The story of MJ

This is amazing. I could hardly contain my excitement. In one moment, I held James’ latest story in my two paws. In the next, the story was published on the web. “This is the web,” James said; “it’s where dreams can come true.” In that moment, I knew I was in the right place.

I had come to James’ Coffee Blog with great curiosity. I was curious about websites, and enjoyed reading what I could find on the web. I especially loved stories about everyday life – human perspectives on the world. “I want to do this. I want to have a website, too.” I thought to myself. This is when I reached out to James for advice. How do I start a website?

As we conversed over email, I realised I wanted to watch how a website was made first. How do you figure out what to write? My typing skills were nascent, too: keyboards for cats have not been made with the same attention to ergonomics as those of humans. Curious to play with websites but not quite ready to have my own, I asked: could I help with yours? And so here I am.

Let me introduce myself. I’m MJ. James says that the MJ stands for Mascot James. I prefer to think of my name as “majestic jewel,” more representative, I think, of the value of the whimsy I bring. But, I can’t quibble, for cats don’t quibble. I already appear on every page on James’ website – that’s good enough for me!

“I want to make my blog more whimsical,” said James. He was keen on balancing the serious with the playful. “Words are infinitely expressive already, but I feel that something is missing.”, he said, to which I replied “Maybe I can help?” I had a coffee cup balanced on my head at the time. To help me improve the flexibility of my paws, I like to balance things on other things. With an excited tone in the timbre of his voice, James replied “I think so!”

I made my debut as the mascot of James’ blog, here to bring a smile to the face of as many readers as possible. Whether a story or a guide, a reflection or a vision, I sit happily next to words wonderful, delightful, peculiar, and intriguing. (If someone can explain to me James’ affinity with writing about confectionary, that would be most welcomed.)

I help James behind the scenes, learning the art of web weaving and the rhythm of words. I moonlight on other projects, too: I help deliver the news with Artemis, I embody my love of waffles for a breakfast website, I help James write HTML with Athena. Contrary to the reputation of cats as mischief makers, I like to be helpful, learning the grain of the web as I lend a paw.

I have ambitions to one day start my own website: MJ’s Musings. Seeing how James’ Coffee Blog works behind the scenes has given me a sense for how to set up a website. And reading words from all my favourite websites is inspiring me to start writing. James says that you may be surprised by how much having a site changes your life. I can feel the power of storytelling as I write this blog post. I can seldom keep my coffee cup balanced on my head.

While we are on the topic of coffee, I want to say that despite the seeming precarity of balancing a coffee cup on his head, I have made less of a mess with coffee than James. Once, James accidentally got coffee grounds in an (unplugged) toaster. He learned two lessons: first, the inverted (upside down) Aeropress method comes with risks; second: coffee-flavoured toast is not as good as it sounds.

Of course, as a cat, I don’t drink coffee: it’s dangerous. Hence, my coffee cup actually contains what I call a “catuccino.” Humans call it milk, but where’s the whimsy in that?

I hope you enjoy the time you spend here on James’ Coffee Blog. It has taken me a while to know where to begin my story, which is why you haven't heard much from me. I didn’t even get as far into my origin as I would like: how I came to be a cat surfing the web, why words intrigue me so. But James says that websites help us grow, and so maybe one day I’ll be back to share more. For now, though, I have some web pages to watch over! And I need to stretch my paws.

Wait... did I just start MJ's Musings? I love the moments when I realise that I have already started the journey of my dreams.

~ MJ