If We Were Having Coffee…

If we were having coffee is a blogging community idea, where bloggers publish posts about what they’d like to say to their readers if they were sitting down together having a casual cup of coffee.

In my mind, we’re sitting in a small rustic coffee shop, tucked away down a cobbled street. It has oak tables, vintage cutlery and copper decor with dim lighting, and The Civil Wars are playing in the background.  What are you waiting for? Snug in, grab a beverage, and let’s chat!

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I’d say hello lovely bloggers, it’s me, I’m alive! Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t been spirited away to join a secret Wiccan coven, I haven’t disappeared to study dragons in Peru (I wish), nor was I kidnapped by nargles…
I can’t even feign a flu powder disaster to explain my absence (something tells me you wouldn’t believe me).

I’d tell you that I’ve really missed chatting with my blogging friends! No one in the real world is half so passionate about books; *whispers* nor so up for intelligent, passionate debate. You people, YOU are more awesome than you realise.

I’d tell you that I’m kind of terrified that I’m talking to myself right now, and that everyone has moved on to bigger and better things.

I’d apologize for disappearing without a trace for 4 months with no warning, nor any explanation as to when I’d be back. Heck, I’d give Amy from Gone Girl a run for her money. The truth is, I became disillusioned with this blog; I lost my way. It became more chore than fun, more salad than chocolate chip ice cream and that saddened me. Where had my passion and drive gone? I don’t know. I’m still trying to find it…

I’d tell you that I’m so, so happy at the moment. Life is going great. I’m overanalysing less, making positive choices, taking chances and trying new things. Maybe that’s in part why I’ve been blogging less. This blog was a crutch for a long time, a place for me to escape where people approved of me and my words. Now I have those caring people outside of the virtual world too.

I’d tell you I’ve been crazy busy! My part-time job at a hotel quickly changed to full time when we got a new manager and half the team quit (the manager was awful, and has since been fired after months of disaster). Some weeks, I was working 6 out of 7 days at unsociable hours, chatting to lost souls as they nursed their drinks at the hotel bar. I can’t even tell you how worthy the hotel I work for is of its own sitcom. One day we have drug dealers, prostitutes and unsavory characters. Another day we have hysterical wedding guests crying at the reception desk. One week we had a leak in the basement and had to empty buckets every hour and a half. Recently, we had no heating in the entire building and were threatened with closure. Not to mention after the team meeting last week two people got stuck in the lift and we had to call the fire brigade out…

Yet, my job is awesome too. There are those wonderful and fascinating guests, the intelligent businessmen, cheeky contractors far from home, families stuck between houses that have been checked in for so long they almost become friends, amazing colleagues who make you smile and laugh every shift. I might just love my job, chaos and all.

I’d tell you the boyfriend and I had our one year anniversary. It passed quietly, with takeaway pizza and movie marathons and it was perfect.

I’d tell you I had a week long Italian adventure in May that I never got around to posting about. I visited Sorrento, Pompeii, Orbetello, Pisa and Rome. It was possibly the best week of my life, and a total childhood dream come true. I had wanted to visit Rome since I was about 11, and I’m still awestruck by the experience months later. I hope I’ll still get the time to post about it at some point.

I’d tell you about my amazing 10 day European road trip in August with the boyfriend and two of his friends. We made our way through the Romantic Road in Germany (lots of gingerbread-esk houses) and stayed in a refurbished bank-turned apartment for the night, we cruised through the Austrian Alps which were so awe-inspiring it took my breath away. We tootled into the Jurassic, untouched Slovenia, bypassed unfairly by most tourists who don’t get to experience its fairytale landscapes and deep blue lakes. At this point, we dropped off the boyfriend’s two friends at the famous Slovenian punk festival and went it alone. We decided to explore more of Italy, picking Venice and Verona as our destinations before making the long journey home and detouring in Belgium. Here’s hoping I’ll get to do a full post on that too…

I’d tell you that I wish I could say this was my great return to blogging, but I’m honestly not sure. I would like it to be but we’ll see how it goes. I still need to work out how to fit this wonderful hobby around my new and more adult hectic schedule, and I need to fall in love with blogging again. One thing’s for sure, I’m going to relax the reins. From now on, I’ll only review the books I want to, rather than every book I read (for some reason I used to be obsessed with reviewing every book, and then a pile of books would stack up and I’d feel guilty). I need to get back to why I started this blog in the first place, because I loved words, the feeling of putting them on a page, discussing them, playing with them. I want this space to be all about community and conversation, not likes and stats. Here’s for moving forward. 🙂

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Thanks for listening to me rambling over a cup of coffee. Now it’s your turn. What would you tell me about your life over a nice cup/glass of something? What have I missed since I’ve been away? Set the scene for me, what would be the beverage of your choice? What does the coffee shop look like? #weekendcoffeeshare