Everyday Details: Greenery, Books and Stollen

I woke up earlier today, after six or so hours of sleep, and the sky was the fuzzy, lightless grey that seems designed to nudge us back into bed, in theory. But I stayed awake and slowly got around to brushing my teeth, etc., and arrived reasonably early at the office in Kreuzberg. In the U-Bahn station near home I bought two 'peace lily' plants to brighten up the new room that I am working in; they remind me of anthuriums, sadly, but they lend grace and a much-needed, dark green to my desk.

I had another mini-breakfast at work; today it was biscuits and water and the peppermint/eucalyptus candies that I eat throughout the day. It wasn't filling and I was hungry when lunch came around: chicken, sautéed vegetables like broccoli and pumpkin and eggplant and red bell pepper, and brown-black falafel that were round and tinier than walnuts. This time I ate at the lunch table, which was enjoyable. The more new colleagues there are, the less it feels as if we were breaking off into a narrower clan for no reason, by preferring one lunch room (with one set of colleagues) over another — which has worried me in the past. Now it's more an arrangement of convenience.

Work was a tiny bit exhausting insofar as requests outside of my customary work schedule have come in, which tend to require mental readjusting; working without having any idea of how long the task is likely to take or what new events will interrupt it; and navigating daily work, special requests that are urgent, special requests that are not urgent, etc. It jars on my instincts of caution, but it is usually nicer to feel overtasked than useless. I also gave a small tutorial to a colleague and felt as if it were the most boring thing I have ever inflicted on anyone.

Afterward I peeped into a famous bookstore, on the way home. The shop itself was closed, but the windows were clear of any blinds. After looking at the Moomintroll book in one children's window and glancing at the new adult books in the adult window — Salman Rushdie, and in the past there's been Ta-Nehisi Coates in translation, etc., I went to the U-Bahn station feeling considerably happier.

There I bought pine boughs for my room, and another plant for the workplace; and along the way I had gone into an Edeka and bought After Eights (because I have a weakness for them) as well as Stollen and a few Christmas supplies.

During the lunch hour at work — inspired by a colleague who was reading Samuel Richardson's Pamela, which made me think 'better him than me' — I went to the French National Library's website and reread and re-took-notes-about three pages of a historical source. In general I believe I should begin devoting some 15 minutes of my lunch break to this task, because I might be more in the flow of working and less likely to be distracted in that interval. We'll see!

(And in the morning transit I had read more Candide.)