my big adventure

today i went out of my "me" zone.

i like my little office and my living room reading nook. i'm used to those places. i'm comfortable there.

BUT, i'm also very easily distracted. facebook is readily available. the house phone rings. the cats go berserk over something. i decide that (fake) hunger is stronger than the urge to write.

there are days that, while i'm constantly doing something, i get absolutely nothing accomplished.

so today i got prettied-up, packed up my laptop in my big ol' Tommy purse that doubles as a fashionable carrying case and drove to my local bookstore slash Starbucks with the grand intention to write.

now, i'm the first to admit that i am not an adventurous person when flying solo so this was a big deal for me. while i'm pretty self-assured, i'm also the kind of gal who likes to know what's what, and how things are going to go down before dipping my toes into the water. this may not have been the ocean, but i was still doing something new-to-me and i didn't want to end up looking silly.

when i arrived, i knew that my chances of finding a quiet table would be slim when i had to park at almost the furthest spot from the door. nevertheless, i walked in and scooted right over, totally self-conscious about the honkin' big computer poking out of my purse, to the Starbucks-designated area.

all i wanted to do was find a corner table and settle myself before ordering my second-ever Starbucks drink and what i hoped would be a fantastic chai latte. (i don't get out much, can you tell?)

no. tables.

i stood there, completely boggled for a minute, staring at all those PEOPLE, before turning around and practically running for the romance aisles.

there, i managed to focus enough to face a bunch of my Diva friends' books so that they caught the eye of anyone passing by and find a couple of books i'd been wanting. i made a deal with myself that if it were still busy in the cafe i'd just buy the books and go home. no shame in that... i'd tried at least.

finally, i crept back over to the corner that houses Starbucks and lo and behold, there was ONE TABLE.

my competitive instinct instantly kicked in. mine.

i quickly shoved the books i was carrying onto the nearest shelf and stepped up to the counter to ordered a 'whatever's the biggest' chai latte, turned to claim my prize only to find that a guy had parked himself in the seat at MY TABLE.

shit. now what, right?

resigned to the fact that my big adventure was total bust, i waited for them to foam my milk and made mental plans to cozy up in my living room for the afternoon, insane cats or not.

but then i noticed that the interloper at my table didn't have anything in hand. in fact, he appeared to be waiting for a girl who was putting sugar in her coffee at the condiment kiosk.

hope sprung wild again, and i quickly ripped the lid off of my tea to add a squirt of honey to it, all the while watching for the man to vacate his seat.

at last, SUCCESS! i managed to shove the lid back on and scurry over just in time for the couple to leave. let me tell you, it was a close call - there were vultures circling as i settled into my seat. i simply avoided eye contact and went about setting up my temporary workstation.

thankfully, there were at least 4 other laptops glowing on various tables so i didn't feel like a complete ninny pulling mine out and booting up.

i spent two lovely, relaxing hours plugging away at Forgiveness, people watching and sipping a delicious honey chai latte before packing it in and shopping around a bit more.

i think i'll do it again next week.