Here’s a challenge. Take the following four lines and do anything you want to with them. Add material before them, add how things are said, turn them into a monologue instead of a dialogue– do absolutely anything you want, just so you embed these words in what you write. This is especially challenging if you try to put the words into a novel or story you are already working on.

It’s been a long time.
Yes.
Is this it?
I guess it is.

[from http://www.meredithsuewillis.com/writingexercises81-100.html]

The smell of the brewing coffee permeated every inch of Jack’s Coffee house. It made her want to puke. Why on earth would anyone want to spend fifteen hours in a place that smelled like Juan Valdez’s pantry? She used to love the smell of coffee, but now…
“Is this it?”
Jack shook his head, sipped his Americano, and cleared his throat. “This was it, about two hours ago. I think we’ve missed the window.”
“Again.”
He shrugged and sipped his drink once more.
“Will it happen again or do we have to do that divining thing once more?” She sipped her tea and tried not to notice how it tasted like coffee.
“It should happen again.” He checked his cell phone, which had a special home-made app he had developed for tracking the anomalies. “Fifteen minutes maybe. Should be,” he paused and looked around the room. She looked also, noting the condition of the red velvet on the Victorian chairs next to them, and a man with an orange tuque hunched over a laptop in the corner. The rest of the coffee shop was empty except for the barista, who was paging through a local events magazine.
“There,” Jack pointed with his cup,” next to the milk station.”
She obligingly shifted her chair to the side so that she could watch the spot in the ornate mirror.
All of the furnishings must have been Charlie’s idea. He always did have a thing for Victoriana. How Jack, one of the most intelligent and excentric scientists she’d ever met, ended up with his name on a coffee shop/hangout spot was still surprising. Love will make you do strange things, she supposed. His partner, Charlie, had wanted to be an entrepreneur – so Jack, who made piles of money – bought him a store. Charlie redecorated and fussed over the menu for the first month or two, and then handed it all off to Jack saying that it was too much stress. Oh the stress. Jack accepted it with much more grace that she would have. Then again, Jack accepted a lot of things with more grace than she’d ever possessed.
A movement in the corner of her eye made her blink. She reached out automatically and grasped Jack’s hand.
“There.”
An almost imperceptible shimmer , like sparkling dust motes caught in a shaft of light, hung in the air near the man with the tuque. Jack got up to investigate. She pulled out her gun, holding it low next to her leg.
The man with the tuque looked up from his computer and said, “Yes?” to Jack, who was waving his phone around trying to take a reading.
“Don’t move,” Jack said distractedly.
The man looked at her, noticed the gun, and said, “What the fuck?” Just as the shimmer turned into a tear and a scaly hand reached out and snatched the man’s hat.
“Shoot it! Shoot it!” Jack yelled.
She shot. She missed. She angled to the right and tried again as the hand reached back out for the frightened man’s face. She pulled the trigger again. The hand disappeared and the rip closed with a strange ping sound.
“Holy fuck!” the man jumped up. ”What the hell was that thing?”
Jack turned to her, putting his phone in its holder. “Did you get it?” he asked in a low voice.
“Nothing, sir,” she said to the man. “Yes,” she said to Jack.
“Nothing? You shot at me. Where’s my hat?”
“What hat? Did you see a hat, Jack?” She asked. The man was staring at Jack, so she made her gun disappear.
“Nope.”
The man looked around in confusion and spotted the barista. “Hey man, did you see that? She just shot at me.”
The barista looked up from his paper, pulled the ear buds out of his ears, and said, “Huh?” Jack shoot a finger at the barista and he blinked.
“I’m sorry, can I get you a coffee?”
“On the house,” Jack added.
“Uh. Uh, sure.” The barista got the man’s order, and she and Jack made a hasty retreat to his office upstairs.

“You really think you got it?”
She nodded.
“Man, it’s been a long time.”
She nodded again.
“That’s it then.”
“I guess it is.”

But it wasn’t.

Rhodesia’s main trade item is wood. It produces both hard woods and soft woods. Additionally, it produces many herbs, including the rare herb Gurmari, which mages and others use to abolish sweet or sour tastes in potions. The Consortium imports Gurmari from across the Shallow Salt Sea to the port of Adabar. If Rho3 is able to marry Muffina of Adabar, Rhodesia will be able to join in the competition for Gurmari users.

Adabar is ruled by a group of families. It is an independent freehold, and its leaders are elected from the ruling seven families. Adabar is practically an island, with only a thin strip of land connecting it to the mainland. The rest of the coast nearby has dangerous reefs and steep cliffs. The port of Adabar is natural and deep, and has never needed to be dredged. There are several small islands off the edge of the city, connected to it by graceful arching bridges. The city has many canals.

The other large city in the area is Lodamin; city of the dwarves. Dwarves are very mechanically inclined and view anyone who is not technically or mechanically savvy as an idiot. Lodamin is a city on a cliff face of the Blackrock mountains. There are many mechanical lifts. Houses and business cling to narrow shelves and are set into the stone. Foreigners stay in the lower levels. The higher up the cliff face one lives or works, the higher in the society. Lodamin trades with Rhodesia for wood. Rhodesia trades with Lodamin for rock and technology, some of which is being used to build the great roads connecting the cities.

Adventure
The adventuring party made it to the first rest area and healed up. The patrol men were sent out by Captain Theo to, well, patrol. There were no others in the rest area at that time. Lunessa the dark elf mage contacted her superior, Potus, back in Ulnar City, and told him about the note she had seen Rho3 pass to the captain. Potus instructed her to get a look at the note and report back on its contents. Lunessa attempted to seduce the captain when the rest of the party was sleeping or outside. He wasn’t interested, but offered to drink with her. She attempted to poison him, but he caught on, and after a few moments of them both pretending to drink, he asked her what she wanted. She decided to attack him and force him to give her the note. Captain Theo defended himself. Lunessa’s henchmen, Truffles, heard the commotion and called out. Spark ran into see what was going on, but Shim slept on. Captain Theo killed Truffles and severly wounded Lunessa. Spark saved her life, but it was too late for Truffles. Captain Theo asked what Lunessa’s issue was, and she stormed off. Everyone went to bed. In the morning, Captain Theo found that the present for Muffina of Adabar was missing, and in its place was a map, showing the rest area and a lake to the south, with the word “gold!” written near the lake edge. The captain accused Lunessa, but she told him to stuff it. The group decided to follow the map.
On the way, they intersected a brown bear. The fighters prepared to kill the bear, but Fips intervened and became friends with the bear, who told him his name was Beartacolottery (or something to that effect).
The map lead the group to the edge of the lake, where they found a cave in the cliff face. They all successfully climbed down, and lowered the bear with them. They were beset by traps, including an exploding stuffed spider husk that spewed out choking dust. They encountered 20 Jermlaines (1 foot tall brownie like humanoids), and wiped them out. After crossing another pit trap, they called it a day.

Magic in this world is a lot like cooking. Each spell is like a recipie and although not fully forgotten after the first time, the exact measurements of the ingrediants may need to be referred to. Also, if not all ingrediants are included, or substitutions made, the results may be better or they may be worse.  Mages carry a lot of ingrediants with them, and are always on the look out for rare bits. They may seem like cleptomaniacs to some.
Mages also are independent of kingdoms. While they may be residents, they are not answerable to the ruler of that kingdom. They are answerable to their all powerful guild, called the Consortium.  The Consortium is highly involved with most kingdoms. Mages have two special powers, which allows them to be above the law in some ways. They are the ability to communicate with other mages over great distances in the same moment (like text messages) and the ability to teleport from one location to another. The ability to communicate instantly makes mages very useful to rulers, traders, military commanders, etc. The down-side of this communication is that the mage will know what the message said, and the reply. Mages are sworn to never reveal such communication.

Religion. The official religion of the Kingdom of Rhodesia is Bobism. Bobism is the worship of Bob, Lord of Light. One may hear common phrases such as “Bob damn it!” or “Bob bless you!”  There are many other religions and beliefs though, because Rhodesia is an open-minded kingdom. Other dieties include Cerredwin, the protector of all things green and pink, grand provider of alcohol; The Tree named Meskalei, a fearsome tall tree that swallows houses; Tumblina, patron saint of acrobats and collector of marbles; and Jebis, bringer of bountiful harvests.

Short history. Rhodesia, named after Rhodri the Blatant (Rhodri the First), was born from a group of adventures and explorers trying to find what all adventurers and explorers want – money and a free place to live. They were from the great Elven Emerald Empire, which is slightly opressive and not entirely friendly to humans (who are outnumbered). The group of adventurers went across the Shallow Salt Sea to a new land, where they found a lovely valley in the mountains which just happened to be the home of several tribes of Trolls. Trolls are nasty creatures who eat humans and regenerate their limbs (should they be lopped off) into additional trolls. This form of procreation is common, but usually accompanied by a ritual. When the adventurers stared hacking and slashing, and all these little trolls were being created from the lopped off limbs – the female trolls were not amused. Zolonti the Grand, Rhodri 1′s mage, used a powerful inferno spell and burned out the whole valley. The adventurers then had to wait for Brittleleaf the Druid to encourage the new growth before they could build their new city, Ulnar (which was named after Rhodri’s wife). Thus Rhodesia was born. Trolls are not tollerated in Rhodesia, and trolls had Rhodesites right back.

This day Rhodri told his aide, the mage Potus, to call one of his captains in, in order for the captain to deliver a present to his (hopefully soon to be) fiance Muffina of Adabar. Potus called in Captain Theo, who called in an assorted band of reservists. There the reservists witnessed Rho3 give a package to Captain Theo along with instructions. Captain Theo and the reservist group left within the hour. In the reservist group were Spark, a half-elven healer; Shim the Dauntless, a half-elven warrior in the service of Bob; Birch, a gray elf scout; Del Castillo Alesmith, a half-elven ranger and brewer; Fips, a human druid; and Lunessa Birchwood, a dark elf mage.

On the road to Adabar, not far from the first rest area, the group was stopped by a broken wagon in the road. It turned out to be an ambush orchestrated by 10 desparate human thieves. A mighty battle ensued, which left 9 dead ambusers and one wounded ambusher who swore allegiance to the dark elf mage. The group made it to the rest area, patched up their wounds, and learned a little about the package that Captain Theo was carrying; a finely wrought necklace with large emerald pendant.

Anyway, I’ve been to a gaggle of Irish pubs in the San Diego recently – all so that I could see this band perform. Somewhere between one glass of gin and the next, my friends and I decided I needed (or maybe it was just me and I was imagining that I was drinking with someone else…it’s possible) to write-up a review of the Irish pubs we’ve been to. Reviews should have rating systems, so that like things can be compared. For each category of the review, there is a three-point scale. 0 = suck, 1 = average, 2 = excellent.  Yes, I could use the Likert scale and use 5 points but I’m lazy and I was drinking – so my judgement was not that precise.

The categories are Atmosphere, Service, Music, Guinness, Irish Coffee, and Bathroom.
For this first review, the pubs are The Blarney Stone on 5th in the Gaslight District, The Field in the Gaslight District, Hennessey’s in the Gaslight District, and O’Sullivan’s in Carlsbad CA.

The Blarney Stone.
Guinness: Good pour. Good temperature. 2
Irish Coffee. Brown sugar in the coffee, cinnamon on top. Half-n-half  instead of heavy cream. 2
Music. At the time we were there, the stereo was on. It was playing pop, country, and rap. Our bartender said they have live duos/singles who play cover tunes. No Irish music, live or otherwise. 0. [You may wonder, if the whole point of being in the bar was to see The Fooks, why they weren't playing there. Well, there are two Blarney Stone Irish pubs in SD. The Fooks play at the other one. We had to satisfy our curiosity about this one.]
Atmosphere. Wooden panels, light, nice to sit and talk. Wasn’t crowded when we were in there. Reminded me of a pub we hit in Bisbee AZ. Locals, friendly. Generic Irish decor. 1
Restroom. Not so clean. 1
Service. Our bartender was named Scott. Nice, friendly, interested in what we were doing. 2
Notes: a good local hangout.
Total score: 8 out of 12

The Field.
Guinness. Good pour.  Good temperature. 2
Irish Coffee. Used half-n-half. 1
Music. When we were there, Thin Lizzy was on the stereo. Advertisement for The Fooks on the TV.  They have other live Irish music. 2
Atmosphere. Darker than Blarney Stone, but more authentic decor. There is a strange collection of things in a loft above the tables that reminds me of my grandmother’s barn. Louder. Busy. 2
Restroom. Could be cleaner. 1
Service. A real Irish (or at least an Irish accent) server.  Actual service was average.1
Notes: A good bar to go to, but not one to hangout in.
Total score: 9 out of 12

Hennessey’s.
Guinness. Better pour the second time.1
Irish Coffee. No one got one (I guess you can only do so many in a day). But someone did get a Black and Tan and said the pour was good. The margarita I had tasted like it had pickle juice in it. Odd. 1
Music. Live music, but not Irish. The band that was playing that night was Endoxi, who described themselves as electrified Tommy Dorsey (which sounded fun. In practice, they were keyboards, saxophone, guitar, and drum. Kind of pop-ish, but enthusiastic. I’d see them again. They were having sound issues that night.) 1
Atmosphere. Loud with a veneer of Irish. Corporate, upscale, well-lit, seeming open space but tables packed in. 0
Restroom. Clean 2
Service.  Slow, but it was busy. 1
Notes: A chain. One of our group reported that the one in Las Vegas was much better.
Total score:  6 out of 12

O’Sullivan’s.
Guinness.  Good pour. Slightly too cold at first, but settled. 2
Irish Coffee. Half-n-half, not tasty coffee. 0
Music. When we first arrived, they were playing acoustic Irish music. Later, The Fooks played. Small stage but a built-in sound system was nice for them. Crowd was kind of right in their faces. Regardless of their take on things, I thought it was a good venue. They had a good crowd.2
Atmosphere. Irish decor, but no strange things hiding out in the rafters. Outside patio with firepit.2
Restroom. Clean.2
Service. The hostess that sat us at our dinner table was a zombie. The waitress was nice and reserved a table closer to the stage for us. The stage area waiter was attentive.1
Notes:  Local hangout or a good dinner place (they have a separate dining room).
Total Score: 9 out of 12

Conclusion. If I was just going drinking, I’d go to the Blarney Stone and hang out. If I was going to have an Irish experience, I’d select either The Field or O’Sullivan’s. Hennessey’s just wasn’t what we were looking for. If I was going to see The Fooks, well…where are they next?

I attended with my brothers Tom and Matt, Tom’s girlfriend Debra, and her friends Cindy and Zaza. Debra’s friend Chris consented to be our designated driver, which was good since the police were searching for drunks on the road. 
The Ojai Wine Festival was held at Lake Casitas, which is a medium-sized lake nestled between rolling green hills dotted with oak and other tall leafy trees. There were some 150 or more venders, not just wine but beer, food, and do-dad merchants. There was live music. The music was very safe and pedestrian. For example, the first band played Beatles, and the second played an assortment of 70′s music, all designed to offend the least amount and appeal to the festival’s white middle-aged demographic (which we fit in).
I tasted at 12 to 14 booths, and managed not to get too much of a hangover the next day. Quite an accomplishment for me. I guess my liver is in shape finally. Of the places I tasted at, most were from Paso Robles, which I find amusing as the closest wine country is Santa Barbara County. I think there were only a smattering of Santa Barbara County wineries there – and only one that I’d heard of (Curtis, which I did not taste at as I’ve been there several times).
So here are my notes for what they are worth (that is, the pixels which make up the image of the words; e.g., not much):
   Herman Story from Paso Robles. 2009 vintages. 1 Grenache, 2 Syrahs (and a white wine that I didn’t try). The first Syrah was from Whitehawk Vineyard (Paso Robles I assume), and the second Syrah was made from a mix of grapes from other counties. I liked the straight Syrah better I think.
   Midnight Cellars from Paso Robles.  They had a good oaky buttery Chardonnay, which is how Chardonnay should be in my book. They also had a smooth Malbec and a spicy Zin that brought Chinese food to mind for some reason.
Mosby from Santa Ynez Valley. Pinot Grigio, good but not as full or as “toothy” per Cindy. Not one of her favorites she reported. They also had a Sangiovese which was average, and a Dolcetto (“little sweet one”) that was smooth. I only tried the Dolcetto.
   Motos Liberty Cellars had Almond Champagne from Ventana Vineyards in Arroyo Seco. Yuck. I’m not a sweet champagne person.
   Estrella Creek from Paso Robles. They had two blends that I tried; Stargazer and Moondancer. The Stargazer was Syrah, Cabernet Sovignon and Petit Syrah. I found it to be caramel-ly and delicious. Moondancer was Grenache and Syrah. The Moondancer was light with a touch of fruit. Both probably need to be decanted as I found particles in my glass afterward.
   Michael David from Lodi, Ca. Lodi is in the northern part of Central California, San Joaquin County. They had a Petit Syrah (called Petit Syrah I think), which was pedestrian; Lust, which was a light Zin and very drinkable.  “A summer red,” per Matt. They are the maker of 7 Deadly Zins, which is oft found at Costco. My friend Deljia enjoys that. Earthquake Cabernet was peppery but not overwhelming, and Earthquake Zin was too sweet. 7 Deadly Zins was perky yet mild for a Zin. I guess I like my Zins to be chewy. (Hell, if I’m going to Zin, I might as well get a workout!)
   Grand Courtage. Grapes came from France, and I have no idea where the winery is. They served champagne. It was nice and dry on the first taste, and harsh on the second taste.
   Peachy Canyon Winery from Paso Robles. They had a wine called Cirque de Vin (which probably should be Cirque du vin as de and le combine to make du. Maybe it’s not French). Anyway…Cirque de Vin was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zin, Petit Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. It was actually nice, with a touch of caramel.
   Le Vigne from Paso Robles. Dominico Cabernet Sauvignon was good but average. Sylvester Cabernet Sauvignon was lighter and had a cherry hint.
   Les Deux Chats from Lodi. Grapes from France. They had a Roussanne, which was nice and did not have too nasty of an after taste as some Roussannes do.
   Mountain Terrace. From somewhere. I may have been drunk for this one, or I recorded notes from/for someone else. My notes say “Lone Modrone - Awesome. La Metzcala Red.”  So who knows on that one.
   Twin Poms from Lodi. They did not actually have a wine per se. They served pomegranate wine, which was fermented pomegranates. They also had a white wine mixed with pomegranates, and a sparkling pom made with forced carbonation. Good for a warm afternoon of not real drinking I guess. Tasty but not wine.
   Quady from somewhere. Elysium which was a cocktail of currant wine served with carbonated water and a lime, and Essensia which was orange muscat with carbonated water and a lemon.  Refreshing but again, not really a wine. Very sweet.
   PRP Wine International. Wine importer from Orange County. They had Oligitum Reserve from Spain, which was good. Chevalier de Bayard which was a Grenache, also good.

Of the group, my favorites were Midnight Cellars’ Chardonnay, Estrella Creek’s Stargazer, Michael David’s Lust, and the very first glass of wine (Grenache) I had at Herman Story.  The rest of our group tasted at different booths and had different favorites.
The Ojai Wine Festival is absolutely worth attending. One fee for as much wine as you can stomach. Remember to have a designated driver and wear sunscreen.

Cheers! ~Pongo

So, my intention for the last week or two has been to open up my armor and let my soft chewy gooey inner bits – the things that I try to protect about my identity – hang out. I envision my protected heart as caramel, maybe a little chocolate swirled in, but mostly caramel, and I see that protected cage squeaking open to give access to whomever.
Of course I have a particular whomever in mind at the moment. This person has put me on a pedestal – I’m taboo and to be respected/protected/loved from a far at all times. Really, I just want to be loved from up close. As a person, not an ideal.
So my act of courage today was to tell this person, “Hey, see me. I see you. I accept you and your foibles, faults, whatever, and I still want to be near you.” This person said, in essence, ‘nope – too scary. I like the you in my imagination better.’
There are no wrong answers. And yea, a new boundary has been set – replacing a barrier. And I feel kinda good, and kinda sore in the soft squishy bit. Clarity has been achieved, or at least the first step in that direction.

Why is it my fantasies don’t come true? (waa - hey- there’s my armor) Where’s the reality where this person saw me and not the image? (and there’s the ego. The endless cycle.)

Courage and patience (please hurry up and get here.)