“Thanks for heading out with me today.”
You kidding? It’s gonna be glorious, even if I just nap. I’ve got to catch up on my dreaming by the end of the month.
“End of the month?! What’s today?”
Thirty-first, sweatheart. I envy you that you don’t have to know that.
“I almost forgot, I’ve got to pay some bills.”
Okay, you want I should turn around? I should've really considered a wireless option. That way you could've just used that.
“We both know you didn’t need it. You just thought it was a cool gadget. Anyway, I’ve got an idea. There’s an internet café two exits further up.”
Oh, right, the Internet Café of the Blue Ridge. I thought this was a big tech corridor up here.
“Just because you don’t have wireless internet access doesn’t give you an excuse to be ignorant. Just head into the middle of town when you exit and I’ll point it out to you.
Well, I'll be damned. I didn't know this place had internet access. Still seems out of place on this clapboard mainstreet.
We pull up, walk in, and go straight to the counter. First things first, coffee and pastries. I get a wonderland-sized mug and a large French press, you get a small coffee in a large cup to leave enough room for cream. I'm gonna try the pineapple spice muffin, you want anything to eat?
"I'll just have some of yours." ("Wait, I want the pan au chocolate." Well, you should've told me to order it, now it's too late. "I know what this is, you're still sore at me for writing my own piece in your notebook." No, I really liked that one, can't you just go along with having some of mine? It's familiar and cute, and besides these cupcakes are huge. "Yeah, come to think of it, you probably don't need to eat that whole thing." Oh, that's good, let me quick toss that in...)
"You'll need to spend a little more time biking before you eat that whole thing."
Hey, the truth hurts, cut it out.
The girl at the counter is less entertained at our banter than we might expect, and asks, "Either of you going to need to log on? You'll need to pay for time first."
We each get a password, and find a place to sit. There's even an empty terminal for Snowman to sit at.
Say, do we need to get a password for him too? The girl at the counter just gives me a blank look. Tough crowd this morning.
"I think it might be your delivery. What're you going to do, write?"
Nah, I’ll do that later outdoors while you’re working. It’s too hard for me to compose on a keyboard anyway – feels too choppy and my thoughts get too far ahead of my typing skills. Now a pen, that’s fluid there.
“So what are you going to do? Sudoku? Internet Crossword? Some other game?”
I’m going to load up on some ideas, catch some Blogs that make me Think. Maybe I’ll catch a thread of something that could launch a story idea later.
First I take a bite of CandySandwich.
The blogger there has such an active social and cultural consciousness. She inspires me to act, and makes me consider my excuses. I really should be able to find a little more time for things like that. In the meantime, I'll read about it. She seems to also be on the run much of the time, which draws some parallels to my own pieces.
"Okay, step one complete. I'm done checking my e-mail."
Anything interesting?
"I got invited to an event back in the city. Nothing really other than that. I don't really get much mail on the weekend. I like the wallpaper that one's got, reminds me to have another bite out of your muffin."
Can I go along to your event?
"Sure, if you can promise to behave yourself."
So, next I'll check to see if Always Write is living up to her name.
She gets past the face of the everyday and looks for the meanings we shorthand or overlook. I like her thoughtful take on the details. Like thay matter. Which, of course, they do.
“What’re you reading now?”
Didn’t you say you had to pay some bills?
"Sure, but I keep feeling like someone is peeking at me out of that page your looking at."
I know, makes you feel like you better be demonstrating good posture, don't it?
"Alright, I'll get to those bills now. You can go ahead and get back to thinking without worrying about my being over your shoulder."
You go ahead and do what you want with my shoulder, you know I don't mind. As long as I'm on this page, I might as well jump to one of these links I usually like to check in with...
Not Quite an Army of Monkeys Typing
He never settles for the easy answers, and has more than the usual perspective to share ("This Army marches to the beat of a different drummer?" Yeah, so I'm gonna take advice on my delivery from you?). Plus a laugh or two. Clearly he only posts when he's got something good to share. Makes for a long wait sometimes (Um, now are you taking issue with how frequently someone else posts? I'm not sure you ought to rush to have any more parentheticals after the drummer thing you just pulled.). It’d be nice to have a way to get notified when new ones come up.
"I'm almost done. Get you another coffee? Another french press?"
I would prefer not to. Just a house brew, thanks. Looks like they've just started a fresh pot after the morning coffee rush. Hey, did I ever show you the coffee ritual?
"Nope, what's that?"
Wait I got a better idea, is there any non-dairy creamer?
"Just the big can of it."
Hmmm, maybe another time then. From Barbara's blog ("Hey wasn't she the one responsible for the little plaque thingy you added at the top of this one?" Well, I'd like to think that I'm the one responsible, but yeah, she was." Anything you'd want to say then?" Yep: Thanks Barbara, that was very charitable.), there's another link I like to check out:
Forbidden Planet
Takes on some big issues right out of the blue, usually with a particularly poignant quote or citation. He's so certain and strident with his conclusions. He often hits the target just right, in a way that challenges the status quo. On the other hand, sometimes he makes me roll my eyes or shake my head or argue, but he never leaves me unmoved.
"All done with the bills, you ready to go?"
Just a bit more, one more I jump to off of Barbara's is:
Drawing Conclusions on the Wall
He raises and investigates interesting questions brought up by practical interaction with the world. Makes me doubt his professed Techie-ness. His blog really gives him the opportunity to show how he can use his know-how to get his point across. Plus, gotta like vicariously going for a mid-day bike ride.
“I like the dogs, too. But we really have to get out while the light is right and before it gets too hot out."
Couldn't we could find someplace shaded? Okay, but it still leaves me with a bunch of other thoughtful blogs I have to leave out. Looking to Live I already mentioned, it’s an example of a well-considered life. (“When are you going to take this thing to France anyway?” I ordered the French press in this one, it must be in the works somewhere. Give it some time to percolate.) Gold Poppy is great to just soft-focus stare at, Reya has a great way of capturing photos that reflect her thoughts or see through to another level. Velvet in Dupont used to make me think; yeah, it used to make me think "WTF". Caged Bird Sings often is driven by good ideas, and has a thinking community of readers, though sometimes it's just about TV. Infinite Connections always has an interesting topic up for thinking about. QuarterVolley has some thoughtful insight into...
**** PASSWORD EXPIRING IN 30 SECONDS ****
Aw, heck. Okay, we can go now.
