I used to have a set of mugs. And dinner plates and salad plates and glassware and silverware. When I moved into my loft last year, I decided against buying sets of things, as a Mikasa 12-piecer seems pretty domestic to me, and I’m not feeling particularly settled these days.
Coffee cup wise, I drink from my UVA mug, JMU mug, NPR mug, Byrne Urban Scholars mug, Lighthouse Writers Workshop mug, Austen/Bronte/Shelley mug, Write Like a Motherfucker mug, Shakespeare’s Globe mug, and mug showing a child catching Santa in the act of putting presents under the tree. (“I’m sorry you saw me, Timmy,” Santa says. “Now I’ll have to kill you”).
To add to this stellar assortment, Mary, one of my college roommates, just sent me two coffee mugs from her home collection. They’re called Mapía and Jean-Luc.
In early Greek Christian literature, Mapiaμ and Mapía are the predominant biblical names for the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Céu do Mapiá is also a village that may or may not be located at the headwaters of the Mapiá Grande river of Amazonas state in northwestern Brazil. I spent roughly two minutes researching this information. In Portuguese, the accent is on the “a” vs. the “i.” I spent no time researching this last bit of information. I’m just observant. On an unrelated note, this has been the educational portion of today’s post. You’re welcome.
Less educationally, I’d like to share how much I love the fact that Mapía is measled all over the mug. Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary! Here I am, Εγώ, look at me, me, me, me! As if people weren’t already staring hard at a virgin who gave birth to a baby atop a Bethlehem hay bale.
The Mapía mug is kind of awesome. And the USS Enterprise mug is fab enough to make me like Star Trek. Okay, not really. But almost.
