Tuesday’s Bumper Sticker
Coffee House Rules
My home office is a comfortable place. Got a big desk, chair, books, all that stuff, with easy access to the kitchen and coffee.
You’d think it’d be ideal for writing. Cats, spouse, neighbors, and generalities seem to conspire against it working. If I had to name one as the greatest offense, the cats would take the spot. They’re like, “Hey, I hear him typing. I better go put a stop to that by getting on his lap or the keyboard.” (This is called an interflooftion.) Just doesn’t work for me.
So I like coffee houses for my writing endeavors. I abandoned my previous favorite (management changes, and they treated former employees (who are family) like garbage, so I’m gone). The search was on, causing me to remind myself what I was looking for. Also, people ask me, “What are you looking for in a coffee shop for your writing?” or “Why do you go there?”
So — no order, really, but numbered for convenience.
- Tables with chairs and access to outlets.
- Good coffee.
- Some space.
- Decent prices.
- Location – must be in Ashland, OR.
- General ambiance.
A nice staff also helps but I must say, in fourteen years of frequenting Ashland’s coffee houses, I’ve not encountered a nice (code for friendly and engaging) staff.
These are subjective things. (Right? Most things are.) I settled on Noble’s after trying a few places. Noble’s has all of the above (plus excellent scones and muffins (although I try not to indulge, right?) except their coffee costs one dollar more. After deciding on the place, though, I then had to pay attention to its ebb and flow, cause, you know, those tables, chairs, outlets, and space aren’t unlimited.
As with most places, you either must arrive early (typically before 8:30) to beat the morning rush. The next break generally arrives at ten. With Noble’s, I found the best time to arrive for my writing is 11:30 AM. The place empties. Most tables (with outlets) are available, so I have a choice of places. There’s then a forty-minute lull before they experience a lunch rush. I can settle in and write for a few hours. It’s great.
The start time pushes back my time, so I need to adjust either ends. Of course, this is winter; things will be different in other times of the year.
It probably won’t surprise you, but I ran into friends everywhere I went in to have coffee and write. (“Oh, you’re writing here now?”)
Alright now. Got my coffee. Time to write like crazy, at least one more time.
Floofdious
Floofdious (floofinition) An animal of a serious demeanor, prone to studying others, such as birds, insects, and flowers.
In use: “The St. Bernard was a floofdious mother, content with relaxing in the back and soaking in the world as the day stole past.”
Thursday Theme Music
I was fortunate by when and where I was born. Pop music with all of its manifestations and variations had started booming, a boom that has continued. Being able to hear marvelous talents demonstrating their talents and skills via a turn of knob, the push of a button, the click of a link was and is amazing.
The Beatles were a huge part of that development. Their breakup…well, it happened, like a favorite couple being divorced. But they continued as individuals, adding to the musical treasure.
Ringo Starr was the Beatles’ drummer. I always thought of his song, “It Don’t Come Easy” by Ringo Starr (1971) as almost like an anthem. For a few lucky folks, things come easy. But for the rest of us, this is an enduring theme song.
Cheers
Hello, It’s December
Hello, it’s December
the month after November
just a few months removed from September
do you see where this is going?
Hello, it’s a new day
are you gonna do a new way
or are you just gonna stay
with the hand that you’ve been playing?
Hello, it’s a new time
but I can’t find another rhyme
to carry on this theme of mine
so I guess that I’ll be endng.
Saturday’s Theme Song
Talking to the cats and feeling good. World is warming back up to thirty outside our window. Snow on the ground has gained an icy veneer. “All that’s okay, but the wind,” the cats say, “listen to that wind. Feel that wind. We don’t like the wind.”
“You’re alright, floofdudes. The wind is outside and you’re inside.”
“You sure? Because listen to those hisses, whispers, and howls.”
“Yep, we’re okay? Feel the heat? Have a treat. Don’t you worry ’bout a thing.”
And there it was, Steve Wonder’s lovely reminder, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing” (1974), a perfect song to release some tensions by singing aloud and dancing with your floofs.
Bang Bang Bang
I had three agents interested in April Showers 1921. Bang, bang, bang, all three came back yesterday and this morning, and said, “Thanks, I’m passing.”
Bang.
Conspiracy, I thought. They’re all conspiring against me. Then —
Rejection.
Dejection.
Frustration.
Depression.
Shrug.
Reset.
Go on.
Check on the other places where I’ve submitted. Remember that three out of the original twenty (which later turned out to be eighteen) were interested, not a great percentage (let’s not do the math, okay?), but still, somebody. Hey, I’m a writer. I’m required to be moody, temperamental, pessimistic, optimistic, and stubborn. At least, that’s what my muses insist.
Meanwhile, there are other agents. I’ll submit to them.
Meanwhile, there’s another novel being written, and it’s a lot of damn fun.
Got my coffee. Time to write like crazy, at least one more time.
Michael Seidel, writer 