Category Archives: Coffee

Soy Milk Charge! BWs and Moustaches.

Posted on 22 January 2010 | Leave a comment

I had the opportunity to spend time with several friends today. First I got to have coffee and pal around with Elizabeth, which is always a good time. We went to the Tillotson Starbucks and had some of the shadiest service I have ever had there. One girl was working while the other two who were supposed to be stood at the end of the counter chatting with an off-duty shift leader and another person who wasn’t buying coffee. Finally, when the line reached almost to the door, the girl who was working looked down the counter and said, “Could one of you help me?” A little ridiculous, and they now charge $.50 for soy milk (as creamer) in an Americano. Really? Fifty cents for a splash of soy? Starbucks, oh, Starbucks, stop trying to pretend that you are my friend. It is getting more than a little felt up.

When we left Starbucks, we then went to Shoe Carnival so I could pick up my new running shoes. I will be wearing the heck out of them between now and May 8. I got two pairs of the same shoe, but one is light grey and purple and the other is dark grey and fuschia. I think I may wear one of each color at the same time, just for shits and giggles. And, I think it would be fun to have two shoes of two different colors. You know, like a trumped up version of wearing two different colors of shoe laces.

Elizabeth was thinking about getting some new Chucks, but they are so stinking expensive—$39.99 at Shoe Carnival—that she opted against it. “You know,” she said, “Chucks were the only type of shoes Ben and I could have as kids, and they were $5 a pair!” I reminded her that even when we were in high school they were between $15 and $20. Of course, that was before they were haute couture. Now that Converse is cool, their clothing and shoes are ridiculously expensive. And at least their clothing is made for tiny folks. Size XL in their women’s clothes is similar to most clothing lines’ M. It’s great for the self-esteem.

Finally, I ended the night hanging out with some old high school friends at BWs. I had their veggie burger with Caribbean Jerk sauce and some onion rings. My dinner was fantastic. We took some amazing photos, too.

Special, huh?

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I am thankful for laughing until I almost pee my pants.

Food: juice, pure bar, chocolate milk, pizza and breadstick, veggie burger with onion rings, four Lorna Doones, decaf Americano, scone, popcorn

Exercise: walked dogs

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Posted in Coffee, Food, Relationships, Vegetarian or Vegan

Sherlock. Writing. Coffee Shops. Emerson.

Posted on 20 January 2010 | 6 comments

I started reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and so far, I am intrigued. I posted the quote, “Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts,” as my Facebook status, and I had more than one response that said it reminded them of some evangelicals. This, in turn, made me think about how I present my ideas about theological concepts, or my ideas about anything for that matter. Do I present them as if I have twisted the facts to suit my preconceived ideas, or do I try to let the facts guide me into a new and different understanding? I would hope that I practice the latter, but I am not sure that I always do. I think too many times, as humans, we do not recognize the fact that we actually twist facts and ideas to fit what we already believe. And, I think it is good to know this about ourselves, so we are better able to handle the way we process ideas and engage with other people whose ideas differ from ours.

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Yesterday when I was at the bookstore picking up my books for teaching, I saw a book called Now Write! Nonfiction, which is a collection of writing tips and exercises designed by some well known creative nonfiction writers and essayists. The first exercise is to write down moments that stop you in your tracks, then to elaborate on those ideas picking out the common threads. The idea is that you will then be able to chose one or all of those moments to elaborate and make some kind of coherent meaning. I am waiting for my first “stopped me in my tracks” moment. Then I will wait for another, then another. Then I will slowly weave them together into an essay.

Okay. One day. I will do that right after I actually finish reading through the Bible in a year, which I have been working on since my seventh grade lock-in, the first event that I attended at the Wesleyan Church. I think Susan Wolfgang challenged us to do that after one of the speakers talked about memorizing Scripture. She also challenged us to memorize a whole chapter of the Bible. I did end up doing that in seminary. Well, actually I memorized three chapters, but I don’t remember them verbatim, although I did retain their themes and subjects. The three chapters I memorized are Matthew 5,6, and 7, the Sermon on the Mount. The most Buddhist passage of Christian Scripture ever written. Or the most socialist, as a friend of mine would argue. I think it is both somehow.Can you be Buddhist and socialist? Wikipedia says yes.

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I just read an article in the Ball State Daily news about Vecino’s Coffee Shop. Guy says it a “third-wave coffee shop.” If that is anything like third-wave feminism, then I am not sure it is going to do much. In fact, I am not sure it will do anything at all.  At the very least the article was filled with Guy’s usual coffee-related pompousness. Almost straight up obnoxiousness, but with a little decorative foam in the shape of concentric and contiguous hearts. Fancy. Guy claims that he is only one of two third-wave coffee houses in Indiana. From the what he says in the article, the Blue Bottle does most of the same things: roasts their own beans, grinds their own beans, free pours lattes, and serves well-made coffee. I guess their sin is adding flavors. Shame. they should learn how to make some fig-leaves with their foam and cover their nakedness. Dirty.

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Finally, today my students read Emerson. They were supposed to read Thoreau, too, but we only got through talking about Emerson. They did a great job with both exerpts from Nature and Self-Reliance. I think I want to get part of my sleeve tattoo of this paragraph from Self-Reliance:

What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

Or at least this part of it: “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” But, I want it around the outside or underneath this labyrinth:Or maybe this one because Jane and I walked it together in San Francisco:I think that would be a sweet tattoo. Maybe get it done in bright greens and purples. We’ll see. The first one I am doing, provided I have the money, is my new one on my foot. I plan to do it right after we run the Indy-Mini. I figure I can take a week off after the race. I may do it right before I go to Merideth’s wedding. I may wait. Who knows.

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I am thankful for new experiences and learning to love things I previously didn’t (Emerson).

Food: banana, juice, pure bar, chocolate milk, Tootsie rolls, almonds, cheese, apple, two tangerines, vegan lasagna, grapefruit, tea

Exercise: dog walking, ran 30 minutes, swam a mile, walked from Burris to RB

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Posted in Coffee, Food, Reading, Religion, Running, School, Swimming, Teaching, Writing

Commenting on Papers and Americanos.

Posted on 15 January 2010 | 1 comment

You can read the history of the Americano here, though the explanation is not very good. Coffee lore tells that the Americano, shots of espresso watered down with hot water thus resulting in something similar to drip coffee, was so named after European baristas, or coffeehouse employees, who thought American soldiers were strange for desiring brewed coffee over their preferred espresso began calling watered down espresso Americanos. Essentially, I think my favorite coffee drink is named after men like my grandfather who were perceived as wusses by Europeans. I can drink shots of espresso, but why would you want to when you can prolong the enjoyment with a little hot water, a splash of soy milk, and a dab of honey or raw sugar.

I enjoy the decaf variety, so I don’t get heart palpitations, which have only begun since I started running, not drinking beer, and cutting out caffeine and soda. I shudder when I think about what I did to my body before I began caring about what I was doing to my body. Apparently, I have to experience a clean body before I can really begin to appreciate how good it is to be healthy. I don’t like it when my heart races, I can’t imagine what it was like with 40 more pounds, and I much appreciate the lack of animal products in my veins. I feel good. At 35, I feel better than I have for most of my life.

I am sitting here at Starbucks, commenting on papers from last semester, so I can give them back to my students on Monday. I feel bad because they have been waiting for them for two weeks now, and I should have had them finished when break was over. I procrastinated, though, and I am just now finishing them up. It is challenging to force myself to comment on papers that I have already graded. I made a note to myself not to do that again. I think I really won’t, too.

On a totally unrelated note, I have been eating several things in the past few days that are advertised as raw food. I love it. I can say that if I didn’t love a nice hot piece of pizza or a nice hot plate of pasta, I could easily be a raw foodist. Since that diet is inherently vegan, it would be excellent for me. I just feel better when I don’t eat things that come from animals, and I can see the benefit of not cooking all the goodness out of food. I saw a good quote the other day that said, “If you aren’t vegan, you aren’t vegetarian.” I hadn’t thought of it that way. Interesting, but not entirely convincing.

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I am thankful for Abbie, Ed, and Iz. On an unrelated note, I am also thankful for reconciliation.

Exercise: walked the dogs twice, ran 3 miles

Food: banana, juice, Pure bar, soy milk, decaf chai tea, sloppy jane with cheese on a wheat bun, salad with strawberries and honey mustard, decaf americano, green tea, Two Moms in the Raw granola, pasta with veggies and edamame, ice cream

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Posted in Coffee, Fat, Food, Running, School, Teaching

Drinks. Bicycles. And Chai Tea Baristas.

Posted on 11 January 2010 | 1 comment

Have you ever gone out for drinks with people and only ordered a water? With a lime? When everyone else is drinking alcohol, drinking limed water is a bit awkward. It isn’t like having your pants unzipped while you are teaching awkward, but it is more like forgetting the punchline of a joke awkward because you become the awkwardness instead of your action being awkward. For some reason, for me, being awkward is much less awkward than performing awkward actions. It’s almost as if I can own own my awkwardness, but performing awkward actions makes me feel as if everyone notices the action and then judges me for it. Whereas, when I embody awkwardness, no one notices how odd I am or they just accept it as part of who I am, thereby they don’t judge. What do you think? Which is worse, an awkward action or simply living awkwardly?

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I rode my bicycle to school today, but it was to cold and slippy to ride home. I got a ride home in a car that was all warm and cozy and not slippy.

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When you go to the MTCup, don’t bother asking the barista if the chai tea is decaf. Chances are she won’t know.

“Well, there isn’t any coffee, no shots of espresso, in it if that’s what you mean. It’s just powered chai mix and milk.” She blinks and chews her gum.

“Chai has tea in it, usually black tea, which contains caffeine. Do you know if you have any decaf chai?”

“Well, I know it has tea, but I am not sure if it has caffeine.” Blink. Blink.

“Okay, I will just have a decaf soy vanilla latte,” I concede as I resist explaining that I don’t mean literally decaffeinated soy milk, but that I want the decaffeinated espresso in my latte, which will be made with soy milk and fake vanilla syrup. On top of it all my wheat bagel has a funk and is hard on one side like chewing baseball card bubble-gum.

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I am thankful for new friendships.

Exercise: dog walking, bike transporting

Food: Clif bar, apple, muffin, milk, juice, sloppy jane with cheese, salad, leftover cake, decaf soy vanilla latte

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Posted in Beer, Biking, Coffee, Food, Relationships