I’m hanging out in downtown Kitchener, testing out coffee shops for writing capability. I was in Kitchener once several years ago, and unimpressed with the gathering of adult stores and shops filled with hooker boots (I’d have to hem them, alas) – things have really changed in the past few years and now downtown Kitchener, though unsettlingly filled with students talking about how they game their assignments and a higher proportion of malnourished hipsters than most places, is a charming, accessible, and funky place. This coffee shop, Misty Mountain, hangs out next to a strange adventures shop, filled with taxidermic animals and beanie babies, skeletons and a cystoscope. When inspiration runs dry, a stumble next door should help.
The coffee is good, the seats are comfortable, there’s a fake fireplace that glows unenthusiastically. It’s all quite marvellous.
I’m fighting the urge to sleep after lunch at Cheesus Murphy, all the grilled cheese sandwich combos you can imagine.
And in a few hours, I’m off to the Christkindl market to wallow in German goodies and Christmas spirit, thus putting a fun deadline on writing.
Time to put pen to page…