still-sound 205. Sneaky

I usually devote a good portion of my Wednesdays to my mom.  I have the day off and chauffeur her around Los Angeles since she no longer drives. LA Fitness, the Korean supermarket, the doctor's office and Walmart are the typical destinations. After the gym and a short errand I asked if there was anything she needed to get done.  It was unusually (for November) hot today and I hoped that she wouldn't have any pressing requests.  She wanted to go home and give her dog Genny a bath.  I was very pleased to hear this.

After coming home and eating some Vietnamese spring rolls for lunch I decided to sneak out and get a coffee in Silverlake.  I would have to maintain impeccable discretion to pull it off, otherwise my mom would hear me opening my car door and ask me where I was going.  (I would feel guilty for not inviting her to come with me - especially as Wednesday is 'her' day).  I put on black jeans and laced up my new black boots.  Sneaky people wear black.

Barely audible Chopin nocturnes emitted from my car speakers.  It's not my usual driving soundtrack, in fact I find it frustrating listening to most classical piano music since the audio levels are often very low and I have to turn the volume up to a level that makes me nervous.  I suppose the point of playing at a constant pianissimo is to emphasize the drama of a forte.  I suppose I don't really like drama while I'm driving.  But I kept the Chopin on because it seemed right.

The heavy traffic of the 101 hardly dampened my enthusiasm.  This is rare.  I'm almost always filled with rage when driving.  When I finally reached Silverlake I parked my car and started walking towards Intelligentsia Coffee.  As I got closer to my destination a strange looking guy asked me if I was 'for peace'.  Of course I'm 'for peace' but I didn't want to stop and talk with him and sign something or give a donation.  I suppose this makes me typically Silverlake.  I told him that I couldn't talk because I had to 'get somewhere'.  My face adopted a slightly pathetic expression.

When I reached Intelligentsia, the gates were closed and a guy was sweeping up.  They were going to host a private event there.  I was not invited to this private event.

Thankfully the flower shop next to Intelligentsia was open.  They sell more 'natural' flowers.  Less flower-shop-refrigerator-style foliage.  Things like eucalyptus branches, pincushions, chamomile, rosemary.  I selected some eucalyptus and rose hips.  The woman working there placed the greens in brown kraft paper and threw in a stalk of something exotic that resembled seaweed.  She only charged me $9 for everything.  Everyone seemed to like me on sneaky-Steve day.

I exited the flower shop and checked to see if the weird-'are you for peace'-guy was around.  He was, so I took a right instead of a left and popped into a couple of shops on Sunset Blvd.  I crossed the street and decided to have a coffee at Black Cat.  It was dark and stylish inside.  I ordered a coffee and took a photo of my newly acquired bouquet.  

The coffee was especially dark, rich and delicious.  It tasted like coffee from an expensive restaurant.  I suppose Black Cat is an expensive restaurant. I read my book for a bit until they dimmed the lights in anticipation of the dinner crowd.  When I emerged back on to Sunset Blvd, the sun had mostly set.  We changed the clocks last Sunday and since then have been waking up an hour early every morning and find it surprising when it gets dark by 6 pm.  As I walked towards my car I noticed the full moon, rising above the trees and the El Pollo Loco parking lot.