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My favorite thing to do in this town is go into Merchants early in the morning, around 5:00am when they open.  I'll buy a cappuccino or something to bring back home and drink while I work. When I arrive there, it's dark outside (and becoming colder--I think it'll be even better when it's snowing out).  There's always a group of older men sitting together, either on the patio or in the chairs by the stage.  Old friends probably, I imagine they meet there daily, because I see them on any given day of the week I randomly decide to go.  I think they're friends of the owner, too, because they all go around the counter to help themselves to whatever they please.  

I like this.  When I worked at Austin Java a similar group of men came in Saturday mornings.  Sit around laughing, leave huge tips, sometimes bring their wives!  One of them wore a Communist hat.  I became friendly with another who told me I have nice skin.

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Sailor is becoming more and more affectionate.  I feel bad sometimes because I think he misses Macon (the ideal is another cat, not 2 human beings), but I feel less bad when he curls his body against my head at night.  Having him near is a little bit like raising a child, though; I'm bound by the thought that if I don't give him enough attention, he'll grow up with some kind of cat neuroses.