Memoirs of a coffee haven

"It started like any regular morning would start, with exercise, followed by a stomach-ache as our heroin drinks her Oolong Green tea and finally a simple Mediterranean breakfast; consisting of tomatoes, white cheese, thyme and olive oil. At first, eating was very difficult due to the aforementioned stomach-ache, but she powered through and was capable of completing her hearty breakfast. She's felt very proud of herself, as she believed that she has just performed actions acquired from three different civilizations; the exercise (using an elliptical trainer) can be attributed to to the new world, the green tea to China and the breakfast to any Euro-med country."

well, this is how I was going to write the post, but half-way through, I didn't like it. So, let's start over, shall we?

As I have mentioned before, I am now unemployed (living on quickly diminishing savings); as such I keep loitering about in cafes, or to be truthful one cafe, which is near enough to my home that I can skip the bill (like I can) and far enough to enjoy a much needed stroll. Everyday, I go there, order my drink and start typing away on my trusty laptop. I usually like to sit in a couple of favorite spots; they're usually near an electrical outlet and far enough from noisy people while keeping a close enough distance from the door(so I can watch people's comings and goings). Needless (or as dee says men 3'eir 2ebar) to say, foreigners are quite abundant, as are college students and lunch breakees (hehe). I usually keep to myself, completely focused on whatever I am whining about and people would give me these strange looks as they go order their drinks (as I often laugh out loud without any apparent reason, or frown and talk to myself).
Yesterday though was a different case, first I didn't find a spot near the door, so I confined myself to a booth a little bit farther from the door and kept telling myself to get used to it. Never mind that my train of thought keep being interrupted by the stupid cappuccino machine, or the stupid blender (as they mix my frappe) or the waiter coming to check if something is wrong with my order (believe me if there was, you will hear nothing but me). So, in the spirit of being satisfied with whatever God throws at me, I shut my mind up and made peace with the current situation.
I was happily writing my (nothing particular post) when I feel something strange coming my way or rather somebody strange. I look up, but see nothing out of the ordinary, so I go back to my writing, but still something isn't right. Something is definitely missing or added to my otherwise smooth environment. I discretely look up and some notion made me tilt my head to the right; there in the corner a strange-looking foreigner (in a frumpy white t-shirt) was eyeing me. I don't like to encourage people, so I looked down and again started to type away, thinking it's just a stupid foreigner admiring the modernization of Egypt (young people with laptops in a cafe without camels?).
so, I finish up my post and head home as my sister is freaking out because I am not home and we're supposed to be at the club in 15 minutes or so. I calmly order my check,pay and gather my things in my over-sized bag (so over-sized, people in grocery shops often follow me around to make sure I don't shoplift, so I usually wonder about the store for 10 minutes to tire them and then buy a stick of gum, hehe). Anyhow, I head for the door when again I realize something is wrong, as you've probably guessed, the same stupid foreigner eyeing me. I shrug it off and go.

Today, after the daily routine, I head for the same cafe, this time with my sister(she wants to grab some breakfast and go). I find all my favorite spots taken, then when I look at the booth, I see the stupid foreigner (in the same white t-shirt) sitting there, in myyyyyyyyy booth; that's why he was eyeing me yesterday, for the booth. I was really disappointed and felt like Julius Cesar when he was stabbed by his senators, only for the final blow to be delivered by Brutus, the one he trusted the most (partly because he thought that Brutus was too weak to do anything, but this isn't the case). In my mind, these words kept repeating themselves "et tu, stupid foreigner in the white t-shirt?et tu?"

Comments

zandy said…
"et tu, stupid foreigner in the white t-shirt?et tu?"
fe3lan kan 3ando 7a2 Julius Caesar. :D
I really enjoyed that post ya sina.. it reminded me of everything that i miss nowadays, the morning coffee, going to a cafe early in the morning, finding my favorite spot and being happy finding it empty or even hating that it's taken. ppl coming and going.. kol 7aga. really miss those days :D
Sina said…
yup, those were the days.
thanks for the visit :)

Popular Posts