there's something living in these lines

i just ate a half a block of mature scottish cheddar and think i will top it off with some tea. feeling kind of more like a british eater than i'm quite used to because that is all a wee bit gross, but i suppose i'm alright with that at the moment.
i enjoy mondays. i'm not sure why the world so dreads them. well, i suppose i am, for i imagine that most people don't like what they do in their daily groove once their weekends end as much as i do. and weekends have sort of ceased to exist for me, because life happens in terms of when i don't have school and don't have work, which doesn't always correspond to the business week. what am i saying, life happens when i do have those things as well.

last night at work i did listen to lovely music but didn't have a chance to read my book. i had two tables in four hours and made 5 pounds in tips and iain the chef was cheery and informed me that saying a person is "chatty," as i described some customers, means that they are dirty or unclean in scotspeak, not talkative. where these things come from?...my friends actually do say "bollocks," by the way. so today i spent my unplanned -for earnings (i've been budgeting because of the impending trip to norwich) on frivolous things like a hazelnut latte and a flapjack and some dried apples that tasted like they had first been marinated in wine, which after some deliberation i decided wasn't entirely a good thing. i had a productive day at two different libraries where i seemed to be reading uncommonly quickly, which is totally satisfying, learning about edinburgh's old college and how appallingly misogynistic dramatist august strindberg is -though he did say this funny thing: "I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves." and about karl marx and the construction of the controversial crystal palace in hyde park.

julia asked me to meet with her once a week this semester so that we can reflect on our time and make sure we are using it in the best way possible for ourselves over coffee, and tonight we went to my favorite coffeeshop beanscene for cocoa. amidst some really good conversation there was a funny moment with a male barista, who came by to clear away our mugs after we had been there for about 2 hours. when restocking our table's sugar bowl he had earlier overheard a fairly recognizable moment of conversation when julia was speaking about an ex-boyfriend, and so later said "everything alright for you guys?" me: "oh yes, we are just chatting" barista: "well let's me know if you need a male opinion. i'm good at..." me: "settling matters?" barista: "yes, that. (begins to walk away) you are both beautiful anyway, you don't need men."
ah sir, if only that settled it, but beauty is to be admired, so you seem to acknowledge yourself. the coffeehouse world is funny and interestingly-populated. i always walk away with caffeine in my blood and a new little portrait of someone.

my uva world has been reminding itself to me suddenly, as the also very organized bureaucratic forces at hand seemed to think i was supposed to be registering for classes for this semester and wondered in an email to me why i hadn't yet - so i was on the phone with the study abroad office for about 20 minutes setting things aright. also i continue to be taunted from afar, as a second request for my resume to be considered for a high university honor was made. and as you and i all know i'm being really contributory to the university world and to my own legacy there at the moment, so my hopes are set high. no, no, there will soon be a time to remark my territory in that pretty little bubble world, and a glorious time it will be, but for now the world is large, has skylines jagged by gothic spires and its bustling wind spreading european city smells and a now-unsurprising melange of accents and dialects.

tomorrow will be a full day of class, library and isc volunteering time, topped off with packing for norwich and an evening with the mediterranean society (including all of my saudi/greek friends) dancing to mediterranean music at a popular club called medina that i've not been to yet. then i am off by train to the south of england the following morning, drawing my map lines once over, as if to make certain or familiar. pictures to eventually ensue when an update again becomes the life priority. meanwhile, i should do some reading so i can keep up these claims of being on top of my work.

adieu and a kiss goodnight-