Slowly but Shirley

What makes today different from all other days (in the past week and a half)? Today was the day I finally allowed myself to git up off my tuchis and get coffee from somewhere other than the press pot in my kitchen.

The past ten days or so have been a little bit trying; I've discovered during this elongated recovery period that sitting at home on the couch alone for several hours at a time is really lonely, and that the frustration is only compounded by being in constant, if dull, pain.

My boyfriend has been an absolute prince, doting on me when he gets home from work, on weekends and whenever possible, and allowing me to hang on him like a koala to a eucalyptus branch, but aside from those times, I've been sadly loafing around at home watching the Game Show Network and feeling sorry for myself.

But oh! Today! I woke up feeling adventuresome, I thought, "Ok, knees, just try and stop me." And wouldn't you know, they didn't -- I could walk! For very short periods of time, and often with a limp!

And so, because I had long been wanting to check out Cafe Collage, I decided to hobble over this afternoon for a delightful Americano (Intelligentsia's Black Cat blend) and a really kickin' scone (Balthazar).



Getting out of the house makes such a difference; This coffee increased my quality of life tenfold. If my honey had been with me, it would have been too good -- my head may have exploded!



It's funny, I've never really understood the idea of setting up camp in a coffee shop and doing work there, but today it was such a great relief to sit somewhere and write with people chattering around me. Tuning in and out of strangers' conversations, being separated from the TV for one g-ddamned hour (thank the Lord, as much as I love Match Game) and sipping a quality espresso drink -- it was heartmending.

Even more so was when my good friend Evan fetched me, and we shuffled (well, I shuffled) over to Cafe Grumpy for a tea and a coffee, respectively.



We commiserated, made each other laugh and did some brainstorming, and it was even better than what the doctor ordered (4 Advil 3x a day and plenty of rest), and certainly more entertaining. My beau has observed that I seem to be feeling much better this evening, and I wouldn't hesitate to attribute it to some good, old-fashioned quality coffee-and-friend time.

Now I'm going to go back to my tequila gimlet and this pre-recorded episode of 24 that I'm only half paying attention to... Some things never change.