I’m all coffeed up right now. Started the day with a croissant and a Cafe Americano at a small coffee shop near Plaza Merced where the music was way too loud and the Feng Shui (風水) vibe unconducive for creative writing. Headed across the plaza and down the street to the Picasso museum’s café where I ordered a large Cafe Cortado and then discovered to my great chagrin that there were no wall sockets where I could charge my laptop’s depleted battery. Which was probably more intentional than an oversight – some cafés just don’t appreciate long-stay patrons like me.

So, now I’m back at Café Libo, nursing a Café con Leche and writing with increasingly jittery fingers. I’m usually all alone here, but today the place is packed with musicians, a small film crew and several German tourists. It’s so unusually busy, that one of the white coat clad ladies working behind the bar here even asked me if I was able to work with all the commotion around me. Fortunately, and for reasons beyond my understanding, I’m not too distracted, despite being all coffeed up. With noise-canceling Airpods and Groove Salad in my ears, I’ll hopefully be able to churn out around 1000 words before it’s time to leave.