February 22. Day 237.
What a morning.
Woke up at 6:30. Strolled to a nearby cafe that makes amazing mochas, aptly called Mystic Mocha, and read a dozen magazines and caught up on mail. Checked out the neighbors -- two older gentleman having breakfast, a young dad and his toddler son making silly eyes at each other, a group of people celebrating a birthday, someone working the counter advising a customer about the academic job market.
Praise the jetlag! This has never lasted so long! Wow! What a revelation to actually get up and do something before 10 a.m.
Then I headed home, where Mr. A was fixing up my bike -- new gears, new brakes, new seat, new handles. Good as new.
Meanwhile, I did all those finishing touches I never got around to after the move. Unpacked the final, final boxes. Set up the rest of my shoes. Consolidated suitcases. Moved a table in the tiny kitchen to make a little more counter space. Mr. A came in from the bike and we finished that stuff. And then... freedom!!!
We rode our bikes to Lestat's, another favored cafe, to see how long it takes to get there from home (a little under ten minutes). And on the way back, we stopped at a bookstore.
Here's what we bought:
(Some books for Mr. A's niece and godson, another present for a friend, some really cute individual Shakespeare plays in the lower right, a Korean phrasebook since he's traveling to Seoul for work soon, a splash of art and that there brick of Proust.)At the register, inquired: "Since we're buying so much, could we get a 20% discount?"
The man agreed, and even cut off the sales taxes if we paid cash.
Gained: About $50! (Below is a detail of yesterday's lamp, included in the books picture.)
