{"id":54816,"date":"2025-08-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/?p=54816"},"modified":"2025-08-08T21:05:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T20:05:59","slug":"leaving-platos-cave-in-search-of-cocoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/?p=54816","title":{"rendered":"Leaving Plato’s Cave in Search of Cocoa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Man<\/a>
Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely work. \nPhoto: Karin Mora<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Mathematician and I are on holiday. We\u2019ve sent it on ahead. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The week before last week we had our Big Push, our \u2018Throw everything at it\u2019 endeavour to break the back of the invertebrate(1) Work<\/i>. It didn\u2019t work. We made fine progress and good doings, but the done didn\u2019t give its seat to fun. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Saturday last we thought we\u2019d nearly cleared it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust a few more days,\u201d we tell ourselves. \u201cTuesday at the latest. Then we\u2019ll be done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We nod. It seems reasonable.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShall we go out then?\u201d I say. \u201cI think we deserve a walk. You know, remind ourselves what the outside looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMm, sounds good. And we could skip the shopping, or do it later. Go down to the river, take some picsies of plants, get some sun<\/i> \u2014 I don\u2019t know the last time I made any vitamin D.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlan. And we could meet The Sociologist at the caf\u00e9. It\u2019s been \u2026 wow, it\u2019s been a few weeks!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, we should. Send him a message?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get up and get my phone. \u201cDone,\u201d I say, making my way to the bathroom. \u201cFifteen minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou need fifteen minutes for a shit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, we leave<\/i> in fifteen minutes. Think that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is, and when we leave half an hour later we debate the merits of \u201cplausible\u201d. But we do it outside<\/i>, in the warm sun and city breeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the farthest I\u2019ve walked this week,\u201d I say, as we pass the neighbours\u2019 house. \u201cFeels great!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhich way do you fancy walking?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care. How about that way?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I point to a park that\u2019s looking less brown since the work-week rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, how we noodle and loaf, luxuriating in every step. Does the air smell sweeter? Ye-ope \u2014 it\u2019s still Leipzig, but at least it\u2019s not indoor<\/i> air. (That would be scent of sweat, stale coffee, and labour.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The river is gorgeous, the lush trees are gorgeous, the families of rowers \u2026 well, excluding the prick at the back playing Schlager music, they\u2019re okay. We walk the tree-lined avenues, watch cyclists sporty and sanguine, orbit the flower garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a marquee tent,\u201d I say, pointing to the normally unpitched-upon grass by the azaleas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA hen do?\u201d says The Mathematician. \u201cI just see women in nice dresses \u2026 a stack of presents \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd more bad music,\u201d I grumble as we near.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not a rancour monkey and I\u2019m a mid-level player of Live and Let Live, but days of wood-chip-wallpaper confinement have frazzled my noggin a smidge. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re glaring,\u201d says The Mathematician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYep. Is your face broken?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUm, no?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlright. Then try a different set of muscles. The \u2018smile\u2019 ones maybe. I\u2019d even settle for \u2018raised eyebrows\u2019. Come on<\/i>, we\u2019re outside! The weather\u2019s lovely!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I try smile face. I manage grin-pinched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you hungry?\u201d I ask. \u201cI\u2019m kind of hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She thinks about it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I could<\/i> eat \u2026\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll ask The Sociologist if he wants to join us then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She goes off to ID a few more plants and take some shots of trees, and I send the message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo?\u201d she asks when I join her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust eaten. Says meeting at 2 in the caf\u00e9\u2019s alright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood, good. You know, I am getting a little hungry \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We dine outside in the sunshine. When we reach the caf\u00e9, we see The Sociologist is already there, sitting out front talking to Sehnsucht. We grab some coffee, join them, chat. The hours pass. The awning comes out. (Some of us sizzle in moonlight. I\u2019m told it\u2019s the Irish genes.) We decide to skip the shopping \u2014 go next week, we\u2019ll have time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Rider comes by briefly, dog in tow (in charge). He joins us for a bit, goes inside, comes back out to look for his dog, gets on his bike, comes back 10 minutes later, alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHave you seen him?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all shake our heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDamn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHave you checked the Vietnamese?\u201d I say, pointing. \u201cHe looked a bit hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh right. Wouldn\u2019t be the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he\u2019s not there either. He magically reappears on the hour, like some hairy continuity error. Happy days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Mathematician and I amble home close to closing time, cook, and settle down for the night, content. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFeels good,\u201d I say. \u201cTo have done something different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mathematician nods. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust a few more days,\u201d she says, \u201cthen we can enjoy the rest of our holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

(A few more days later.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou done yet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClose?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMe neither. Tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTomorrow. Maybe Thursday too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, same. How about we try to get to bed before 11 today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSounds good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(We don\u2019t.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Plato\u2019s Cave, where the world passes by in shadowy forms on the wall. Twelve hours tied to a desk each day has me doubting the fabric of the world. Each day bleeds into the next \u2014 each holiday<\/i> day. Weren\u2019t  <\/span>we supposed to be out there seeing stuff \u2014 real stuff? Catching a train or riding a bike or sailing? But there\u2019s only the manuscript of a novel and unwritten lines of code for us both. And we love it. We do. They\u2019re our children. We\u2019re nurturing our children. We couldn\u2019t possibly abandon them and have fun. So reckless \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just one more day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we cobble together meals with what we have (we skipped the shopping, remember?). And they were great. And making them was great, and eating them too \u2014 a mini break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then a whole week passes. Wow. A week<\/i>. We finish our projects, put them to bed. Are we satisfied? I think we will be, when we recover. We\u2019re both just nubs of candles, now. And almost out of cocoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) I know<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the first week of holiday, my true love gave to me … work. (Aplenty.)
\nThe Mathematician and Writer spend a week slightly off-kilter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":54815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[214,261,209,262,260,258],"class_list":{"0":"post-54816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cf","8":"tag-city-fables","9":"tag-holiday","10":"tag-leipzig","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-projects","13":"tag-work"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54816"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54818,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54816\/revisions\/54818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}