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Yesterday, I only wrote 151 words before midnight. And that was in the 15 minutes right before midnight.
There was two reasons for this: One, Mother Nature’s gift hit me harder than I expected.
Two, my adventure to McDonald’s did not go as planned.
In our region of the world, just about everything closes around 7 PM on Sunday nights. Coffee houses, malls, stores, even some grocery stores. So, if one wants Internet and coffee….or really, just the coffee and a public place to sit and write….McDonald’s is pretty much the only option.
I had been impressed by their Peppermint Mochas earlier in the week, so I thought this would be a good place to sit and spin a couple thousand words.
I was sadly mistaken.
First, I waited forever to get the coffee. Normally, I could do with this, but I was already feeling weirded out by that McD atmosphere that always makes one uncomfortable when one is alone. (The only time I’ve ever felt completely relaxed at a McD is when I was overseas in China.)
Once the cashier finally got around to not only TAKING my order, but MAKING it, I decided to sit in a secluded booth in the back where I would not be bothered and could spread out a bit. But as soon as I walked into the area, a smell accosted my senses that I’ve only ever associated with dead animals or something extremely spoiled. So there went THAT idea.
Not to be undaunted quite yet, I tried sitting at a high-top table at the front…only to hear loud clattering and noise at the drink machine and counter. Plus, the smell….that horrible, gut-wrenching smell!!!…was wafting from where I just was to attack me all over again.
Not only that, but there were no outlets. NO ELECTRICAL OUTLETS!!!! AT ALL!!!!
I decided that now was the time for me to make my escape. I took my things, including my skim milk mocha, and left. As I was driving home, I opened the mocha to taste the wonderful goodness I had first tasted the week previous….and was likewise disappointed.
It was bitter, and not sweet at all. Now, as far as I know, sweetness has nothing to do with what kind of milk you use. And I’m fine with artificial sweetener; I’ve been drinking diet and “zero” drinks for a long time now. I use Equal in anything requiring sugar. I’m used to aspartame.
But this…this wasn’t EVEN aspartame! It was an assault on my tongue!
When I got home, I poured a liberal amount of Equal into it, and it finally tasted right!
Needless to say, after this experience, I shan’t be venturing out to McD to stay late on a Sunday night again!
Where is your least favorite place to write? Why is it a horrible place to try and be creative?
Hectic November 