Hello friends! A quick post this lovely Saturday evening which may or may not lead to more writing down the line, who can say? Certainly not I. As is usual, I’ll start out by noting the absolute gorgeousness of this day. It’s about 50 degrees outside, a chill that delights my heart and warms my soul. The sky is of a cornflower blue, it’s face friendly and well-washed by the recent rain. And feathery clouds rest atop the horizon heralding the sunset that is soon to come. I could have stayed at home and written there of course and I almost did. But I walked down the street to the coffeeshop here mostly because I craved the walk and all its attendant delights. Now I sit here at a small wooden table at Antidote, resting my back against the block wall and subtly listening in on some of the conversations around. Right now to my left sit a couple from England talking to a couple from the Netherlands and I’m enjoying their random chat. But let’s see if I can shut that off and focus on writing, shall I? The electronic beat of the music – warehouse techno in styling – sounds firm in my ears and drives me ever forward. I must write. I shall write. My fingers have been inactive too long. But what? Shall I write of that which I love? Shall I write of those dreams that linger afore my waking eyes and softly draws me closer with the soft scent of rose perfume? Or shall I instead crack open my heart a bit and let it pour forth that molten gold that has been in the forging processing these many months? I know not, I know not. Too often I allow myself these stream-of-consciousness sessions and at times it is beautiful but at times I slightly worry about what may issue forth. But then I remember to whom I belong and who even now is at work pruning me and making me fit for the far country for which I long. And I smile and worry no more. I am a child of God, am I not? What love is mine. So let’s write and let’s love and let’s wonder. I’ll let others worry, I simply rest on the promises that are mine. Peace and love, dear friends.
Tag: coffeeshop
A Little of This
Hello my friends! I sit here in a random coffeeshop this hour. Or actually not so random. Antidote, long time no see. I believe it’s been years since I’ve actually sat here with my laptop to write. It’s strange to be back again but also kind of homey and I have now realised I need to come here more often. Mayhaps you will fill this hole in my cosy coffeeshop craving heart that has not fully healed since the closing of EQ. We shall see. But for now? It’s kind of nice to feel comfortable and at ease in coffeeshop with partial grunge/industrial vibes. I’m weird I know, come out and say it. Anyways! What shall I write? It’s a luxury this afternoon, I have a bit of unhurried time in which I can simply sit here and write and/or read and I don’t have anywhere I have to be for a few hours. What is this wonderful gift that has been granted me!? So I sit here now with my hot decaf americano and sip slowly, grateful for a fully-charged laptop, a beautiful upright chair (why is back support so important these days – I suppose I am not in my 20s anymore…) and the beautiful buzz of background conversation that makes me feel as if I am in the midst of people living their lives and talking about drama and I feel most assuredly that as I type here and now I am not alone. Well, of course I know that and generally I do not give in to melancholia (please no one call me a liar, especially please don’t quote any of my poems), but sometimes the silence that comes with sitting in your own room can make one feel a bit claustrophobic and manic at times. You know? Is that just me? Hm. I have forgotten how alive I feel when I write at a coffeeshop. Of course all this typing now is just nonsense stream-of-consciousness perfectly geared to warm up my writing muscles and relax my mind in order that I might more sweetly seduce my muse into giving up some of her charms to me this lovely December afternoon. We shall see how successful I am and I am most certainly not promising anything profound. But do I enjoy writing just for the sake of it sometimes? A thousand times yes, even if nothing productive or beautiful results. So I make up the tenth person in this small coffeeshop (not counting barista – for some reason, no one ever does count the barista, hm) and as I sweep the small confines with my gaze, I feel my heart warm as I consider these wonderful men and women whom I share this space with this day. I wonder what their heart fills with as they sit here breathing the same air as I. I ponder what dreams rage within their hearts as their faces flush with anticipation for what their soul longs. For me, I am grateful that I can in peace and quiet write a few words. I feel my heart slow and my mind still as I prepare to enjoy this most beautiful afternoon. Peace and love, my friends.
Ragtime
Saturday morning time here(well – technically afternoon, 12:03 at the moment!) and I’m at Starbucks with my mocha americano and my will to write is flagging. Alas. I have had a lovely morning…it is nice and cold outside – in the 40s! – and I did mean to go for a nice run in the early morning dark. My body decided it did not want that and I slept through my alarm…woken up by the sun instead. Guess I needed the extra sleep!! And truly I did – stayed up late last night watching the Astros game with Jared. And by Astros game – I mean World Series Game Three. Because yes – Astros are in the WS! They’re up 2-1 at the moment. Two more games. If they win, Houston will go crazy and it will be magnificent! They may only be my third baseball team(after Rays and O’s) but I’m still heartily rooting for them. Anyways! That was last night and of course it was much fun watching it with Jared. This morning after I finally dragged myself out of bed, went and had a great breakfast time with Earnie and Jake. Oh so encouraging. And now here I sit at Starbucks and it’s already after noon and I probably should go soon because I do need to do a little shopping, stop at the dry cleaners and then get home to do cleaning and chores.
So…can I write as much as I planned? I suppose not. But…I think I do have time to share my latest CD tracklist…composed a few months ago and it is utterly fantastic(even approved of by Laura and Caisson!). It’s story? Well – I had planned to make a more “melancholy-lite” playlist but I had also wanted to put some new Needtobreathe songs on. And it then morphed into what it is now – a playlist that starts gloomily enough but soon morphs into some good old-fashioned toe-tapping fun. Because it has a few songs that could be considered a bit more country/folk…it’s title is thus influenced. There are quite a few songs that have glorious harmonica! I also chose the title from one of my all-time favourite verses from one of my all-time favourite chapters from one of my all-time favourite books. As lovely as this earth may be, I do confess that I am a stranger and an exile in it. So do I present…A Country of Their Own:
1. Solitaire – Marina and the Diamonds
2. The Last Time(feat. Gary Lightbody) – Taylor Swift
3. All Too Well – Taylor Swift
4. Call You Home – Mangas Colorado
5. Black and Blue – Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
6. Funeral Beds – The Districts
7. Money & Fame – Needtobreathe
8. Unbelievers – Vampire Weekend
9. Happiness – Needtobreathe
10. Supercut – Lorde
11. Forget – Marina and the Diamonds
12. Born Again Teen – Lucius
13. Great Night(feat. Shovels & Rope) – Needtobreathe
14. Trustful Hands – The Dø
15. Postcard Memories – Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
16. Feet, Don’t Fail Me Now(Live) – Needtobreathe
17. Wasteland(Live) – Needtobreathe
18. More Heart, Less Attack(Live) – Needtobreathe
And I am now all caught up on posting my playlists. Finally!! I guess that means it’s time to craft a few more. One more note on the above – I do truly love it. It ranks up there with eyes closed, Heart Open as a list of songs that mirror my heart and thrill my soul…shadows the melancholy I sometimes feel…and echoes the joy that overflows my cup when I remember my true home. May all my “creative” endeavours always be thus.
Peace and love, dear friends.
What is Not to Love?
Hello friends – happy Saturday!! I am posting at a later time than usual this Saturday…and a not-normal place. Currently sitting on my couch as I enjoy my raspberry/banana/spinach smoothie…most notably not at Starbucks, shocker! But I’ll explain why in a bit. It’s been a beautiful Saturday so far…starting off with sleeping in until 6, which was much enjoyed(and much needed). It’s been a long week, with work just being crazy busy and moderately stressful and most tiring all the way around. So last night was an enjoyable relaxing evening. Dinner of fish and potatoes followed by reading…started reading John Owen Vol 3 – “The Holy Spirit”. It may take me a year to read it but it will be glorious. Over six hundred pages of very small words…in sentences that are not easy to understand. But oh so worth it and oh so beneficial and encouraging to my soul. Thus continues my lifetime quest to read all of John Owen.
Anyways! This morning as said previously, woke up at 6, enjoyed a nice coffee and reading time here at the flat. Then went down to Black Walnut for a nice breakfast with Julie! We haven’t had time to get together in quite some time…so as I enjoyed my salmon eggs benedict and honey-sweetened coffee, we had much good chat(and at least on my side – I was much encouraged!!). Oh what a sweet friend is she. Following that, went to Men’s Wearhouse to get fitted for my suit for Julian’s wedding(which is in January and I can’t wait! Kelsey and him are perfect together – such a God-honouring couple. Truly glorious shall this wedding be!). After that, did a few other errands…then stopped at Starbucks where I truly meant to sit down and get some writing done. I got distracted by Katie who had just got off her shift and was having lunch before preparing to study for some of her classes. We ended up talking for over an hour about sundry topics…a totally unplanned conversation that was very enjoyable nonetheless! I do so love talking with someone that loves God and seeks to honour Him in all things. Very thankful to God for this random talk that He blessed me with!!
Following chat with Katie, I realized it was past lunchtime and I still needed to do my food shopping. No time to stay at Starbucks and write alas! So left Starbucks and went and did my HEB/Trader Joe’s run and finally made it home…talked with John and Camille for a bit before they ran off and I sort of enjoyed some leftover soup that needed to be eaten.
Now…I’m sitting here on the couch, half-watching the Michigan State/Indiana game(incredibly boring 3-3 game at the moment…) while I write this entry. This is a bit of rambling entry, but it’s been a while(I think?) since I’ve done one of these, so I will indulge myself. Soon I shall be off to Starbucks(yes, again!) to meet up with Earnie and Julian. It will be a sweet time of fellowship with dearest friends, of that I have no doubt. And because I really have nothing else to write…I guess I’ll sign off? Oh! I do have a poem that I need to finish and post at some point, but don’t think I have the muse at the moment. It’s the kind of poem that needs to be written at early-weekday-morning time…with the melancholy that can only come from brooding at work in the early dark. So – maybe next week you’ll get to see that.
Oh one more thing. Pizza Hut commercial just came on. I cannot wait until I can eat that again. It will be BEST NIGHT EVER.
Now I really shall end this. Peace out!
Third Quarter
So…I came to Starbucks with the intent to write and maybe create something beautiful. Instead – I ended up running into a couple friends(hello Earnie and Kevin!) and now that they’re gone, I’ve most definitely not done anything creative at all. Instead, I realised I haven’t copied over my poetry from livejournal into my word file for a while so I went ahead and did that. Now, getting a hankering to perform some analytics on my poetry…clearly work is affecting me. Ah well, since the creative side of my brain is sulking and not cooperating, I suppose I’ll let the engineering side have some fun. Looking at all the poetry I’ve written since…a long time ago – here’s the count of “poems” by year. Obviously many of these both were and are not that well written, but I still do so love writing. An outlet of my emotions. A window into my heart, my soul….
2004: 5
2005: 7
2006: 6
2007: 6
2008: 9
2009: 4
2010: 6
2011: 8
2012: 10
2013: 9
2014: 5
2015: 3
2016: 9
2017: 11
So those numbers don’t really tell me that much, except for things I already knew(my Scotland period was extremely inspiring!! and…this year has been an interesting one. I’ve already hit my record and I have over two months to go!). I have some other poems I’ve hand-written in various notebooks but I don’t have the desire to dig through all of those to add to my file!! Maybe someday(probably never). Also – if I write two more poems, I will hit 100. Fascinating. (Ok, not really). I hope this poetry analytics hasn’t bored you all too badly!! I’m now going to stop indulging myself and will sign off and go off to store for shopping time! Have a most beautiful day, my friends – my love is with you all. Always.
Oh So Woke
Right – I was going to post a nice long meandering entry this morning at Starbucks. Sadly, when I first got here there was no convenient table near an outlet and my battery was low, thus I was restricted to writing in my notebook for a time instead. Now I don’t have long as I must be off homewards so I can have lunch and get on with the rest of my day! So this entry will have to wait…maybe tomorrow. I wanted to write on some of my concert experiences and some of my recent thoughts on suffering for Christ and really just let my fingers dance across the keyboard for a time. Alas, maybe later.
But I shall at least share my joy at this wonderful morning. Clearly I have been in Houston too long and am much corrupted by that fact…but as it was barely 80 degrees this morning, I couldn’t help but roll down the window and let my arm hang outside the car as I drove…fall is finally (basically, kinda) here and it is glorious!! And as I drove down Briar Forest Drive…I was reminded again of the goodness of the Lord. This road I drove down was adorned with many overhanging boughs and hedges of flowers and kindred things and for a time, I could feel as if I was driving down an old country road in the Scottish countryside. For a time. So my God this morning has granted me a blessed experience of the lovely world that He has made…and I remembered anew all that my God has done for me. Maybe someday I will live somewhere where I am able to more often see the beauties of the world that God has made…but for now, I shall be grateful for these quiet glimpses of forest grandeur.
Peace and love, always.
Jazz and Coffee and Sun Most Bright
So thought it was time to post another one of my recent(eh – sort of – sometime earlier this year at least!) mix CDs. This one is a fun one, with a very brooding first 3/4…you may not know most of these songs, but I have much enjoyed this CD. I have fond memories of this CD…the first time I listened to this one was when driving to Earnie and Mandy’s wedding reception up in the country north of Houston. Driving along a winding country road to the beat of quality tunes…good times indeed. Will always remember that! (Side-note – just had Earnie and Mandy over last night…much good chat was had over chocolate chip cookies and wine. Quality combination? I say yes!)
Back to the mix…there is also a few more foreign language songs than I usually would put on a CD. I think I have Portuguese, French and Arabic all represented! I know at least Caisson and Laura like this one, since I sent them one copy when I first made it!!
Laura was just listening to it when I called her the other day. Anyways…let me present…Long My Imprisoned Spirit Lay:
1. Silence – Portishead
2. The Rip – Portishead
3. Sour Times – Portishead
4. Lise – Emilie Simon
5. To The Dancers in the Rain – Emilie Simon
6. Demier Lit – Emilie Simon
7. Desert – Emilie Simon
8. Ya Sidi – Orange Blossom
9. We Carry On – Portishead
10. Starve the Ego, Feed the Soul – The Glitch Mob
11. Fortune Days – The Glitch Mob
12. Small – Portishead
13. Sing it Out – Switchfoot
14. Hello Hurricane – Switchfoot
15. Lightning – Morningsiders
16. Empress – Morningsiders
17. I Built a Home – The Branches
18. Fight to Keep – Run River North
A Fountain Flowing
Hello friends – happy Saturday!! I have a few moments in Starbucks this morning, and as I sip my peppermint mocha…decided I should catch up(a bit) on sharing my mix-CDs playlists. I haven’t done it for quite some time and I’ve burned some four(I think?) new mixes in the past months. Anyways – this one is going back a ways…but it is a good one, I say. So let me share…A Blinding Jewel of Light and Beauty:
1. A Mess Like This – The Dø
2. Lost Boy – Ruth B
3. 1901 – Birdy
4. Empty Gold – Halsey
5. Ace of Hearts – Zella Day
6. Song for Lovers – The Dø
7. My Heart Got Caught on Your Sleeve – Lucius
8. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight – Birdy
9. Sleeping In – The Postal Service
10. Don’t Make Me a Target – Spoon
11. The A Team – Birdy
12. The Sun – The Naked and Famous
13. Until We Get There – Lucius
14. Infinity – The XX
15. Foxbeard – Run River North
16. Till The End of Time – A Boy And His Kite
17. You’ll Find Your Way – Andrew Peterson
18. Always – Switchfoot
19. O Day of Peace – Josh Garrels
A pretty solid mix, if I do say so myself. I’m trying to think if there’s any themes I want to talk about from above…but really, it just follows my typical pattern of messiness and yearning and chasing solace and lostness in the beginning two-thirds…then finally it turns and a new hope is revealed. I’m pretty fond of this one.
Have a most gorgeous day, my dear ones.
To The Shops
So I was planning on writing a long and interesting entry here today. Really!! I’m here at Starbucks for the first time in a while – just felt like getting out and about and being somewhat public in my coffee-drinking and computering – and I thought surely I’d then feel in the mood to write for a while. Sadly, that has not turned out to be the case. I have been (mildly) productive at least. Gotten a few correspondences written and just now written my shopping list – planning a dinner of baked cod and mashed potatoes tonight and it shall be glorious – this I declare!!
Any other news? I suppose I could ramble on and on about nothing in particular, but that doesn’t sound appealing at the moment. Just know that it is a quiet September morning here and although not all is as I would wish it, I trust in the Lord. Truly a lesson I need to be learning of late. Sometimes it seems I try to make things happen of my own volition and that…doesn’t always work. Yet it is also no good to simply sit back and “wait for God to work”. It’s a balance of having faith in my God that He is working…and also taking steps in faith, trusting God that He is working in and through me, each and every day. Oh that I would ponder on the mercies and glories of God more. The things of this world are pale and thin indeed when compared to the glories of knowing my God.
Remember that, always.
Peace, my friends – peace and love.
An Old Kind of Music
Hello friends…and happy Saturday! I have but a few minutes to write, as my steak is currently sitting on my counter and it will be time to cook it in less than 15 minutes! So I fly. Just thought I’d briefly chronicle the events of today, as it truly has been a most lovely day. Started out the day with a nice cup of coffee(warmed and heartened by honey and milk!) and some Psalm-reading. Fortified in both body and spirit, I then got some errands done – haircut and car wash, check! Following, had a nice lunch with John, Camille and Julie…good food, good chat, good friends. Thanks be to God. After that, I needed to give Julie her last birthday present, so she came by briefly…but it was such a gorgeous day(and it still is!) that we decided to go for a walk and soak in the sunlight a bit. We had a fantastic walk and even better talk…but eventually further errands demanded my attention. Did various shopping and then came back here, cleaned a bit…and now it’s almost dinner time! I decided I craved steak…so steak, mashed potatoes and asparagus is on the menu for tonight. Mmm…
Now, thought I’d leave you with a poem from last night’s Lord of the Rings reading. I do love it so, how each time I read this book, I find new favourite chapters…and so last night, shockingly enough, I discovered how much I loved the chapter “The Old Forest”. Who knew? Certainly not I. But reading Tolkien’s lovely prose and poetry…oh was my heart warmed and spirit thrilled.
Now let the song begin! Let us sing together
Of sun, stars, moon and mist, rain and cloudy weather,
Light on the budding leaf, dew on the feather,
Wind on the open hill, bells on the heather,
Reeds by the shady pool, lilies on the water:
Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter!
So yes, I think it is safe to say that this is still a book that brings joy to my heart. Now – time to create something that will bring joy to my stomach. Before I do – just know again how thankful I am for this day my God has made. My heart is overflowing with thankfulness. Peace and love.
Something Weird 