What is it about Cafés?
There is something about cafés that gives the adrenaline rush to writing.
When I sit down at CJs, Art Caffe, Java, Spring Valley, or Charlie Bistro my fingers are always racing on the keyboard. Words that I usually struggle within the real-time face to face conversations are moulded from my palm to paper instead, imitating the tempo of a real conversation. We have glorified quilt and ink and the presumption of our thoughts drying with the ink on paper. A fascination with words that would be forgotten or remembered before the ink dried.
We also have an obsession with the original QWERTY keyboard. I once tried using it. I fell at the first hurdle on noting the backspace was complicated and delete was not in sight. And for you to move to the next paragraph you had to pull the lever like you are opening a door and the next page meant replacing paper like when exchanging sweaters during high school drama festivals.
I sat down at Cafe Java 254 (CJs), their masala tea is my addiction when I am not taking my homemade sugarless coffee. I was intending to do a short spot of writing before my daily drill of working from home.
But this visit is a little different. I am already through with a writing Masterclass and I am descending into uncharted territory- a trained writer. My story drafts are predictive and my routine stuck on a replay, which makes it all the more nerve-wracking. Whether I writing about my daughter, life in my twenties, my fascination with data science, or even a random travel piece, I am always worried about getting I right, nailing it the first time, and being helpful.
In my cocoon, I refuse the intimidation of not eating out. Before churches closed down I would swap the various malls in Nairobi with the ease of a polygamous man: Two Rivers, Rossyln Riviera, Village Market, or drive all the way to Westlands ..in pursuit of the endorphins, the thrill of the satisfying aroma and the first sip or bite. A succulent juicy piece of two buns with a pattie in between, the round bread in triangle pieces with meat roasted all over, or the good old potatoes paired with ribs.
CJs was the first to open and to my disbelief, as the chairs and tables spaced out, the price adjustments picked up. The good old chips were my option with meat. “Eat lots of meat. White meat. It is good for bulking up muscles.”
It felt like breaking an intermittent fast.
Writing in a cafe is a really effective measure to eliminate distractions. It is funny how we need to come up with new ways to take our resistance out of its home court. Working from Home while taking a writing break while in fact, we are whiling away the hours.
I need to write more with my revered cup of coffee and avoid these temptations, the temptations of cravings which have replaced my distractions.
Pass the salt.
I am also looking for new cafés to sample.
Originally published at http://cafemaarifa.wordpress.com on September 18, 2020.
