not enough room

I had to get out, my place is just to small. It's nice in the winter, all warm and cozy.  My books are everwhere, there's just not enough room for it all. That's another way to describe my small apt “not enough room”. Maybe it feels that way because of all the books. Their in my bed, my floor, the  top of the chest of draws, the top shelf of the closet. I smoke, and I'm so careful making sure my cigarette is out when finished, that I put it under running water to leave no doubt in my mind that the little red burning tip is out completely. Could you imagine how quickly my life could go up in smoke from just a little spark. I live in a very dry climate, which makes anything made from wood into juicy tinder for a hungry little flame. Don't get me wrong, I love bonefires and candles, they create such wonderful atmosphere, especially of the spiritual kind. I also love a good barbecue, there's nothing like the taste of a succulent veggie burger right off the barbecue. If I had a barbcue at my place , I'd die from asphyxiation before I'd ever get that first bite. So I have to go to someone elses place for that, but that someone else moved out of town, eh we weren't great friends anyway. So, I nuke my food, all the little rooms where I live come with little microwave ovens. Only problem with the microwave is that my veggie burgers don't taste as good as they would be from a barbacue.  and anyone familiar with a microwave knows that my veggie burger won't be succulent when it's finished cooking, but it's still tasty enough to make me happy. I've been living like this for so long maybe I don't remember what real tasty means anymore. O well, off to bed .  

Re: not enough room

Peter, there's just something I find so engaging about writing of this nature—a point-and-shoot moment, a brief glimpse into the world of some I-character.

So much is shown about this I-character by the detail provided about books everywhere—not detail about what the character reads, but that he reads, and voraciously—and the extreme care he takes to make sure a smoked cigarette is well and truly out. A book lover, maybe even, worshipper. And I love that we are shown this in so many ways, yet never actually told it, especially here:

Could you imagine how quickly my life could go up in smoke from just a little spark.

I can picture this character running through the thickest smoke and flame to save as many books as possible.

I like how the thought of the character's life going up in smoke leads quite naturally into a discussion of barbecues, and how a microwave oven, though a poor substitute, still renders a burger that is “tasty enough to make me happy.” The segue itself is one of my favourite parts:

I live in a very dry climate, which makes anything made from wood into juicy tinder for a hungry little flame. Don't get me wrong, I love bonefires and candles, they create such wonderful atmosphere, especially of the spiritual kind.

Food for the mind, food for the body. In spite of the “not enough room,” I sense that this character is well content, or at least, far from discontent.

Ruth

Re: not enough room

This was such a pleasure to read. The flow of energy and words make me feel part of the i charatcers world for this brief moment.  I am not certain how much of his/her life is what they desire or just deal with, There are many hints that spell both discontent and an ability to let life unfold as it may. An interesting character is shown here wothout really saying much about them, a treat as a reader. I appreciate the amount of details wothout making details the only thing that is written, enough to show the story and thoughts but not too much as to block  the flow.  A nice dive! I look forward to more.  Thanks for sharing this with us.

Save a veggie bruger for me, they do not have them here in korea:)

Peace,
michael

Re: not enough room

Thank you very, very much for the feedback, it helps me to understand    and learn about my writing, about how well or how bad I'm at expressing my personal experiences with words. Rudyan, you said “point and shoot moment” . that is exactly what I'm thinking of as I write. My exfatherinlaw is an amature photographer, I think of his black and white pictures of ordinary scenes , that when captured in a cameras lens , a moment frozen in time, becomes an extraordinary work of art. Michael, thank you for sharing with me the pleasure that my writing brought to you, those words are sweet to someone like me that's trying to learn how to write..
                     Thank you again.
  

Re: not enough room

I like how this flows from one thought to another. It fuels itself like the fire you speak of. I found it amusing to read.