July 12, 2005
Barista
I was walking down the market, and I saw a new addition in the same old block. It was a lounge atmospheric café of the most successful café chain in India. I entered it. I noticed that the décor color had been maintained as those of the usual café’s in the chain. However, that was about all that I noticed about the décor. I didn’t observe the color or upholstery of the chairs, the tables, the counter….It was the Bourne in me who was still active; a trait that I had mastered with my encounters with the fictional character that I assumed to be. And it was still there, instinctively, even though I wasn’t paranoid. It’s the people. “Move around your surroundings and merge with it. Identify the potential enemies, observe the exit points. Look at what the people are wearing. The clothes are a giveaway of the identity. Something would be wrong; out of place. I’ll know. For I am Bourne. Cain is for Charlie, and Delta is for Cain….” It will not be a direct gaze; just a careless roving eye, taking in the surroundings. I entered. And I looked around. A girl sitting to my right in a blue spaghetti, in her 20’s, writing something in a legal notepad, a few heavy books stacked carelessly to her right; an old couple diagonally behind her, sipping away their coffee; two men, dressed in black suits, in their early thirty’s, talking, and looking at whoever enters, one of them a bit tense; the kitchen on the far left, a potential exit point; two cashiers, one of them standing at the back, hands empty, talking nonchalantly; a young east Indian stewardess, dressed in black….
I took my leave.
Posted by puzli at July 12, 2005 04:07 PM
Comments
Dear Pulzi,
You never cease to amaze me with the diversity of both the elements of your illness that haunt you and the endlessly creative ways in which you choose to present them.
This particular blog reads like a piece of fiction(one, I might add, that is very well done-your executive functioning was in full gear this time). However, you adroitly manage to illustrate to your readers that the piece could not have been written without the hypersensitivity your environment brings out in you. It occured to me that I mentioned once that I was a teacher of writing. Later I realized that I never told you about my profession. I taught English(not as a foreign language, but the finer points of the literature, grammar, writing, speaking ect. of my students' native language).My career was one of the joys of my life, and I was able to teach for 28 years before my Lyme disease forced me to retire far sooner than I had ever imagined. In any case, I would give you high marks on this blog. I loved the stark simplicity of your ending. You are such a talented young man. I hope you appreciate your many gifts.
Love, Paula
P.S. I still haven't reached Pammy in order to get your email address. I had surgery on my eyes in late March, and the complications keep on coming. My executive functioning is just about defunct right now. Better times are on the way.
Posted by: Paula Kirkpatrick at July 13, 2005 01:53 AM
thanks paula! :) I'm so happy to read ur comment, and more to see you back. May ur eyes heal fast. And I do appreciate my gifts ;) waiting for your mail. take care, love, puzli
Posted by: puzli at July 13, 2005 05:40 AM
I will tell you only my reaction to the piece you wrote. I imagined myself in your place not exactly like you but similarly and liked it.I have felt similarly. I smiled understandingly after the last sentence.
Best regards
John
Keep writing
Posted by: John at July 13, 2005 10:58 AM
hey john! been a long time. How have you been? Write to me when you get the time. Tell me how your exam went. take care. love
Posted by: puzli at July 13, 2005 11:54 AM
Hey Puzli,
Well glad that you did not have your coffee there, for you would have only come out poorer :-).
Take Care
vish
Posted by: vish at July 13, 2005 03:16 PM
Post a comment
Dear Pulzi,
You never cease to amaze me with the diversity of both the elements of your illness that haunt you and the endlessly creative ways in which you choose to present them.
This particular blog reads like a piece of fiction(one, I might add, that is very well done-your executive functioning was in full gear this time). However, you adroitly manage to illustrate to your readers that the piece could not have been written without the hypersensitivity your environment brings out in you. It occured to me that I mentioned once that I was a teacher of writing. Later I realized that I never told you about my profession. I taught English(not as a foreign language, but the finer points of the literature, grammar, writing, speaking ect. of my students' native language).My career was one of the joys of my life, and I was able to teach for 28 years before my Lyme disease forced me to retire far sooner than I had ever imagined. In any case, I would give you high marks on this blog. I loved the stark simplicity of your ending. You are such a talented young man. I hope you appreciate your many gifts.
Love, Paula
P.S. I still haven't reached Pammy in order to get your email address. I had surgery on my eyes in late March, and the complications keep on coming. My executive functioning is just about defunct right now. Better times are on the way.
Posted by: Paula Kirkpatrick at July 13, 2005 01:53 AM
thanks paula! :) I'm so happy to read ur comment, and more to see you back. May ur eyes heal fast. And I do appreciate my gifts ;) waiting for your mail. take care, love, puzli
Posted by: puzli at July 13, 2005 05:40 AM
I will tell you only my reaction to the piece you wrote. I imagined myself in your place not exactly like you but similarly and liked it.I have felt similarly. I smiled understandingly after the last sentence.
Best regards
John
Keep writing
Posted by: John at July 13, 2005 10:58 AM
hey john! been a long time. How have you been? Write to me when you get the time. Tell me how your exam went. take care. love
Posted by: puzli at July 13, 2005 11:54 AM
Hey Puzli,
Well glad that you did not have your coffee there, for you would have only come out poorer :-).
Take Care
vish
Posted by: vish at July 13, 2005 03:16 PM