Bagsnatcher Central

That's what we call this internet caff, which shall remain nameless. (It's the big cheap one.) I come in here because you can buy a 24 hour pass for €1.40. Trouble is, it's chock full of villains. There are warning notices hither and yon telling everyone to watch out for theives but every time I come in here for any great length of time I see some poor so-and-so getting turned over. I was sort of hoping to see a chair fight today, but so far there's been nothing but minor beer-related squabbles. This might seem callous but since the chair fights are going to happen anyway, you either go somewhere less skanky but more expensive or learn to treat it like street theatre. 'Sides, people hardly ever get hurt, they just play who's-got-the-biggest-Chair-Antlers until someone backs down.

Signed up for an intensive Spanish course today. Two hours a day, five days a week, for four weeks. I start on Monday. Should be enough to let me function adequately. I'm not doing too badly working on my own, but I want something a bit more structured. I've been toying with the idea of starting a Spanish blog, which would give me much-needed practice and also provide innocent amusement for passersby. Hmmm.

After a desultory sniff round Temp Hell (no dice) and signing up for my course, I decided to treat myself. Bought the book on Spanish wildflowers that I've been promising I'd get for months now. The plan tomorrow is to go temp-bothering in the morning and then take a stroll round by the Uni, check out las flores, write it up. Good excercise.

The alphabet? Ah, yes. The alphabet. Goddamn the alphabet. I spent about three hours last night redesigning the letter A. Maybe 40 years was a bit optimistic. But I can feel them, y'know? The imaginary people, I mean. Leaning over my shoulder, murmuring: "No... not quite like that. Bit more round, and that line should stand up more." They're never satisfied, I tell you. Never! I think the best thing to do might be some trance work. Pop into mindspace, find one of them and slap him around till he shows me how it's supposed to look.