before my coffee gets cold

Inspired by the 2015 novel by Japanese author Toshikazu Kawaguchi, this series features observations, reflections, and stories told from the chairs of my favorite coffee shops. Each one is written, edited, and finalized — all before my coffee gets cold.

Lea Hughes Lea Hughes

It’s working!

It’s working! This, this thing I’ve been trying to do. It’s working!

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Lea Hughes Lea Hughes

I make people feel things!

A few weeks ago, I opened my laptop, leg bouncing in anticipation. The feedback from my most recent short story competition had just been posted…

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Lea Hughes Lea Hughes

A dialogue between me and the Universe

That night, I lay in bed, grieving the loss of something that mattered to me. I cried the sort of tears that fall slowly, one by one, like the beautiful women do in the movies…

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Lea Hughes Lea Hughes

You tell ‘em, Nietzsche.

Is wanting a symptom of unhappiness?

I’ve been asking myself this question since I finished my latest binge-read, The Midnight Library…

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Purpose, Part I: Actions for Change

Last week, inspired by a conversation with a friend, I asked my subscribers their thoughts on the “purpose” of my newsletter. (To my delight, many of you replied!)

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It was nothing short of magic

Mammoth, California. Sierra Nevada Mountains.

It was our first night out on the trail. We’d had an early start to the day, meaning we reached our campsite with plenty of daylight left.

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It was, in the eternal words of HUNTR/X, golden.

This week, my job wasn’t to be a data cruncher or strategist: this week, my job was to be a community facilitator. A builder of connections. The bridge between what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it.

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Not every spark deserves a fire.

I had a moment this week.

There were several moments, actually, but the one that comes to mind is the moment in which I lay at the bottom of the shower, the pelting water the only thing capable of quieting my racing mind…

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PRIDE 2025: Part III, Honesty

I sat down today with the intention of posting a different story — but something was bubbling in my chest, and it only felt right to see where it took me.

I sit here, at this very moment, deeply aware of the secrets I keep for myself. There aren’t that many, truly, and fewer than there used to be…

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