It's 1:14 AM here - here where I sit at my computer. But I sit at my computer while AT The Midnight, towards the end of the bar. On first glance I look like one of those oldies who play tabletop digital poker - losing dollar after dollar, chain-smoking, ordering drinks without looking straight at the bartender. But I, I merely tap away at my laptop keyboard, while frequently glancing around the bar to see who is about, what the mood of the room is. I look down, and Smudge has curled up atop my backlit keyboard. Yes, it makes warm ;)
I ask bartender for a hot coffee, and a moment later a hot mug is in front of me. I pet Smudge lightly with my left hand, move a cig to/from my mouth with my right hand - keeping noxious smoke away from the kitty's face.
I usually am a pipe smoker. I AM a pipe smoker, but recently I've had ups and downs with finances, so I didn't take stock of all the pipe tobacco + accessories I need to see me through. I'll be back in that world soon, I am sure.
The Midnight coffee is bold, delicious. The text editor fills with random characters, due to "kitty sits", so I press the power button in the upper-right of the keyboard, and it goes back to the log-in screen, ending the gibberish in the editor.
I consider venturing over to the jukebox (laptop left back on the bar - I can trust the folks here), so I stamp out my cig and walk across the room.
What to queue up? An eclectic selection is on hand, much like patrons of The Midnight - I can choose from nearly any genre, any era, any sub-genre or micro-era. I peruse a few songs by Elvis Costello, but then gander at some tracks by Special Request, but, I don't think deep Techno (at least *I* would consider Special Request Techno) is quite the right mood for this silent Monday morning. I queue up the album "Repeater" by Fugazi. Seems to fit for right now.
The music kicks on as I return to the laptop - bar-side items untouched, laptop screen asleep, Smudge has carried on to other "cat duties", so I wake the laptop, log in, highlight and delete the paragraph of garbled text, strike a cig, and wrap up what I was saying as Ian MacKaye sings through the speakers.
So, evening to one and all
A Midnight coffee would be a real good brand to have. I can imagine it—bold but hopefully not bitter, with maybe a little bit of cloves or cinnamon sneakily crunched into the grinds. I could totally use some of that. I'm always drained at the end of the day out here. I like the tour guiding, but its hiking all day every day in Utah, so coffee and synthetic dip are my constant companions.
Cheers, man, next drink's on me.