Sunday 13 March 2016

I'm at the Cafe at the Pfister! AKA Cafe at the Hotel Pfister or the Pfister Hotel Cafe—or maybe I should make up my own name for it! Anyway, this is the new start of Sunday Project—and even though I was here a month ago (oh, that was Saturday)—really, I have not gone to breakfast much on Sunday lately—maybe Saturday—most often to the Ma Fischer's—which is a nice morning walk—but also tends to bum me out—I'm a little bit over Ma Fischer's for the time being—anyway—I had totally forgotten about Sunday Project for awhile—it's an old concept—never really resurrected it in New York. Last regular Sunday Project place was the Astor Hotel Cafe—which was before I moved to New York. Anyway, what is Sunday Project? The basic idea is to go to breakfast, alone, to some breakfast spot (hopefully well-populated with people) on Sunday morning—but the crucial point is to go repeatedly to the same place. (It's okay to skip a week or several—but should be fairly consistent). And then compare and observe and write about and notice the qualities and nuances of that place and the workers and the food and the space and the customers, over time. It's a relationship, essentially. What do I learn about a place—do I get to like it better or do I get sick of it? Do they get to know me? Does it become more comfortable, or less comfortable?

And writing about my observations, how I feel—how does writing about it change it—and what do I write about? Usually I write about Sunday Project. But also, it's just a journal.

Anyway—it all started in 1987—when I lived in Kent and went to the Country-something Family Restaurant (where I later worked) Sunday after Sunday (always ordering sausage gravy and biscuits) and writing about it—in a sense—I've always just been trying to relive that! Over the years—here and there—it's never the same, but—The Astor was pretty good for awhile. I was considering going back there—I stopped in yesterday—talked to the guy running the bar there—but no breakfast now, at this time. I considered Watts Tea Room—that might be cool—but they are not open on Sunday. I guess I'll see how it goes here for awhile—then maybe try somewhere else. Maybe Zak's might be okay. Or somewhere on my bike (in warm weather).

Okay—mostly this notebook is supposed to for my novel K2—the Frisland book—which it is. It starts and stalls—maybe that's okay—my idea lately being—make a lot of events happen! Don't delay—don't get bogged down—be concise—that's the idea of K2—10 books—10 novels in one—each can be shorter (thus quicker than a regular novel)—get on with it! Get to the action—and move on!