The Insane Battle Between a Non Sentient Machine and Myself

                        Warning: I am deeply caffeine deprived.

I've been wracking my brain all morning to think of something to say about some of the books that I've been reading. It's been a few blogs since I've given a book review so I thought that it was high time to write another one out. The problem is that my downtime has consisted of rereading the Harry Potter series and seeing as that's pretty much a book you know everything about even if you haven't read it, a blog is kind of wasted on that. Then I thought I would go through my shelf and find something there to review, but all of my books seem uninspiring this morning. This is most likely due to my current lack of creative drive but I've been determined to power through this. As one of you lovely readers said, I need to punch this writers block in the face. So, sitting down with a cup of coffee, I decided to ponder my current predicament.

Before I continue, I must make one thing abundantly clear. I love coffee. Nothing is better than a perfect cup of coffee on a cold and early morning. I drink coffee after a work out because I love the feel of a relaxed body and a steaming mug. I have been known to take a shower before drinking coffee because I love that sense of utter relaxation. Coffee is always by me when I write and a good cup of coffee has helped me figure out numerous problems. Coffee and me are timeless.

Now, this morning I did my usual. I brewed a cup of coffee in hopes that this dark and rich nectar would help me through the writers block that I've been having over the past few weeks. But, sitting in my chair, holding my favorite panda mug between my hands, I took a sip of what should have been a rich robust blend with just a splash of cream, and instead got a mouth full of watered down swill that should be ashamed to even call itself a beverage.

This is how I got to this point.

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend lovingly decided to make me coffee one morning. I was just waking up, laying in bed and looking forward to that first cup, when I heard a crash. Somehow, he broke the pot. Believe me, it was an emotional day in this household that morning. I was caffeine deprived and he was guilt ridden.

We went out immediately to get a replacement carafe, thinking that something that says “universal coffee pot” would be universal and would fit inside my coffee machine.

It did not.

You know why? Because coffee is trying to break up with me.

Two days later, said boyfriend tried to get another universal coffee pot. A different brand from a different store that came with three adjustable lids. It still did not work with my coffee machine. Granted, my coffee machine was an old, twenty dollar Mr. Coffee but I naively thought that something that was only bought two years ago, wouldn't be this hard to find a replacement for. But, like I said, coffee was and is, trying to break up with me.

I didn't have time to deal with the coffee issues over the next week due to me working Valentines Day at a Flower Shop. I got my coffee on the go and ignored the empty space on my counter where my coffee machine should have been. But then, after the rush of Valentines was over and I had my first day off from the craziness, there seemed to be an end in sight. That proverbial light at the end of the tunnel had decided to shine. The boyfriend brought over his coffee machine and kindly offered that I could use it for the time being. I was overjoyed. He fixed me a cup that morning and either I was so tired that I thought it was the most amazing thing I've ever tasted, or the boyfriend is secretly a coffee magician (he's not). Either way, I thought, finally, the curse is broken.

Later that day I went to brew myself a cup though and realized that his coffee machine is a little hussy that loves no one but him.

The machine in question

I cleaned and shined up this poor girl like none other. I washed the entire machine, inside and out, ran hot water and vinegar cycles through it a few times, and generally, made it look like a coffee machine as opposed to a worn out piece of metal that lived in a house where cleaning out the coffee pot is a novel idea. But the thing still doesn't like me.

It's been a week. This thing yells at me every time I try to use it, it produces watered down, slightly coffee flavored swill for me to consume, and no matter how many scoops I put in it, it somehow comes out tasting like dirty bath water. I have tried sweet talking her. I have tried calling her every name in the book. The thing hates me. At some point, it declared war against me and decided to ruin all at home coffee experiences I ever wanted. I don't know what the hell I've done to it. I wasn't the one who took it outside of its home to put it in a tiny apartment with three cats. That was its beloved owner. But, no no, the thing is going to take its neglect and abandonment issues out on me instead. It sits on my counter, mockingly, screeching out loudly every time I touch it, yet, it purrs for the boyfriend, cuddling up to him like a metal plated cat of some sort. I think it's trying to replace me.

This morning, the boyfriend made a pot of coffee. It tasted perfect. I made a pot about an hour after he left and the little hussy vomited up some bile for me to consume and then laughed at my pain as I cursed and maybe even threatened for a good ten minutes or so.

Needless to say, this bitch is going to be replaced. She's going back to the boyfriend and they can live happily together in sin.

So, all you coffee drinkers out there, I'm looking for a new machine that doesn't exceed a hundred dollars. Suggestions? I want the other woman out of my house sooner rather than later. Also, I want to find this coffee shop.

Seriously, where is this?

Whimsy Travel's

Monument in Lucerne Switzerland

For this Travel Tuesday, we're going to do something a bit different. In the past four years, I've been lucky enough to get on planes (of which I'm deathly afraid of) empty out my bank account (which I kind of hate) and see some pretty amazing things (which I love). Normally, I am a homebody. I like my apartment and I like my computer. I read my books and write my stories and Friday nights normally don't have me leaving my apartment because the lure of a good cup of coffee is more important. But then there’s travel. When the bug hits, it bites with a vengeance and has a tendency of ripping my insides apart until I am buying a ticket to someplace new.

Abandoned castle outside London

This first happened close to four years ago. I had been saving up for years to go to Europe, but it wasn't ever a reality for me. Then, after some personal tragedy, I did what only crazy people do. I booked my trip and three months later, I took off to Europe for close to two months. Since then, I have gotten to go and see different cities here in the States and have even made my way up through Canada. There are weeks that I live on Top Ramen because of it but traveling has never been something I regret. The stories that I hear during my travels are often times humbling, and the things I have seen and experienced have made me into the kind of person that I am proud to be.

Now, switching gears.

I've known Caitlyn since I was about four. This girl has been a part of my life for over twenty years at this point and I can still remember my first meeting with her. Little did either of us know that the day her mom and her came over to introduce themselves to my family, that the two little girls that were sizing each other up in ways that only four year olds can do, would still be friends years later. We grew up next door to each other in a small little country town and have been pushing each other to be the kind of person we each want to be since our playground days. I can't speak for her, but for me, this girl has never allowed me to give up on my writing and she has been instrumental in pushing me to continue to improve. She's the girl that I ran around Chicago with. She's the girl who is responsible for some of the gorgeous coast pictures you've seen in previous Travel Tuesday's and she is at fault for me watching so much Doctor Who and Torchwood. But hey! I got her hooked on the Whedonverse so its a fair trade.

And now we're teaming up. But don't worry, my wonderful blog readers (of which there's probably about a dozen of you), we will not use our powers for evil.

Welcome to the face of Whimsy Travels!

Caitlyn and Moi

And while we are not as cool as this face

A pretty awesome face that we are not

We are still pretty awesome.

Our goal is to travel the world, taking pictures and writing about what we see. We've both met some incredible people when we've left our small town here in Oregon and we want to meet more of them. So, doing this as cost effective as possible (because lets face it, during the day her and I are simply a hairdresser and a florist), we plan to go and seek these people out. Ask them their story. See the passions that they have in life and maybe, through these small actions, remind the world that living your life exactly the way you want it, is possible.

Chicago
Photo courtesy of Caitlyn Tendic
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97205176@N06/

Our first trip is planned for the end of November. Stepping foot across the sea's, we plan to visit Cardiff, Wales, Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England. It'll be ten days of seeing and meeting all that we can while living on little to no sleep and indulging in the coffee that, from experience, isn't very good over there. Except at the Unicorn Cafe. I cannot express how much I love that place.

Here's the catch, though. We need your help. Following this crazy dream of ours is being done on a minimum wage budget while both of us are trying to balance the life that we're sure all of you are trying to do as well. This is not something that we want to stop us, however because both of us have learned from experience that you don't get what you want if you aren't willing to think outside of the box. After all, the only time its appropriate to think inside the box, is if its bigger on the inside.

We aren't asking for much. Our hopes is to just raise enough money for our plane tickets over there. If you would like to donate, please visit our fundrazer page at https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0YTh5

Anything you can give would be of great help. Of course, you will get something in return for this. If you donate, please send your contact information to whimsytravels@gmail.com. While we are in Europe, we will be picking up postcards of the places we visit and sending them off to everyone that helped us get across the sea.

Is this crazy? Of course it is. But no one ever got anywhere without being just a bit crazy. We want to write. We want to document the world through pictures and words and share it with everyone else. Our goal is to travel this world and discover all the little things that make it tick. We don't want to play the tourist. We want to be the people to live their lives. “We live as though the world is as it should be, to show it what it can be.” Caitlyn and I want to help show the world that.

If you would like to donate, please visit our page here: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0YTh5

Don't forget to email us at whimsytravels@gmail.com and let us know your contact information so we can send you some postcards.

Also, check out Caitlyn's flicker page, which I tend to steal pictures off of relentlessly: http://www.flickr.com/photos/97205176@N06/

And, as always with the closing spiel, like this blog on Facebook, follow it on Twitter, or check out my Pinterest page. The links for all are on the side bar of your screen.