Cafe society

The barista (baristo?  he's a fella) is blending the steamed milk into my morning mocha.  It's like a Japanese tea ceremony, only with coffee.

"Is it extra tough working after a Saturday night?"  I ask, breaking the holy silence, which is not at all silent with the hiss of the milk-steamer.

"Well, I'm not up to much interesting on a Saturday night, so not really."

It turns out he studying two courses in economics, one micro and one macro - the economics, not the courses.

"Yes!" he smiles.  "Really exciting stuff."

"I used to love summer courses,"  I tell him.  "The students were always that more motivated, so I learned more."

"Well, these are online."

Of course they are.  This is the twenty-first century.

We affably discuss the pluses and minuses of online study.  He's definitely in favour of it.  For one thing, he explains, you can read the lectures in a fraction of the time that it would take the professor to say them.

"How economic!"  I laugh, and I saunter out into the Sunday sunshine with my decorated mocha.