Cafe #12: Cafe Sienna

Location: 2/402 Chapel Street, South Yarra
Date: Thursday, 01 March, 2007, 7.30pm
Coffee: $3.30(!!!!), very good (Dimattina coffee)
Book: Notes Toward the Definition of Culture (T.S. Eliot)

I was at university all day today. When I finally called it a day I decided I would get off the train at Malvern to see what was there. I didn't see much that looked interesting from the train, though, so I wnet another stop and got off at Armadale instead. I walked to High Street, which was lengths of ritzyness - galleries, umparket houseware and fashion, lots of shops selling wedding dresses. But, alas, no open cafes. I walked to Malvern Road, down a wide street playing host to some rather excessively large houses, some quite old. Malvern Road is simply a big thoroughfare, so I caught the tram through Prahran and got off at the intersection of Chapel Street.

Cafe Sienna is a large, light wood floored cafe, open on two sides and spilling out onto the enclosed sidestreet sidewalk. The tables and chairs, also yellowy wood, are arranged loosely diagonally throughout the space. There is a deep greeny-blue section of wall made from mosaic-sized tiles at the entrance, hanging, long, red glass lamps over the cafe counter perpindicular to the entrance and counter separating off the pizza oven at the back; wood-slatted wall baskets of bread loaves following and wall boxes of wine and spirits behind the cafe counter. There are several wandering waitstaff in, naturally, all black.

Today was the first day of my Semiotics and Poststructuralism class. It is a fourth/fifth year undergraduate course, which is why, I suppose, there is an exam. I hadn't realised. I am the only Master's student. The other five are getting started on their Honours thesis. It is a much more gender-balanced class than my other. Probably there are more girls than boys. It was a slightly daunting first class. I came out feeling like I had made myself seem a bit dim. The undergrads, though much younger than me, have read a lot more theory. The seminar ran more like a lecture than a discussion, with the tutor explaining summarising concepts rather than encouraging discussion. I tried asking questions about C.S. Peirce's theory but was met with surprise that I hadn't hear od him before since he is American. I was told his theory is too complicated to explain and I should go read it. What happened is that I had done the wrong reading for the class. There is actually a course book - a compendium of photocopied chapters - which I hadn't realised. I guess the readings online are supplementary. The Peirce readings in the course book were much less difficult than the Freadman chapters I had read.

I spent my time in the library reading Peirce and I think I am getting my head around it. Some of his writings are fairly easy to understand, while others, the ones about how signs work, are much more idfficult. But I was getting somewhere today - I may put a little essay online about what I understand if anyone is interested - I'm writing the thing for my own benefit. I'll give you a link if I do.

Yesterday's critical theory class was great - just like I remember! It was a true seminar style with lots of discussion, me dominating. Luckily there was another talker, another Master's student who had a couple quite intelligent sounding things to say (though I couldn't tell if they were his own words/ideas or poached). I don't usually have intelligent sounding things to say - only to write. And I don't think I write so that they sound as intelligent as they are: other people, male usually, have much more elegant, formal, metaphorical words for the same idea. My words, possibly, are more accurate in their less floweriness. Theirs are more memorable and aha-like.

In any case, it was a good class discussion in response to Harold Bloom. A couple of other students piped up occasionally as well.