I had an odd lunch break today.
First, I went over to the music school's cafe for lunch. I knew they were serving Mediterreanan food today, a new thing for their cafe. As I waited to order, two people nearby started asking me questions. I think one was the chef and one was the cafe manager. They started explaining things to me, and when I ordered, they instructed the servers on how to prepare my food. "No no!" the chef shouted. "The tahini goes on top." And then he turned to me and asked: "You like spicy?" I said not really, so then the manager shouted to the server: "Only give him a little bit of the red sauce!" By the time my food was handed to me, the server looked so annoyed and defeated. I was embarrassed for him. I ate the food, which was not bad, but the red sauce seemed to gradually bother my stomach more and more.
I then went to the library, and as I was on the second flight of stairs I could hear a choir singing. In the middle of the second floor was a giant Christmas tree, a choir of high school students was singing. It was incredibly beautiful singing. The area they were in had huge ceilings, and so their voices sounded thick and echo-ey, and when they sang Silent Night I almost cried. Their voices were so beautiful, and the softness and the echoes were fantastic. There was a small crowd of us listening.
I then went up to the literature floor and read a chapter from a book I like to look at on Heinrich von Kleist. He's an author I've been obsessed with on and off for year. My stomach was very upset by this point, so I left.
I went over to the B-- Hotel, where I needed a bathroom break. (I hope this is not too much detail, so just know that I will not be eating that lunch again any time soon.) The ballrooms were all opened up and there was a single piano tucked next to the entrance for the restrooms. Some man was playing Imagine by John Lennon. It was so strange. Then he started playing Canon in D. I felt like music was everywhere I went today.
Now someone's cell phone is ringing in the office, and her ringtone is set to Debussy's Arabesque (his first one).
-- Mobile dispatch