Sunday 15 June 2014

Cafe Crawl #1

Everyone under the radiant southern cross has surely heard of the "Pub Crawl". But has anyone ever considered going on a "Cafe Crawl" instead?

Let's be honest -  We live in a society that is equally as bent on caffeine consmption as it is on alcohol consumption, so the Cafe Crawl seems like it should be a natural progression. Surely crawling from Cafe to Cafe, in some kind of caffeine-induced delerium, would be just as thrilling, if not more thrilling, than drunkenly rambling from pub to pub? Surely the gentle and quirky ambiance of each cafe would prove far superior to blaring pub rock from varying decades?

On Saturday morning, I decided it was time to embark on the first ever Cafe Crawl in recorded history. I embarked on the journey alone, armed with a fierce nay blue coat, some cash, a bit of wit and a notepad.

The following is a journal I kept of the experience:

9:52AM - Black Bear Cafe

I'm sitting at the most cramped table at the most bohemian cafe in Bellingen, a town which itself is both cramped and bohemian. I just began the fabled "Cafe Crawl" alone, but alone is really the way I like it. I've recently come to terms with being the biggest and most brooding introvert in history, and I don't see my intense solitude as a bad thing.

I've learnt that a lot of joy comes from spending time alone, with yourself, exploring the world around you through your eyes only. Solititude brings a lot more joy, fulfillment and clarity than being stuck with the wrong company. That's something I learnt the hard way.

Everyone in this cafe seems to be deeply connected, whether it's through friendship, familiarity of frequent intercourse, I don't know.The staff are bursting with life, and their warmth is rivalling that of my capuccino.

I suppose I should actually write about the coffee itself. It's perfect and I don't think I can fault - except the cup it was served in is possibly the smallest cup in existence. The richness of the coffee and the skill with which it was clearly crafted far outweighs my disappointment and it's petite stature. I've been drinking it at a medium pace, taking infrequent sips of water. Though I would love to down this beauty instantly, I have decided it is worth savoruing.

I watch as a gregarious woman booms her coffee order from across the Cafe, very politely yet also with a hint of aggression. I suppose the two combine to show how passionate she is about Coffee. I like this woman.

11:15AM - Tuckshop Bellingen

I never realised that two neighbouring cafes could feel drastically different. The smallest o features, like lighting, music, and design can somehow make mountains of difference in terms of ambiance.

I have a theory that going out for coffee isn't just about the coffee. It's about the ambiance, about how you feel going to that cafe. It's about the coffee experience.

Cafe workers, including myself, have two balance two key ingredients, in my opinion, to make it work. Making it all work takes 1 part good coffee and 1 part good atmosphere. Even the best cup of coffee just want taste as good if I don't feel comfortable sitting down drinking it. Having said that, no amount of flirting with patrons can change the way a bad cup of coffee tastes.

Looking around this cafe, I feel like in a showroom. There's nothing wrong with it, but it just feels a little intimidating. Every surface is sparkling and every wall is pristine white, but there are just no features that catch my eye. There's nothing to stimulate me, or to make me feel comfortable. I feel like this chair doesn't want to be sitting on it. It's arms are cold and unwelcoming, and everything feels dangerously chic.

Although I feel a little out of place here, I can't deny how much I am enjoying this vegetarian sourdough. It's difficult to find vegetarian food, when dining out, that is both edible and substantial. But this roll has hit the spot, quite a few times. Though my capuccino was a tad bitter and served without chocolate, and I find the ambiance a little intimidating, all can be forgiven thanks to the sourdough.

12:36PM - Bean Cafe Bellingen

I'm now up to Coffee number three. I had to yell over the top of a - very passionate - live jazz band to order my coffee, but I don't think that's a bad thing.

As the jazz intensifies, I can feel myself entering into a caffeine-induced delerium. Three coffees is probably a bit much, but I'm on a cafe crawl, and I will drink this third coffee if it's the last thing I do.

I don't exactly feel like all my troubles have fallen away, but instead, I feel the jazz music and I are moving so quickly that the troubles can't keep up. I feel a bit like Chicago's answer to Amelie, but maybe that's just the delerium setting in.

Though I'm at least fifty kilometres away from home, I've still managed to run into two people I went to school with, someone I work with, his mother, and a stallholder who apparently knows me. I visited the local produce markets between coffees today, and the man who sold me potatoes and bananas swore he'd seen me before. After we established that, no, I wasn't in a band, so, no, he hadn't seen me performing, we came to the assumption that we must have met while drunk. We chatted briefly on awkward points of life, before I wandered off, still having no recollection of ever before meeting this guy.

The gentleman across from me was eyeing me off consistently, but I only noticed as he was leaving. He drank a milkshake of unknown flavour, while the woman he sat with had some form of tea. I suppose it would be rather odd to ask the waiting staff what the table had ordered, but I'm just so curious. Perhaps it's all the caffeine making me this way. Perhaps it's finally having some time off. Perhaps it's the live jazz.

I guess the mystery will prove more exciting than knowing anyway.

As I discard my take-away cup and wander, reluctantly, away from the live jazz band, I ponder on what I've done. I have just finished the first Cafe Crawl in recorded history, and dread to think how many shots of coffee I've injested in the process.

As the music fades, I wonder whether I've really made history or if I'm just an idiot. As my heart beats faster and louder than ever before, I decide that both are probably true.

Monday 9 June 2014

Brutally Honest Facts

Since high school ended, I found myself in lots of situations I never expected to be in. Sometimes, I've felt like I'm in a prison; at other times, drifting off in space. While in this prison-space continuum, I've learnt a lot of very strange facts about life, the universe, and whatever else there is.

  1. Most people don't know what they're doing. Everyone is bluffing a little bit, pretending to be a little better at what they do, a little more knowledgeable, or a little less hungover.
  2. Hard work does pay off. It can also hurt you. A lot. I've been working more than full time hours for about six months now. And I've been working very, very hard every hour that I'm at work. This has put me in a very good position in some ways - I have job security, I have the adoration of my employer, I have gained a lot of really good skills and obviously I have a lot more money than I would if I wasn't working (or not working as many hours). At the same time, all this hard work and excess work has left me in a very bad way. My wellbeing and health have taken a beating from all of this, and any time I do have free from work is spent recovering - from work, and from all the ailments it inflicts. So I've learnt the hard way that, yes, hard work pays. But there is a line between working hard and killing yourself.
  3. People are fickle. They come and they go. The ones that matter remain. After high school, most of my friends moved away, or simply drifted away. We all changed, and because we all headed in different directions, we lost whatever it was that held us together. We're all different people now. It can be initially distressing to go to a party with all your old school friends, and realise you don't actually get along with any of them any more. That there is nothing to talk about, and they either haven't grown up at all, when you have, or they've simply grown into something you don't really like. In the end, the people that really matter aren't lost, and if anything, losing old social connections makes room for new ones. It's tough, and it's painful, but it happens. And it's usually for the better.
  4. No one is looking out for you. So, you have to look out for yourself. I'm not saying no one cares about you. Or that you should disregard the needs of those around you. What I'm saying is, at the end of the day, it is you, and only you, who is responsible for yourself. Sometimes, no one is there to look after you when you're sick, or hold you when you're breaking down. Just as we can only work so hard before crumbling, we can only give so much of ourselves before we break. You need to look after yourself first, so that you have something to give to others. It is okay, and it is normal, to look after yourself. To need space, to need "me-time", to do things that achieve nothing but spreading a smile across your face.
  5. Listen to your body. Your intuition, or gut feeling, is quite probably right. This is one of my mother's mantras. It's simple but vitally important. Listen to what's going on inside yourself. I decided to really listen to my body recently after falling very ill for the fifth time this year. I've had the same symptoms and problems on and off all year, and there's only so many times I can suppress whatever's going on with a pill. I decided to stop and really listen to myself. To my body, to my mind and to my spirit. For a long time, I had intuitively known that something was wrong. But I chose to ignore this feeling, because I couldn't afford to be unwell in my fast-paced lifestyle. I decided enough was enough, and it was time to listen to that quiet little voice. I've booked an appointment with the doctor to really get to the bottom of the issue, and am planning to reduce my hours at work, as they have been a contributor to my ill health. 
  6. Just do it, whatever it is. No, I don't like cleaning the house, the toilets at work, or my room. But all three need to be done, and nothing is achieved by trying to avoid them. If you don't want your housemates to kick you out, don't be a slob, and if you want a job, you will damn well clean that toilet. Do what needs to be done, whether you want to or not, and I promise you you'll feel good about it.
  7. Life comes in seasons. There are winters, and they can really drag. And there's usually no one to keep you warm. There are times of drastic change, and there are times when nothing ever seems to change. Sometimes, there is no one home, and at other times your house will fill with guests. At times, the road becomes your home, and sometimes, you get stuck somewhere in suburbia. Always remember that there will be another chapter, and you do have the power to turn the page when you're ready.