You have a way with words, Luna! Welcome to the pub! We’re lucky to have you around. Extra strong mint-tea it is.
A small, pale woman with black hair in a messy ponytail slowly enters the pub. She squints from behind spectacles at the handwritten chalkboard sign, scanning it quickly. She takes off her large over-ear headphones, resting them around her neck on her shoulders. Removing her black peacoat, she rests it on the coatrack, and sits at the bar.
Her brow furrows slightly as she peruses the menu, and then her features light up when she finds exactly what she's looking for. She folds her hands in front of her and waits for the bartender to come up to her.
"Hi, how are you?"
"..."
"That's great! I'm well, thank you. I'm Luna. I'd love some of your Moroccan mint tea; extra-strong, please!" Again, Luna folds her hands on the bar, taking in the sounds as her eyes explore the art and history on display behind the bar. One can learn a lot about a place by looking at the objects on display. This applies as well to a home as to a business. She nods at a few things, taking note of them for later inquiry, and takes her tea to a quiet corner.
Following a long-running tradition, she prefers to observe a community and learn its rules before directly engaging. She produces a book (with a bookmark from a local independent bookstore), a notebook (complete with a tea stain on the edges of most of its pages), and a fountain pen (curiously capless) from her oversized hoodie. She leans back against the wall (another benefit of choosing a corner!) and starts to read. Occasionally she lifts her glance to note a conversation or interesting passer-by, but otherwise focuses on her book.
You have a way with words, Luna! Welcome to the pub! We’re lucky to have you around. Extra strong mint-tea it is.
Smudge watches the new visitor, his tufted ears and long white whiskers straining forward. His bushy tail lazily swishes, and with a trill he jumps down and pads over to the newcomer, tail standing tall. I hope she likes kitties.
Hello Luna, take all the time you need "observing". We are here.
The scent of that tea sure is good. But I'm more likely in a "hot chocolate" mood. Whenever bartender has a minute ...
"A newcomer", I whisper. "I wonder if she will join the Vim or the Emacs side of the room."
Oh dear, an interesting question, that! When I was getting started with Unix, in the middle / late 1990s, I started learning Unix on remote shell providers over ssh. This was back when computers and networks were slow, when disks and memory were small (and also slow). I originally wanted to try emacs because it was advertised as immensely powerful and complex and I wanted to master such a tool. But it took so long to start that--as an impatient teenager--I wanted something faster. I switched to vim (or, given the shell provider I was using was running OpenBSD, it might've been nvi), and haven't really done much with emacs since. I tried org mode, though really only as an outliner, but besides that I've stuck with vim. I don't remember much about my early explorations of Unix, but that specific experience sticks out in my memory. If I'd gotten my start with Unix later, it's entirely possible I'd have a different preference. My approach to editing, how I think about work, school, and hobbies, is a result of my specific place in history.
Greetings Luna! What are we reading today?
I've been reading _A People's History of the United States_ by Howard Zinn. It's a tough read in that it shows that a lot of what's happening in the modern world today is, in fact, not new--but simultaneously it's comforting in an odd way. It shows that the current situation isn't new, just that we're more informed about it, and I feel that knowing the history is important for everyone. I spoke about it with a coworker and described it as like eating one's vegetables as a child: it may not be a pleasant experience, but eventually (hopefully!) one learns to appreciate it, and it's indeed important to eat well.
Absolute certified classic, great choice. Yes, unfortunately this kind of stuff is essential to learn but at the same time mindnumbingly depressing. I liken this sort of historical knowledge to Eldritch horror—it's the true nature of the world, but stare too deep and you'll be driven mad, alienated from everyone you know with ravings they cannot possibly hope to comprehend. Regardless, there can be no justice on stolen land and I look forward to seeing the dissolution of this profoundly evil empire, perhaps even in our lifetimes.
I read that book in my twenties...along with books about Stalin's russia, nazi germany...all kinds of "pulling back the curtain" revelations. It was enthralling and terrible to see how brutal the world can be. Precisely at the moment when answers appear to be clearest.