Let's grab some coffee, blogger friend of mine. You and I. You and me? I'm not sure which one is correct.
Anyway, come in, sit down, let me brew some coffee for you. Have I mentioned that one of my old roommates sent me this French Press from Denmark? How cool is that?
So if we were really sitting down for coffee, I'd ask you about how your life was going. How is your life going, by the way? Has it been as busy as mine has been lately?
I'd laugh as my cat jumped up on your lap. Which she would, by the way. If you were here.
I'd tell you that I'm almost done with my second term of classes! How time flies! I've got a project due tomorrow, a project and final on Monday, and another final on Wednesday. Crazy times. Then I'll actually get a Spring Break! Haven't had one of those in awhile. Tell me, why is it that adults don't get Spring Break? Because they should. Everybody should.
Then maybe we'd talk about the latest books we're reading. What have you been reading lately?
I'm about 160 pages into The Long Walk, a short story by Stephen King. So far I'm not entirely sure what the point of the story is yet, but he is an excellent writer so it doesn't really matter.
SPOILER...
So far it's about this kid who apparently lives in a somewhat-dystopian future version of 1960's Maine. He's one of 100 teenage guys who are walking until they die. Literally. That's pretty much it so far. They just walk and walk and walk... so far they've walked about 94 miles in 24 hours. If anyone stops, they get a warning, after a minute they get another warning, on the 3rd warning they get shot by some soldiers who are monitoring them. Cheerful, huh?
The actual writing reminds me of that movie Stand By Me, which is only appropriate since Stephen King wrote that one too. But what I can't figure out is why they're walking and also, where they are walking to. I can't figure out if there's just one winner or if there's a finish line and whoever passes it wins. The premise kind of reminds me of The Hunger Games, actually, except in that book they actually explained why the kids have to fight to the death.
This book was written when he was in college and probably not as good of a writer yet. That's the only thing that I can think of. I figure he'll get to the point eventually. Hopefully. Still, he does have a way of creating believable characters, which is a pretty remarkable feat in this book since they aren't really doing anything except walking and dying.
END OF SPOILER...
So anyway...
Do you need a refill on coffee? Oh, speaking of coffee, I was watching a biography about Starbucks the other day. Did you know that Seattle really didn't have ANY good coffee shops before Starbucks became a thing? Weird, huh? Coffee is pretty much what Seattle is known for these days.
Have you ever driven cross-country? I've been following the tweets of Kelsey and Nicholas as they've been driving from the East Coast to Portland, Oregon this week. She's moving here. Not sure what he's doing. Anyway, it's been thoroughly fascinating to follow their adventures West since I've been reading Kelsey's blog for awhile and since I used to live in Portland. As much as I don't really even know Kelsey at all, since we've never actually met, I think she will love living there! I did, anyway.
Traveling vicariously with Kelsey across the country this week made me wonder what it would be like to actually do a cross-country trip like that. I really have no desire to drive long distances, like at all, but the idea of seeing all there is to see along the way really appeals to me. You learn so much more about a place by seeing it slowly. Sure I could hop a plane and be on the East Coast in a matter of hours, but would I really get a sense of what this country's about? Maybe I'll have to drive coast to coast someday, just to say that I have. It'd be a great story to tell my grandkids, don't you think?
Anyway, come in, sit down, let me brew some coffee for you. Have I mentioned that one of my old roommates sent me this French Press from Denmark? How cool is that?
I'd laugh as my cat jumped up on your lap. Which she would, by the way. If you were here.
I'd tell you that I'm almost done with my second term of classes! How time flies! I've got a project due tomorrow, a project and final on Monday, and another final on Wednesday. Crazy times. Then I'll actually get a Spring Break! Haven't had one of those in awhile. Tell me, why is it that adults don't get Spring Break? Because they should. Everybody should.
Then maybe we'd talk about the latest books we're reading. What have you been reading lately?
I'm about 160 pages into The Long Walk, a short story by Stephen King. So far I'm not entirely sure what the point of the story is yet, but he is an excellent writer so it doesn't really matter.
SPOILER...
So far it's about this kid who apparently lives in a somewhat-dystopian future version of 1960's Maine. He's one of 100 teenage guys who are walking until they die. Literally. That's pretty much it so far. They just walk and walk and walk... so far they've walked about 94 miles in 24 hours. If anyone stops, they get a warning, after a minute they get another warning, on the 3rd warning they get shot by some soldiers who are monitoring them. Cheerful, huh?
The actual writing reminds me of that movie Stand By Me, which is only appropriate since Stephen King wrote that one too. But what I can't figure out is why they're walking and also, where they are walking to. I can't figure out if there's just one winner or if there's a finish line and whoever passes it wins. The premise kind of reminds me of The Hunger Games, actually, except in that book they actually explained why the kids have to fight to the death.
This book was written when he was in college and probably not as good of a writer yet. That's the only thing that I can think of. I figure he'll get to the point eventually. Hopefully. Still, he does have a way of creating believable characters, which is a pretty remarkable feat in this book since they aren't really doing anything except walking and dying.
END OF SPOILER...
Do you need a refill on coffee? Oh, speaking of coffee, I was watching a biography about Starbucks the other day. Did you know that Seattle really didn't have ANY good coffee shops before Starbucks became a thing? Weird, huh? Coffee is pretty much what Seattle is known for these days.
Have you ever driven cross-country? I've been following the tweets of Kelsey and Nicholas as they've been driving from the East Coast to Portland, Oregon this week. She's moving here. Not sure what he's doing. Anyway, it's been thoroughly fascinating to follow their adventures West since I've been reading Kelsey's blog for awhile and since I used to live in Portland. As much as I don't really even know Kelsey at all, since we've never actually met, I think she will love living there! I did, anyway.
Traveling vicariously with Kelsey across the country this week made me wonder what it would be like to actually do a cross-country trip like that. I really have no desire to drive long distances, like at all, but the idea of seeing all there is to see along the way really appeals to me. You learn so much more about a place by seeing it slowly. Sure I could hop a plane and be on the East Coast in a matter of hours, but would I really get a sense of what this country's about? Maybe I'll have to drive coast to coast someday, just to say that I have. It'd be a great story to tell my grandkids, don't you think?
Wow! Thanks for making me feel like I had company here in my kitchen this morning! You are a great writer and I really enjoyed reading this.
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