Today was a bad day. Many bad things happened, but the worst was when I arrived for a late afternoon mocha, and the barista didn’t remember my drink. Granted, I have cut back on my caffeine intake (which explains somewhat the dearth of posts), but after a year of ordering drinks from her, you think a week of no coffee wouldn’t throw her for a loop. But a loop she took, and after stumbling through a list of drinks for which I said, no, not exactly, she finally hit upon the mocha. But it didn’t end there. She served my mocha without whipped cream. After my terrible day, I didn’t have energy to explain that I always take extra whipped cream on my mocha. It’s why I buy mochas—I love whipped cream seasoned with yummy caffeine.

But I’ll get over it. Friday is upon us, and I plan to spend this weekend relaxing and catching up on writing. Besides the lack of caffeine and too much bicycle riding, my current addiction, David Foster Wallace’s The Broom of the System, has occupied most of my time. You can see his influences in my two dialogue snippets, neither of which does justice to his brilliance. I’m a grateful hack, by the way. In searching for my own style, I feel justified in stealing others. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, after all.

I would have written more, but I spent most of the evening playing video games, and we all know that video games and writing don’t mix.