Notes; Saturday; Djinni

***Notes from the deli - Start

I'm sitting at a small marble table in the deli, and my order number is 99. (Chef sandwich, potato salad, chocolate-chip cookie, ice tea)

In the mirror, I'm watching an intriguing guy in a light blue scrub with iridescent shades perched on the top of his head. So much for that: he's headed for the door with a glass of tea in hand.

***Notes from the deli - Stop

At this point, a co-worker passed by, and I asked if she'd care to join me.

In the laundry, the only language I heard was Spanish. Which I found slightly surprising. There were some other English speakers there, but they didn't say anything. Or at least, I assume they were English speakers.

When I came in the door, I noticed a kid of around 6 scrunched up in a chair reading a book. It struck me that of the other kids I'd seen at the laundry, I'd never seen another one with a book. Something that I'd never thought about until then.

I carted the laundry home, hung and folded various items, and then sat down to surf the web. Just then, the yard people showed up. I figured this would be a good time to head off to WalMart.

For months, I've been thinking of buying a digital camera, so after I finished at WalMart, I drove off toward BestBuy. By the time I got there, it was raining. I jumped out of the car and dashed for the door. I reached in my glass case, but when I pulled out the glasses, I immediately saw that a lens was missing. I looked in the entry, then outside on the walk, then went back to the car. I traced my steps from the car to the store but didn't find it. At this point, I was thinking of going back to WalMart, but I thought I'd try again. And I actually found the lens in a puddle between two cars.

Once more, I strolled off to the entry. Inside, I looked at the cameras and realized I had no idea what I was doing. Or what I wanted. Or what would be a good buy. So I hung around for about ten minutes and left.

My taste buds were craving something different, so after I came home, I slipped out the door again and wheeled off to a deli that I'd not been to in a while. I ordered an oyster po-boy, but it was only mediocre. Maybe, they start the day with fresh oysters and re-heat them as the day goes on. These appeared limp and tasted soggy.

Although I'd bought a book Friday, I wanted something else. Instead of Barnes & Noble, I went to Books-a-Million. Through the discount books I searched but no jewels did I find. As I was walking toward the door, I saw a book that said "The Bartimaeus Trilogy."

I then remembered that the second book ("The Golem's Eye")in the set had recently been published. The first book, "The Amulet of Samarkand," has become one of my favorites. Bartimaues, by the way, is a wise-cracking djinni whose explanations and asides are voiced in footnotes.

In reference to one character, he says, "Tall and bone-thin, her limbs were like long dry sticks. I was surprised she didn't catch fire when she crossed her legs."

PAX!