It’s five hours before the shoot but I’m racing to Chicago anyway … 73, 75, 80 mph … I refuse to be passed on the interstate. I pretty much arrive everywhere early except one time a year ago when I was an hour late to shoot in Chicago. So now I leave a two hour buffer when I go there — even when there isn’t a marathon/Obama speech/soccer game/concert all on the same day. I make it in just over 2 hours with a couple more to spare. Huh, go figure. Wicker Park is empty but for moms with strollers. Feels weird — this domesticity — in the heart of hipster Chicago. Head into a cafe and order green tea. Comes in the tiniest glass pot ever and I wonder if it’s okay to ask for more hot water after I finish it in 2 sips. I decide not to because maybe it’s not proper tea etiquette and opt instead to stare into space a while. My book is amazing but nothing holds my attention right now. I read more for style/narrative voice than for character or plot. It’s amazing I don’t like poetry considering I don’t care if anything ever happens in a novel — I just want it to read beautifully and lyrically. Maybe it’s my obsession with music; I don’t know. These are the things I think about as I look at the cafe wall for probably an hour. Sometimes it’s good to have an excuse to do nothing at all.
Tomorrow I’ll have either an engagement session or a wedding for you all. Haven’t decided yet :)
love this little glimpse into AndaWorld. also, totally okay tea etiquette to get more hot water. I need to take you to the coffee shop I used to manage, we have great tea too.
i ask for more hot water ALL the time. i milk that tea bag.
I dislike it when people are late, as if somehow my time is less important to them than their own. That said, I am extremely loathsome of my own tardiness (like that time we met for dinner and my 30 minute drive turned into something closer to an hour!), and, like you, leave with what I assume to be more than enough time to get somewhere.
What you say about reading for style/narrative versus reading for plot I jive with. Completely. I think this is why some of the “classics” never stuck with me. If the voice is off, it doesn’t matter what happens…
But this isn’t about me.
Thank you for this story, and for writing just to write. You are quite marvelous at it.
Cheers, friend.
To tiny tea cups, and an endless supply of hot water.
Two things:
1) I want to visit a friend up in Chicagoland next spring and when/if I do, I’ll totally hit you up to see if you feel like venturing down that way again. We can sip on tiny pots of green tea together and talk books and such :)
2) I hear you on the love of style/narrative voice, etc. I think that’s why “Let the Great World Spin” and “Visit from the Goon Squad” are two of my favorite reads of the past 2 years. Such unique styles in both! I’ve been wanting to get into poetry more and while I’ve yet to pick up a volume of anything, I started subscribing to the daily Writer’s Almanac and it’s the BEST. I highly highly recommend. This poem from yesterday knocked my socks off: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2011/10/18
Gail:
1) yes, definitely.
2) awesome, thank you for the reminder about writer’s almanac! when i worked at the library we started off our mornings in the office with writer’s almanac. totally forgot about it. AND, i LOVED those two books!
I am the same way, I read for beautifully composed sentences and paragraphs. Lovely post as usual.
OH! “When Elephants Last In The Dooryard Bloomed” by Ray Bradbury. That’s some fun poetry. I mean, I think it is? I got the book in high school and this post-your talk of poetry-made me think of it. Especially since Bradbury is one of my faves. xo