The Case of the Purloined Coat

Frankly I feel quite dreadful now. The shampoo that I bought this morning is a bad-smelling green goop with which I do not want to inflict my hair, so I washed my hair using plain water. Then I discovered that my blue coat has gone missing, and only the silk scarf that was folded in its pocket was removed and lain on the top bunk of the bed in which I sleep, whence I recovered it. This really bothered me, as it is a very lovely coat, fine cobalt Irish wool on the outside, and a soft palette of vibrant colours (like a Klee painting) in checkers on the inside of the hood, and lined in pale blue silk. It was what I brought along to wear in Manhattan, for example, and more crucially it is the coat that has been serving me for a blanket the past nights. I have one cloak left, but I just tried sleeping under it and it is neither so warm nor does it cover me as well, and despite wearing the scarf too, I was shivering. Secondly, it bothers me that the coat was taken by someone in the hostel, probably a dorm-mate, because I don't want to think ill of them. So I've been in a sniffly state for at least the past hour.

Then my throat feels sore and the odd cold that I contracted from the cold air in the plane persists and my cheek is almost as swollen as ever. Foraging on the second floor above ground level, I discovered a kitchen where the only foodstuffs which everyone may take appear to be spices and tea-bags. There was nothing available to light the gas range, to heat water for a tisane, so I ate a tiny peck of cumin seeds.

At any rate I am determined to preserve strength, so I will be napping and web-surfing as much as I can. And, on the bright side, someone else has a very nice coat now, I do have other jackets and coats at home, and I'll have lighter luggage on the flights back to Berlin. Also, this is still a fairly good day in comparison.

As for the progress that has been made in deciding about my future, it has been modest. As far as daydreams go, I've thought that one might open a good grocery store in a neighborhood like this one, and let people buy things on credit up to, let's say, a hundred dollars so that they can pay for the wares. Another daydream is to set up a public works programme where people are employed to renovate houses and repair the streets and sidewalks, under the aegis and according to the training of, for instance, retired experts who could still use an income. But these projects lie well outside of my expertise. So, to be more specific about what I personally want to do, my present take on matters is to pursue music as far as it will take me. Somehow it's harder to be genuine in writing; secondly, I think that music tends to draw much better on one's potential maturity instead of only on one's present capabilities and experience, so it's something that I can do as well now as two decades later.