July 2008 - Posts
So although I LOVE my new habit of heading to the Goat to write, I also love lazy Sunday afternoons that could be spent entirely with pen in hand if I so wished. Sunday now seems to be turning into a stay-at-home-writing-with-at-least-one-kitty-in-your-lap kind of day and since the Wandering Goat doesn't deliver, I have to take matters into my own hands.
Ta da!
Yes indeedy! Cafe Wozzie serves fresh, hot zucchini muffins (with that produce coming from a local CSA thankyouverymuch) and a delicious cup of vanilla almond rooibos tea steeped in an adorable tea pot that my sweetie got for me and then served in a Josh Allen original mug. (Josh is a pal of mine and made this mug for me. He has a groovy clay studio called Clayspace that you should most definitely check out!).
Cafe Wozzie knows how to treat a writer right!
I was successful in my venture to locate a place that could become my go to venue for all things writing. All I had to do was become a bit of a wanderer -- a goat if you will. Like this:
There is a cute little coffee shop tucked away in the Whiteaker District, not too terribly far from where I live. Every night this past week I have gotten in the habit of hopping on my bike and peddling over to The Wandering Goat. Here I find a hip little place with high top tables, vegan pastries, coffee galore, and if I so choose, I can order up a microbrew or a silky glass of vino. The energy is laid back and chill. The people are always friendly. Dogs are allowed. It's like it was custom made to be my writing place. As soon as I walk in I'm ready to write...and I'm DOing it!
And as if I needed more of a reason to love this place, I read The Legend of the Wandering Goats and fell in love even more.
As an added side note: I've been experimenting with my writing drink of choice, and although I've had some less than desireable experiences with coffee (can you say WIRED?) in the past, I decided to give it a go once more. The first night I left the WG I actually thought to myself, "Should I be riding home like this? Maybe I should call a taxi." The coffee had me buzzed and feeling more tipsy than the last dirty martini I downed while dancing many months before. So with that in mind, I decided to forgo the bean beverage on my following trips and am now back on to tea. Chai. White. Black. Green. I love them all. And I wondered if tea was "writer-y" enough or if it had to be coffee or nothing (perhaps smoking would be a more "proper" writer-y addiction?), but I decided that I'm coming into my own in so many ways I can have whatever writer-y vice I so choose. So tea it is, and add a side of vegan goodness to that, too, please.
Is exactly what this is:
So many of us look for it. So many of us want it so badly. Yet will it ever be as sweet, as innocent, or as complete as this?
Considering this blog was originally intended to chronicle where I am in my journey of being a writer, I guess it's appropriate to at least mention what is going on in my writing life, no?
Moving to a new city has really opened up a lot of new opportunities for me (as you have seen in many previous posts). New adventures also lend to transforming into metaphorical food for writing. Trust me, the ideas are always buzzing about and sometimes in unexpected avenues. My passions are evovling in interesting ways and my personal goals are taking shape; the best way for me to further sort those out and explore them is through, you guessed it, writing.
I have my notebook with me at all times in case inspiration strikes or if I need to work thoughts out on paper and I value the portability of this tool. I've been able to write in a parking lot in my car, on a couch in my mechanic's waiting room, in my bed with a plate of fruit nearby and most recently a local beanery with a hot soy chai tea. This lends to wondering where a steady place to write might be here in Eugene. Would a cute little cafe serve my needs or should I seek out shade under a tree in my neighborhood park? I don't have to decide on ONE place to write but it would be nice to have one place I could go to that provides an escape. A place that as soon as I arrive my mind immediately focuses on that page.
So the hunt begins and I'll undoubtedly keep you posted.
While many celebrated the history of our nation's independence yesterday, my personal day of independence came one day earlier. Months of rocky roads are now behind me. The life I am starting to love is one that I can now fully embrace. I finally get to "officially" begin a relationship that has taken me by storm in a way I never thought possible. After wondering if they ever would, things are actually falling into place quite gorgeously.
Roger and I went dancing that night. We kissed. We held hands. We toasted to new beginnings. He held me close and told me how much he loved me. My heart swelled and I knew several things in that moment. I knew that I'd come far in my growth as an individual. I knew that I didn't need anyone to complete me because I was already whole. I knew that the feelings I once confused for love were so completely different than those that I now bask in every single day. I knew that he was the one. In that moment. In that kiss. I was free.
