Five Ways
Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free story!
Share this:

Goodbye, Jitters

Exterior of the Redmond Jitters Coffee Shop
Silver and gold balloons adorn the Jitters exterior. They've been around 22 years!
Today was a mournful day. Every morning I go grab coffee at a local coffee shop called Jitters, which has been around Redmond much longer than I have: 22 years to my 14. But now they’ve had to close their location (a repurposed bank building) and haven’t been able to find a new place.

They’re celebrating their last day in style: balloons, a big card for everyone to sign, and free coffee all day long, but there is a sad undertone to the merriment. We’d gone through the drivethrough, then came in to sign the card and say goodbye. Last week, I’d made sure to sign up for the mailing list, to be notified if they find a new location, but so far the manager hasn’t seemed very hopeful about that.

As we were coming towards the door, a gentleman was coming out. We nodded at each other and he paused. Both of us felt, I think, a need to mark the occasion, to acknowledge the Jitters bond. “Sad day,” he said. “Very sad,” I replied. Inside all the baristas were glammed out and a little shell-shocked, I think, that this day had come.

Picture of Bromeliad, Chemex, Globe, and a dragon-shaped mug.
This is my new lifestyle. It's more solitary yet stylish. The dragon mug is from my crazy aunt.
Meanwhile, I’ve bought a lovely Chemex in order to make coffee at home after reading a recent Chuck Wendig post about it. I fear that I finally have fallen into the Seattle trap and become a coffee snob. I even have some Tonx coffee coming, since they are willing to give you a free sample. And there’s a pleasing ritual to it, the dousing of the filter in hot water, then using that water to warm the mug. Wayne got me an electric kettle for Christmas after watching the two saucepan version of that dance, and it rocks.

Still, I will sorely miss Wendy and Megan and Amanda and all the rest of the cheerful Jitters crew.

2 Responses

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Fiction in Your Mailbox Each Month

Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.

Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.
Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.

 

"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

~K. Richardson

You may also like...

Wrapping Up the Year

I’m finally catching up, post-Wormhole Workshop in Girona, Spain, and pronounce it a success! We had a great time, and the students wrote their tails off, producing amazing, sometimes location-flavored, stories, such as “We Have Always Been Going to the Castle,” and “Murder at the Castell de la Cava.” Being in a 10th century castle was an evocative space for our first effort, and a number of moments, including my 60th birthday celebration, will live in my memory for the rest of my life. This newsletter is illustrated with sunrises and sunsets from the stay.

So many thanks to my partner in the effort, Janet K. Smith and her indefatigable husband Geoff. We learned a lot for the 2024 Wormhole, which will be a fully accessible location inside the United States. Look for a formal announcement mid-February but the scheduling will again be for November.

If you want access to the recordings from the workshop in Spain, featuring Tobias Buckell, Ann Leckie, Sarah Pinsker, and myself, they are available individually or as a group – and best of all, we implemented sliding scale so more people can afford it. Please check out what’s available and spread the word if you know people who might be interested. Find out more here.

Some Wayward Gift Ideas

Want to give your favorite writer a gift from the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers? Here’s some possibilities:

  • A subscription to the community ($50 for a year)
  • A class credit ($75, good for any two hour class)
  • A coaching session ($50, 30 minute consultation via Zoom)
  • A story edit ($50 for up to 5000 words)
  • One of these stickers or cool zippered pouches for their pens

For any of the virtual gifts, mail me at cat@kittywumpus.net. You will receive a .pdf that can be mailed to the recipient or printed out to give them physically.

What I’m Working On

The year is passing away with fierce quickness and I’m trying to wrap up the draft of Wings of Tabat in order to get that in before the end of the end. I’m planning changes for next year’s Rambo Academy classes and events – if you’re a community member, please weigh in on the post asking for feedback on what you’d like to see!

Lotsa Links

Cat-Related Links

Rambo Academy Community Links

Market & Related Links

Informative Links

Pictures from Life the Casa Rambo Way

...

A Week of Convulsive Activity

Decorative Image for Cat Rambo PostWell, as you may know, Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain made it onto the Nebula ballot. I can’t express how much that means to me. The Nebulas are voted on by members of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, all of whom are writers in their own right, and so this feels very much like recognition and validation from my peers. Wow. That’s all I can say about that.

I’m definitely headed down for the Nebula Awards weekend, which is also a welcome chance to visit one of my favorite places in the world, the Winchester Mystery House.

But! My other great news, somewhat related to that, is that I’ve got an agent now, the excellent Seth Fishman of the Gernert Company. He’s as excited about the novel as I am, and so I’ve been figuring out my rewrite roadmap and planning to devote March to that. Huzzah! Onward and forward.

This is the last day for getting the special deal on the Writing F&SF Story class or Editing Class! Sign up for one of those and you get a bonus class as well. Bonus class options include: the First Pages workshop, Flash Fiction workshop, Everything You Need to Know about E-Publishing, Literary Techniques in Speculative Fiction, Building an Online Presence for Writers, and Art of the Book Review.

...

Skip to content