofasaurus Rex, preferring to avoid battle with the acknowledged queen of the land.”
Window-floof
Window-floof (Definition) A cat or cat(s) who enjoy sitting in windows, or outside windows, spying on whatever is on the other side, and sometimes, discussing world affairs with whatever’s on the other side.
In Use: “A classic window-floof, Quinn sat on the covered grill on the patio outside the window, silent, until Michael noticed his presence. Then Quinn commenced an interrogation about what Michael had been doing, even though Quinn had witnessed these things over a thousand times before. Quinn knew that it was better not to assume.”
Floolze
Floolze (1) (Definition): the snoring and/or breathing sound a sleep cat makes.
In Use: “Tucker’s floolze sounds like the house is breathing.”
Floolze (2) (slang): A cat taking a nap.
In use: “Looking for Papi, Michael found the little ginger floolze in a ball in the closet corner.”
Today’s Bumper Sticker
“Imagine what you can do.”
Floofkitty
Floofkitty (1) (Definition): Aggregation of shed cat hair that resembles another small cat or other animal, or bushes.
In Use: “We moved the the refrigerator for cleaning, exposing a herd of floofkitties that took flight with the wind currents, as though they were frightened by our presence.”
Floofkitty (2) (Definition): A cat with a super-abundance of fur that provides the cat an illusion of being larger than they are.
In Use: “Quinn, a floofkitty that resembles a raccoon, looks like he could weight sixteen pounds, but tips the scales at half of that.”
Today’s Theme Music
Today’s music is provided by Eric Burdon and The Animals, so it’s an old song, yeah?
I remember that Mom was really excited about Eric Burdon and The Animals coming on to television. I’m not sure what show they were appearing on, as I was about eight years old. I think it may have been “The Ed Sullivan Show.” I lived in Wilkinsburg, PA, on Laketon Road, across from Turner Elementary School. That’s how vivid this memory is of that week. Mom was talking about it while ironing and dressing to go to work at her job as a telephone operator.
Eric Burdon and The Animals’ appearance hugely disappointed Mom. Somehow, in the course of the advertising, she thought it was to be singing animals! My older sister laughed and laughed over that.
This song is an old stand-by for me. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” was often selected as a theme song when I was down, depressed, frustrated, or bitter, which seems to be quite a bit. I would sing it to my self, my wife, my cats, my work teams, whatever. There’s something freeing and invigorating about singing, “We gotta get out of this place, if it’s the last thing we ever do.”
Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or intellectual, if there’s a place you gotta get out of, this song is ideal for fortifying your determination to do so.
Here they are, from nineteen sixty-five, Eric Burdon and The Animals, with all the glory of nineteen sixty-five technology.
Floofhound
Floofhound (1) (Definition): A cat who thinks it’s a dog.
Floofhound (2) (Definition): A dog who acts like a cat.
Floofhound (3) (Definition): A loyal cat who follows you everywhere.
Floofhound (4) (Definition): A person who really, really, really enjoys the company, images, and stories about cats.
Today’s Bumper Sticker
“I’d rather be at the beach.”
Routine Changes
I like patterns. I dislike calling them routines.
They probably are routines, or habits. For writing, I go to the same place at roughly the same time every day, and order the same drink. It might also be a habit. As parcel to this pattern, I walk.
Variations exist. I prefer writing in mid- to late-morning, so I tend to arrive between ten and eleven. A musician friend of mine is usually leaving as I arrive, so we have a private comedy routine we engage in about changing shifts, ha, ha. Sometimes, I don’t arrive until early- to mid-afternoon, driven back by other commitments.
I sit in about the same area, but at different tables. Yes, I do have a favorite and try for it.
This was all deliberate. When I began writing in earnest, I needed a structure to encourage discipline. Now the structure is just comfortable, and convenient. By engaging in this process, I free myself to write without letting small details interfere.
None of this is new. What is new is that potential change is crowding the horizon.
This writing location isn’t my first choice. It’s a decent coffee shop, with decent writing vibrations. Service is wonderful and the owners are pleasant, polite people. Prices remain shocking, but that’s the modern world’s nature, what with supply and demand, wages and energy costs. Overall, it works.
I came to this place when my previous writing location abruptly ceased doing business. That forced me into a hunt. I tried every coffee shop in town to begin in search of my new haunt. After narrowing the list down from seventeen to three, I frequented each several times.
I have a set of requirements for my writing place.
- Space to write
- Good writing energy
- Wi-fi
- Good mocha drink – something chocolately, with three or four shots of espresso
- Reasonable prices
- Decent service
- Convenient location
- Clean enough not to be offending
All of this has come up because a new place is to be opened. After three years of inactivity, a new coffee establishment is opening where my previous preference was in business.
Friends familiar with my routines want to know, “Will you start going to the new place?” Well, if it meets my eight needs listed, probably. Right now, this location falls short on good writing energy and convenient location. A little over two miles from home, I often hop in the car, drive closer, and then walk.
This is a compromise. I’m not fond of it. But I have other things to do and can’t always plan to consume that time to walk down there and back.
That’s excuse number one. Excuse number two is weather. We have many days over one hundred degrees in the summer. Winter walking meant enduring rain, snow, ice and wind. It just wasn’t pleasant, and was countering my desire for a walk to shift into the writing mood.
Mind you, my coffee drink’s flavor is important. I’ve tried multiple drinks before deciding that mochas work best for writing. I think that the coffee, sugar and chocolate combo stimulates my creativity and focus.
The new place is much closer. At just under a mile, it’s a fast walk. Variations can be followed to extend the walking time. I found that walk down was perfect for setting the mood to write. Then I could trudge and tramp around afterward to decompress, think and shift back into the real world.
I will try the new business and see if it works. I’ll do back to back comparisons between the two.
Space to write and writing energy are the most critical components. Everything else pales. So we’ll see.
I’m going to do what works for me.
Michael Seidel, writer 