Veni, vidi, abii

As I prepare for a hasty return to Southern California -- with an irony that is not lost on me, by the way -- I come to realize that, almost more than I missed San Diego when I left, I will miss Davis and Sacramento. My time here has been marked by a languid, aimless energy (or lack thereof) that I will likely never find again, except for brief periods of pilfered leisure.


I have fond memories of my time spent in various coffee houses, developing what may now be an irreversible and lifelong addiction to caffeine. There is a rhythm to a crowded coffee shop that is hard to describe, but it is one that has shaped many of my days here.

Academics and laptop users hover over those packing up to leave, with a nervous, sidling energy that can edge into near-hysteria when a prime table is at stake. The occasional bitter glance or pursed set of lips is directed at the laptop user playing online games, or the blissfully ignorant newcomer who is -- gravest of all sins -- idly leafing through a newspaper while sitting at a prized corner table. Those corner tables are the jealously guarded realm of the elite, those that can spin out a single cup of coffee for hours upon hours, day after day.

I will miss the smaller rituals, too. The brief, intricate dance around the cream and sugar, steaming cups floating dangerously on currents of sparking, caffeinated nerves. The moment's hesitation when the sugar is found to be empty, weighing my distaste for the flavor of unsweetened coffee against the press of impatient eyes on the back of my neck. The battle between half-and-half and nonfat milk, inevitably resulting in a cup of coffee that could pass as a warmed-over milkshake.


I'll miss lots of other things too, but I'm too damn tired to write about them right now... I'll do it later.