Work-work-work-Eat-work-work-sleep-work

Spring break begins next week. This means I will have plenty of free time in which to write five million brilliant, groundbreaking, epic research papers.

It also means that the library will be closed.

In preparation for this, and because the library is so unpleasant, and cafes are even worse (unless you're a smoker, in which case perhaps cafes are delightful), I have created a study hobbit-hole in my apartment:
See those books? Turns out the library has a 25-book-check-out limit which I have now exceeded. Thankfully, those who so desire can stroll into any copy shop and get a book reproduced in its entirety for only a few dollars. This is also advantageous because then said book can be written in without guilt, thus avoiding the wrath of librarians, who can be quite intimidating (more on that soon).

Inside the library, however, there are signs posted claiming that the copy shops will let you get only one chapter. I say "claiming" because I have, more than once, convinced the copy lady to make copies of two or even three chapters via the following revolutionary method:

1. I asked for more than one chapter.

2. She said okay.

The copy lady is my buddy. She draws on her eyebrows in a highly entertaining fashion. Therefore, I conclude the she is not the woman who called me on my recent devious library actions.

Here's the story: My economics professor recommended a book for my research paper. Of course, the library does not have this book. The library does not have many books, and a lot of those they claim to have are in fact missing from their proper shelves. But I digress. Students can order books to be delivered in email-format, but, like the copy shop, we are allowed to order only one chapter. And this time they mean it for reals. So I asked some of my charming cohort to order chapters for me, and all in all got requests for five chapters submitted in one day.

And then I got caught. Some library official called me up and berated me for ordering more than one chapter from a book because this is against copyright rules and I should know better as a grad student and various other reasons I don't recall. She must have been very pleased with herself to have seen through my primitive subterfuge, but she didn't have that strong of an argument. Technically, technically, I have done nothing wrong. Maybe I don't know those other AUC students. Maybe it's a complete coincidence that we ordered consecutive chapters from the same book on the same day. . .

Okay, so my argument's not so strong either. But since I haven't officially broken the rules, I have gotten off with a warning (and with the chapters. Score!). The lesson I have learned: next time, stagger the orders.

And now, some pictures:
This is a fruit and vegetable stand near my house. If you continue down the road, the produce stands give way to car-part stands. It's a strange collection of potential purchases: "What did you get at the market, honey?" "Three kilos of bananas and a hubcap."

This is the door to my Arabic school. I like art deco flair to it.

Here we have a cafe up the street from my apartment. I've studied here a couple times and found it pleasant enough. Interestingly, even though the name of the establishment is A L'Americaine, they do not offer American coffee.

I conclude with some old pictures from my most recent visitor's trip. Please take them as proof that I do smile in pictures occasionally, despite what The Roommate may claim.

Okay, so I didn't smile in that one. But look:
That's my school. And a random dude talking on his cell phone.