coffee

In Such A Long Journey, one of Mistry's characters makes the comment (and I must paraphrase because I'm too lazy to look up the actual quotation) that tea is a beverage consumed not merely for its flavor but for the status it confers upon one of observer. This remark was made in the context of tea-drinking at an Indian railway station, but it is, I think, more generally true as well. Having a cup of tea (or coffee) in front of one while sitting at a cafe is a statement. It's as if one has a large placard on the table: "I'm not going anywhere for a while." (and the secondary message: "Please don't disturb me, my cuppa is my companion".) I guess that's why a good mug of coffee is so essential to me when I want to spend an afternoon reading. Yes, it's a stimulant, but it also helps to shut out the rest of everything, reduce the universe to me, my book, and my brew.

Sadly, the charm is not failsafe; I was interrupted mid-chapter today by a very unlikely pair - acquaintances from Duke who graduated last year and are now in the Psych department in Berkeley working on their PhDs. How they spotted me while driving by I will never know, but long story short, it looks like I'll have to get a meal or something with them tomorrow out of politeness. I suppose I shouldn't be so grudging about it - they are nice people - it's just that seeing them reminds me of Durham, and insufficient time has passed for me to want to be nostalgic about North Carolina. I don't know whether this makes sense but clean breaks are important to me, at least initially. No sense in leaving bits of the past trailing behind you when you're trying to get on with life.