lunch was hectic. lunch time, everything in sheung wan is packed. lines, and once you’re inside, you’re crammed into a tiny space with people so close to you, you can overhear their conversations, forced to see their every facial feature. you instinctively shrink your body, hunch your shoulders, to preserve some sense of personal space. you eat, you remind yourself and try to eat mindfully, but you can see the line waiting outside in the reflection of the window. you finish, and you gesture you want to pay. you leave the shop, looking for the next stop. starbucks. you get in, it seems full, you look around, there are actually a few spots not taken yet. you look at the line, and you do a quick calculation in your head, if they all sit down, you won’t have a spot, but these people seem to be here for takeout rather than sitting down. you consider heading over to a spot to drop off your bag, but you decide to just stay in line and order a drink first. it seems safe enough. still, in the line, you glance over to make sure the spots are not immediately taken. once you have ordered your drink, you head over and drop off your bag. even the starbucks in sheung wan is tiny. it’s so busy the folks at starbucks havent had the time yet to clean up the tables. so in some form of coordinated anarchy, people move cups, napkins, straws, to the table that is unoccupied. the middle table, “empty”, has officially become landfill. you sit down, open your laptop, breath a sigh of relief. a few minutes of peace.

hello, how are you today?