What I do - Part 2 - Caffine Dream
Free time. I like that the word we use for independence is one synonymous with "cheap," and possibly even "worthless."
Course, I've never been much for being a consumer. I'm also poor, so to me, nothing gets much better than "Free."
With few periods of my life not withstanding, I've gone to Lestat's almost every single day for years now.
It's a small coffee shop when compared to most European ones I remember. It's a large coffee shop compared to most Starbucks chains. It's named after a character in an Anne Rice novel. It has red bricks on the outside and lots of nice modern technology on the inside, like wireless (and FREE, btw) internet access, moving poster screens in front of Lestat's West (the music venue next door), and ashtrays.
And seats that commonly break. The entire patio is strewn with these chairs.
Oh, but the patio is nice. It's more of a small courtyard now. It's almost reminiscent of New Orleans in its ambiance. It also does a mildly decent job of keeping away the bad weather; cold breezes, burning sunlight, Dragon Shirts, and all.
It's here, out back of a coffee shop, where my friends and I spend most of our free time. I usually order an Earl Grey tea, large, definitely caffeinated. Candis orders Pepsis. Daniel usually gets coffee. Matt doesn't have a usual, other than he usually makes something effing weird.
And I guess it's mainly Matt's realm, now that I think of it. I do spend a great deal of time there, but I had a relationship a few years back that took up a lot of my Lestat's time. Daniel works, has a band, had a relationship for a long while too, and generally keeps himself busy.
As for Candis, well, despite whatever anchor tethers a few moments out of her day there, she is always moving. Lestat's is her greenroom, where the actress appears only when not on camera in the real show.
These are the main people I spend my time with there.
If our little group was made into a television show, Matt would definitely be John Hughes' hero. Candis would be the character that the audience would always like to see, but would have little screen time because good writers are like life. You fuckers don't get what you want. Daniel would be the guy that keeps everything running. And I guess that would make me the dooder that shows up on the other side of the fence, comes down from the apartment above, or calls in to give the advice that anyone else may need at just the critical moment.
There are the others that are close to us there; Charlie the Asian filmmaker, Rochelle the ex that might just punch you in the face, Victor, who's quips probably do punch you in the face, Evan, Jen, Danica, etc.
Then, there are the other employees. Troy, Nick, Longworth, Goudy, and all the rest.
I'm pretty sure that we're either a bad "reimagining" of Gilligan's Island, or "Friends" if it had aired on a network where you could violently describe Alabama Hot Pockets and Meatcubes.
Not to mention nudity. Ah, nudity. Where o' where would the world be without Monopoly… er, I mean, nudity. Certainly the world would not be at Lestat's.
No, we are heathens of the worst sort. There are no curse words to us, because we have nothing to curse. All topics are equally open to debate, and will be debated, and even if we don't like you much, we will still tolerate you.
Some people come to be tolerated. Some of us, most of my friends and I included, I hope, come here because it's an easy, and cheap, place to invest our time.
And as much as I think we waste time there, I also think it's an investment.
Matt's starting to get into photography. Candis and I are beginning to write again. Daniel has always had something going on.
I have hope yet for the place.
Lestat's is also close to the Old Sod, a bar that has the right mix of atmosphere, chill, and places to smoke.
Lestat's is at once the place that we always talk about getting away from, and the place that pulls us all together. It is the destitute's Mecca.
Dreams of greater things often pull at us, but yet most of us stay single, or get involved in dead-end relationships. We use the place as an escape from our dead-end jobs. And unless you've never really thought about the word before, dead-end means that it winds down. It's entropic. It bleeds off a little bit of our life at a time until it ends in death.
Dreams on the other hand are the beginning of growth. The opposite of dead-ends. You have to be careful with dreams though, using them too much turns them from what they do best into being a narcotic.
I think many people use Lestat's as a way to share the dreams they have with others. Dreams breath through sharing. Every day the dull ache of another step towards the end seems more tolerable amidst the endless parade of distraction that this coffee shop proffers, and with such little cost to the pocket.
We sit there, all of us, each an author, an actor, a photographer, a musician. We keep the hard work of realizing any of these dreams at bay with the spectacle we set it in.
Recently though, we've been taking slow steps.
The purchase of a camera. A joint gig between bands. Writing through frustration.
There are four elements to realizing any dream. A start and a way, both of which I think I've got down now. Perseverance, which is always the difficult part. And luck, or the uncontrollable elements. Anyone can work on the first three, but if you want to rely on the fourth, then you don't understand what "uncontrollable elements" means.
But it's the third factor that we all have to work on. Perseverance. Making it happen every day.
I need to find the way to make completing what I want to work on actually happen. Despite frustrations, inconveniences, daily tasks, the allure of socializing.
Despite dropped change.
I've seen it happen. Now I just have to make it happen everyday until I've got another completed novel staring at me.
So, to wrap up another long blog, if you don't go to Lestat's, you should. Unless you're a fucking Dragon Shirt, then don't bother. I don't want to hear about you inventing anti-gravity in your mom's garage.
For the rest of you, I'm sure I'll see you there.
