your spot by the window
Do you have a “spot”? A table at your favorite cafe, a bench with your favorite view of the park? I’ve always wanted to frequent a place enough to have a spot, but I don’t leave my place much these days. Since the new year started I’ve been changing that in my own ways. It’s been years since I’ve seen Jesse. Maybe six? So we hung out this week and had coffee and crepes at a table by the window – his “spot.”
Meeting up after a long time will always have its uncertainties and anxieties, but I’m thankful for the friendships I have that effortlessly pick up from where they left off. There are friendships that will never miss a beat, no matter how much time has passed.
It was a little cloudy and a little sunny. Not very warm, but not cold enough for a hot drink. Most of the time I know what I want to order, but sometimes I’m so indecisive I annoy myself. Today was one of those days, but I’m glad that Jesse was really patient, and I’m glad I picked what I did in the end. The gradient on the caramel latte I got was especially nice. My favorite part about iced lattes is watching the espresso slowly blend into the milk.
After coffee we headed over to Twice Sold Tales, a secondhand bookstore that’s known for its collection of rare, out-of-print, or hard-to-find books. As we walked we came across a familiar street that was undergoing construction. I remember back in school there was a beat-up, haunted soda machine on this street. No one knew who stocked it, or what flavor you’d end up with (all 6 buttons are labeled ?MYSTERY?). But today we found out that it was gone. I was pretty bummed out, but I guess that’s just how it goes.
As soon as we entered the bookstore we were met with the smell of books and aged paper – a smell I’ve always felt was home. It’s been awhile since I’ve been surrounded by this smell. Maybe I’m being ambitious, but I’ve started reviving all sorts of things I used to love to do – one of which was reading books again. I even cleaned up my Goodreads account, so I was excited to look for some of the books I put on my to-read list. Goodreads has annual reading challenges where you can pick a number of books to read in a year, and then track your progress through their website and/or app (which is nice! I just installed that too). I’d like to read 40 this year, but more than anything I’d like to finally sit down and pick up the books I’ve been wanting to read. 🙂 It’s good motivation without a lot of pressure.
Another cool thing about Twice Sold Tales is that it’s also home to four bookstore cats. They can be frequently seen sunbathing by the windows or roaming around the shelves. It was really fun turning the corner and seeing one of them lazing around in the middle of the aisle! Cats are so carefree.
Here’s Buster! A super soft cutie.
“Is that WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA?”
“Of the few people I’ve ever had visit, you’re the only one who’d know that was WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA.”
I was really inspired by Jesse’s apartment. The way the sun filters through, the hardwood floors, the instruments and camera equipment everywhere. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do moving forward, rather than fixating on all the things I haven’t done yet. It’s taken me awhile to understand the difference, and I feel like a weight’s been lifted off my chest. Being able to share recommendations for music, movies, and books (as well as similar preferences for specific book covers haha) was such a breath of fresh air and reaffirmed a lot of the things I’ve been mulling over. Namely, the fact that you can start over. As many times as you need, as many times as it takes to get to where you want to go.
All you can do is keep walking towards the person you want to be. And today reminded me of that person. Thank you for a wonderful day!