My Abstract Morning

There is a draft where I’m sitting – directly above the air vent of course – so I slip on my jacket. I sit in the same worn leather booth every morning as the sun is rising over the concrete and treetops. The springs in the booth creak slightly as I shift my weight from left to right sipping my scalding hot cappuccino watching the morning masses saunter in. They, like me, saunter in half asleep to collect their breakfast fare and caffeinated beverages.

A tall, slender woman in a purple jacket is blocking my view out the window as she discusses the morning news animatedly with a short haired, middle aged man. They nod their heads as they speak; like bobble head dolls on the dashboard of an Oldsmobile. They are trading papers as the smell of bacon wafts through the air.

Random words float through the air from conversations around me creating a nonsensical story and in a moment I’m transported to a world of broken thoughts and concentration.

“Sister’s marriage…
Coffee pot leaking.
That’s all I’ve got
invested in the market.

He’s over there,
do you mind if I sit here?

So now, so…
Hi, how are you?
Whole grain bagel, toasted.
I know you do!
There’s a price to be paid..”

A coffee grinder screams; conversations underway. Breakfast is the priority here no matter what they say. Morning papers are risen and laptops are running. Typing is tickling and stomachs are grumbling.

Piano music gets louder and I’m left alone with my thoughts.

The car is broken, the bills need to be paid. Where did I put my that necklace? Do the dog’s claws need trimming? Did I check my Facebook yet? Where is that tax return? There’s a bubble gum machine in my head – insert a quarter, out comes a new thought – pink and yellow and blue.

My bagel is getting cold as I scoop out the last bit of cream cheese and take a bite. Work, less than an hour from now, should go by quickly.

Is that Chopin on the piano?

I smell the burnt toast.

James Frey’s book – A Million Little Pieces. That’s how my brain feels right now. Scattered and the screaming string music cutting through my quiet morning makes my leg bounce and I feel unsettled. I didn’t sleep enough last night but then again when do I ever?

I take a deep breath, sip my cappuccino and watch as the purple woman collects her things, unveiling the sun as she walks out the door. The music quiets down as the vent kicks on again and I’m back – in the flash of a moment – to my ever streaming consciousness.

It’s a new day – the promise of something wonderful is looming overhead. At least that’s what I like to think as I start off my morning the same way I do every day. Sitting in this worn leather booth, drinking my coffee, greeting the world and watching its people whiz around.

WOAH! Where’d you go?

Hey there blog-0-sphere!  I’ve moved and had a change-of-concept! You can catch me  blogging at www.attraversante.wordpress.com  (HERE).

I do hope you’ll stop by!

All my love,

Katie

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

Today’s Lesson: Fake it till you make it.

11:30 pm

I should really be asleep right now. I keep looking at the blinking green LED clock on the stove. It’s taunting me. Go to sleep Katie. Go to sleep Katie. Go to sleep now. I keep telling it that I want to go to sleep. I just can’t. Plain and simple.

Today was pretty uneventful. In fact I’m still in the same pajamas I was in last night. (Don’t look at me that way, you do it too.)  The only time I left the house was onto the back porch to drink an ice cold Hawaiian Punch and watch my dog Lily sniff around in the grass. It was quite relaxing, however also very unproductive.

I was thinking this evening during my mad dash-excuse of a dinner about cooking and how it parallels life in so many ways.

In Green

Lately I’ve a bit of an obsession with the color green. I’m not sure where or when this started but all I know is that I can’t get enough of it. The trees in my backyard are bright green, the plant on my patio table, the bamboo in my kitchen… I’ve even felt the urge to cook “green”. (Green foods, that is. Although I love to be saving the environment and cook green that way as well!)

For dinner tonight I made spinach linguine with parsley pesto sauce. Kermit the Frog would be envious of the green on my plate. I’m wondering if perhaps it’s because the season is ending and soon we’ll be surrounded by hues of golden orange, yellow and crimson red… whatever it is I feel the need for green!

Everyone is just waiting.

“Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite.  Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance.  Everyone is just waiting.”  ~Dr. Seuss

What a day! What a day!

Let me tell you about my job. I am an “Apprentice Jeweler” at the moment. I say at the moment because my jobs have changed on a moment’s notice and I never know where I’ll be transplanted to next. I’ve been a Catering Chef, an Account Executive for a shipping company, a Nanny and a few other things. This job is different, however. I can definitely feel the interest stirring inside of me in a field that seems to nurture and balance creativity and technicality. It peaks my interest to see how jewelry is made, where the concepts come from and how intricate details come together to make a whole, sometimes stunning, piece.

And The Award Goes To…

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” -Henri Bergson

Once again my blog-commitment issues have prevailed. It’s hard to believe it but seven months have gone by since my last post. At least I found my way back to it unlike other blogs that have disappeared into the abyss.

I'm addicted!

I’m sitting here in my dining room eating Nacho Cheese Doritos and thinking about what profound analogies or amusing anecdotes I could write about and find that once again, I’m planning before doing which is what I’d previously promised myself not to do. It figures as much.

So here’s what you’ve missed in the last seven months…

A Clean Slate

“Everything ends. But there are always new beginnings.” ~ Ralph Bellamy

It’s snowing tonight. The white flakes cover the imperfections of the earth below and create a sort of Winter Wonderland. It amazes me how quickly my little world and all of the things around me become like a blank slate. Still yet there is so much life beneath it, around it. It got me to thinking about my life and how I too have so many little imperfections (and yes, some big ones too) that I wish I could cover up. And then that got me to thinking about starting over.

Beginnings are so beautiful. Imperfect in their spontaneity and unusual in their uniqueness beginnings are ever changing – never the same for one person.

The Thinker

I tend to over analyze things. From the start of my day picking out an outfit to the end of my day in thinking about what happened that day it seems like I’m constantly thinking and analyzing.

What should I wear to work today? Is it going to rain? What if it’s cold? What if I wear something for the cold and it gets hot? Sneakers or flip-flops? If I wear flip-flops what if one of them breaks?

Quotable

I’ve started many blogs that I’ve never finished. I’ve never been able to get behind an idea and stick with it. It could be assumed that I have blog-commitment issues. Regardless I’ve found that perhaps there’s still something I have to say. So I’m going to try again in hopes that I end up with something I can stick with for the long run.

Life is quotable. Did you ever notice that for almost every situation in life there is a quote to go along with it? I enjoy reading what others have had to say and in that I’ve realized that their thoughts and words have inspired, provoked and even in some instances reminded me of things in my own life.

One of my favorite people to quote is Audrey Hepburn, as I’m sure you will see throughout the contents of my blog. So for now I’ll start by saying “Hello, again!” and end with one of my favorite quotes from the gal with the large sunglasses.

“I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.”