Making connections

I finished off my evening last night with dinner at It-Tokk, my favorite coffee shop in town. Spaghetti Bolognese and a glass of red wine followed by a cappuccino. I picked up a bottle of Green Label white wine, my favorite from last time I was here, and spent the rest of the evening reading on my patio. I crashed around 10 p.m. but was wide awake at 2 a.m. and spent 3 hours reading before trying to fall back to sleep. Of course, it seemed this didn’t happen until about a half hour before I was supposed to wake up. Isn’t that how it works?

Ted was right on time to meet me at 11 and walk me to the realty office. It’s overcast and rainy today which threw me off completely. I had pulled out shorts and then thought better of it. If this keeps up, I’m going to have to invest in more pants. At the realty office I got to meet Tonio’s wife, Clarissa, who was also very friendly and made sure to repeat that if I needed anything I shouldn’t hesitate to call. Ted was kind enough to walk me back a different route to show me where I might be able to get internet access and have my laundry done. The laundry center has apparently closed though, and is only doing it via pickup/delivery. I think I’m okay with that. I don’t have a bathtub this time so the alternative is washing everything in a very, very small sink. Nah.

I’m sitting at “The Duke” – a new mall halfway to Arcadia (the other mall) that supposedly is a free wifi spot, though I can’t get a connection. Come to think of it, this café is called “connection” and advertises the wifi all over the place but I’m the only one here with a computer. Everyone else looks like locals who could care less. Lots of families eating lunch. I’ve yet to figure out what everyone here is doing in the middle of the day. Is everyone on vaca? Does no one work? I asked Ted what he did for a living and it turns out he owns the art gallery we saw a show at last summer. He also owns and rents out the Organika store as well as the two properties in my building. He’s retired now and spends his days taking his 1 year old (his kid? His grandkid?) to Xlendi for a swim everyday at 10 – weather permitting. It’s supposed to rain all through today and tomorrow. I guess I’ll spend it trying to figure out the best place for a connection and reading over some notes. Aaaah – a connection at last! I guess I’ll quickly log on and post some things while I can!