October Coffee Crisis '06: Averted
Phew.
Some days, things just work out. This was one of those days.
I can't decide how to tell this story. Should I tell it in a linear fashion, or just have a Big Reveal at the end? I'm not really willing to put in the time right now to bother with foreshadowing...
Version #1:
In the kitchen this morning, Dr. Kat said to me, "J, will you drink this coffee?"
J, confused: "Huh?" Thinking, Dr. Kat knows what coffee is?
Dr. Kat indicated a pack of vacum-packed Zabar's coffee, already ground: "It's left over from a gift from last year."
J: "Well, it won't be as good 'cause it's already ground, but, yeah, sure, an emergency supply is a good idea."
Truer words were never spoken, my friends.
A couple of hours later, in a rush, on my way out the door, I tried to make my second cup of the day to take with me to class. But the little plastic thing that cushions the blade in my grinder broke, and started making horrible sounds in the grinder as it got ground up with the (sigh) last of my pumpkin-spice coffee from that place in the 70s whose name, street, and cross-street I can't quite remember.
You all know how I feel about coffee. The idea of two more essays this week, written without coffee in the house, almost felled me right there; but the panic quickly subsided when I remembered the already-ground Zabar's in the freezer. And, thus, the October Coffee Crisis of '06 was fortunately averted.
Version #2:
On my way out the door early this after noon, the unthinkable happened: my coffee grinder broke. At least when the little, one-cup bodem breaks (as it does, periodically) I have the big, three-cup bodem to use until such a time as I can make the two-block trip to the hardware store. But this grinder? Involves a twenty-block trip, minimum. Moreover, the bits of plastic that broke off in the grinder got crushed up with the last of my beloved pumpkin-spice coffee, the origins of which I can't quite remember.
You all know how I feel about coffee. The panic that threatened to overtake me was overwhelming; two essays due this week, a sleepless night, a sure-to-be-stressful Thursday... it would be Friday before I could make the replacement trip... It was all too much.
Then I remembered the bag of already-ground Zabar's coffee that my roomie had found in the back of the storage cupboard that morning. And, thus, the October Coffee Crisis of '06 was fortunately averted.
Alright, people, do right by your citizenship and vote: which do you like better? I'm not necessarily talking about the writing; I'm more concerned with structure.
Some days, things just work out. This was one of those days.
I can't decide how to tell this story. Should I tell it in a linear fashion, or just have a Big Reveal at the end? I'm not really willing to put in the time right now to bother with foreshadowing...
Version #1:
In the kitchen this morning, Dr. Kat said to me, "J, will you drink this coffee?"
J, confused: "Huh?" Thinking, Dr. Kat knows what coffee is?
Dr. Kat indicated a pack of vacum-packed Zabar's coffee, already ground: "It's left over from a gift from last year."
J: "Well, it won't be as good 'cause it's already ground, but, yeah, sure, an emergency supply is a good idea."
Truer words were never spoken, my friends.
A couple of hours later, in a rush, on my way out the door, I tried to make my second cup of the day to take with me to class. But the little plastic thing that cushions the blade in my grinder broke, and started making horrible sounds in the grinder as it got ground up with the (sigh) last of my pumpkin-spice coffee from that place in the 70s whose name, street, and cross-street I can't quite remember.
You all know how I feel about coffee. The idea of two more essays this week, written without coffee in the house, almost felled me right there; but the panic quickly subsided when I remembered the already-ground Zabar's in the freezer. And, thus, the October Coffee Crisis of '06 was fortunately averted.
Version #2:
On my way out the door early this after noon, the unthinkable happened: my coffee grinder broke. At least when the little, one-cup bodem breaks (as it does, periodically) I have the big, three-cup bodem to use until such a time as I can make the two-block trip to the hardware store. But this grinder? Involves a twenty-block trip, minimum. Moreover, the bits of plastic that broke off in the grinder got crushed up with the last of my beloved pumpkin-spice coffee, the origins of which I can't quite remember.
You all know how I feel about coffee. The panic that threatened to overtake me was overwhelming; two essays due this week, a sleepless night, a sure-to-be-stressful Thursday... it would be Friday before I could make the replacement trip... It was all too much.
Then I remembered the bag of already-ground Zabar's coffee that my roomie had found in the back of the storage cupboard that morning. And, thus, the October Coffee Crisis of '06 was fortunately averted.
Alright, people, do right by your citizenship and vote: which do you like better? I'm not necessarily talking about the writing; I'm more concerned with structure.
posted by j | 3:42 PM
2 Comments:
in the first one, there's more suspense. go for #1.
Voting is for vain people. But I liked the second.
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