people care about me and what i think about things

murky graduates

2008-02-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

as i continue to look through some old flickr pictures that were unlocked once i paid to renew my account, i find a lot of pictures of former murky coffee coworkers that have gone on to success at other cafes. a lot of these pics are quite old, so i hope we are all comfortable with the past.

first, we have ryan goodrow, now at ninth street espresso

this one is a two-fer, with nick kirby, also now at NSE, and daniel stearns, now proud owner of stearns coffee in huntsville, alabama.

also, there is charrow, now working for octane in the atl. (sorry about the pic, char-char)

on the left-hand side of this picture of us finally painting over the horrid mural at the capitol hill store is mandy catron, still part-time barista at elysian coffee in vancouver.

yes, folks. they just keep coming...
i found a couple pics from the summer 06 murky beach trip, first of katie carguilo, now working for counter culture up in nyc.

and here's one from the party bus, with zachary carlsen of NSE next to nick.

and then, there is aaron ultimo, shown here with wife elizabeth, who in about six weeks will be heading up to philadelphia to begin a new chapter and, eventually, a new shop.

phew. now that daniel has his own shop, we are going to have to begin filling out the family tree to see who went where and when and how they influenced this other person, etc. at some point, we'll change the world. for now, we are just a bunch of friends scattered all over the place.

tecmo super bowl and old news

2008-02-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

after being sidetracked by video games as the free-time eater for the past couple of weeks, i found myself looking through some old photos. in the dead of winter and seeing jon buried in snow, i thought i'd throw this picture up from our visit to that part of the country in summer 06 to rekindle the hope for a market soon returning.

jill and i have been trying to determine where we will vacation this year--after traveling to france, italy and costa rica in 07, we are thinking of staying stateside--and we are thinking of maybe heading west again to those mountains.

i don't think we probably need much convincing...

my week with quince

2007-12-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

A quince is a fruit related to apples and pears native to southwest Asia. While it seems that nearly all the worldwide quince production is inside China, Toigo Orchards out of south-central Pennsylvania grows some here in the states. A few weeks ago, I noticed my friend Robb Duncan, owner of Dolcezza Gelato, had made some Spiced Quince gelato. Up to that moment, I had never recalled hearing of such a fruit. The next Saturday, Jill came home from the market with two of them.

The picture above is a bit more bumpy than the fruit that we got from Toigo. Jill was told to pick up some lamb and cook the quince till it softens (it is pretty tart and a bit fibrous when raw). With the first quince, we peeled it and chopped it into cubes, then boiling the pieces in sugar water for over half an hour. We pulled out the fruit and used part of the remaining quince sugar water to scrape out the pan we did the chops in for a sauce. We made a bulgur wheat salad with almonds and dried apricots to accompany and enjoyed a very delicious dinner last Sunday.

With the second, we again peeled and chopped it, but this time we combined the quince with cubed sweet potato, maple syrup and salt, roasting it all for about forty minutes. This provided a great side last night with lentil soup and fresh baked bread.

Quince, you are my friend.

private cupping

2007-11-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

all i know is that today i had the distinct pleasure of cupping with this guy.

pretty rad.

the chef from my favorite restaurant in dc makes a fine guest at my cupping table any day. oh, go here, too.

costa rica, long overdue

2007-11-16T18:42:00.000-08:00

So, I went to Costa Rica for a week about a month ago. It was a whirlwind tour of some farms that we (CCC) work with in Tarrazu, many different locations in San Jose, two different television shows and a latte art demonstration in a shopping mall. The story likely isn't as interesting as the pictures and a few videos.

Shade-grown coffee is supremely neato. Counter Culture buys coffee from AFAORCA, an organic coop of farmers in Tarrazu. Kim and I were able to visit four of the farms as well as a beneficio and were impressed with the biodiversity and shade. I saw bananas, lemon and orange trees, hocote, avocados and much more. I just wanted to eat all the fruit all the time.

This swingset was outside the house we stayed in one night.

We did manage to find some ripes even though we were probably six weeks or so from the main harvest. These were at a lower elevation than most of the coffee in that area. I was grateful, though, as I was able to eat my first coffee cherry.

And we went to see these ruinas in the orosi valley. We had a day where we did more tourist-type things, like visit a couple of historic churches and rent bikes to ride around near the coffee plantations in the orosi valley.

This was my class for the latte art workshop, one of the primary reasons for the visit. iCafe, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute, flew me down to spend a couple days teaching latte art to some of their certified baristas and give a demonstration at a shopping mall where they had a number of displays to increase awareness of Costa Rican coffee in the country as well as increase specialty consumption.

And this was part of my appearance on "buen dia" a live morning show in San Jose. I had the pleasure of making an espresso-based cocktail, an espresso mojito--better than it sounds--and also poured a very satisfactory rosetta on live TV. The next day, we did a taped segment for another show, Cocina Alternativa, with some famous model, but I won't know for a while if my segment will be used.

All in all, an amazing trip for which I am indebted to iCAFE and the farmers of the AFAORCA coop.

Hooray, coffee.

my niece is great

2007-10-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

I was recently in Minneapolis for work meetings but was able to see family, as well. My niece and god-daughter, Linnea, is now 2.5 years old and is quite amusing to be around. I took a number of videos of her singing such hits as "The ABC's", "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "The Wheels on the Bus".

Here is one of her smiling for the camera:

a visit to waterpenny

2007-09-07T14:57:00.001-07:00

Jill and I are CSA shareholders with Waterpenny Farm and had the distint pleasure of heading out to the farm this past Monday for a tomato tasting. They invited friends and CSA members for tables full of 23 large tomatoes and 6 cherry tomatoes.

Seeing as how I didn't particularly enjoy tomatoes until a couple years, I was a bit overwhelmed by the experience and couldn't distinguish flavor characteristics with the same confidence that I have with coffee. I must say that I was impressed with the variety of flavors that we picked out, with notes including melon, pumpkin, citrus, stone fruit and various mild spices.

After the tasting, we were able to tour the farm and see some of the tricks they're using to control bugs, weeds and animals without herbicides and pesticides. They also made us hold chickens. I can't say that I've ever held a chicken and wasn't really excited about it, but now I'm pretty proud of it.

We are really grateful for the hard work that Eric and Rachel--as well as the interns from Peru, who are here to learn sustainable farming practices--put into the farm in order to make amazing produce for their shareholders and the local farmers markets.

a humble pilrgrim on a long, slow journey

2007-08-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Our century, which began and has developed under the insignia of industrial civilization, first invented the machine and then took it as its life model.

We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods.

To be worthy of the name, Homo Sapiens should rid himself of speed before it reduces him to a species in danger of extinction.

A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life.

May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency.

Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food.
Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food.

In the name of productivity, Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes. So Slow Food is now the only truly progressive answer.

That is what real culture is all about: developing taste rather than demeaning it. And what better way to set about this than an international exchange of experiences, knowledge, projects?

Slow Food guarantees a better future.

Slow Food is an idea that needs plenty of qualified supporters who can help turn this (slow) motion into an international movement, with the little snail as its symbol.

-The Slow Food Manifesto

(The Slow Food international movement officially began when delegates from 15 countries endorsed this manifesto, written by founding member Folco Portinari, on November 9, 1989.)

a step forward

2007-08-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

Last night was the finals of the in-house barista and service competition for two local cafe/lounge/who-knows-what-else's, tryst and open city. Since both shops rock a GB5 and Counter Culture's espresso toscano, they wanted to have an in-house barista competition to see who's tops. Since both shops have table service with a wait staff, they wanted to incorporate another element into the standard USBC/WBC format. The way they achieved this was really quite wonderful and enjoyable.

As their customer relations representative, I had the distinct honor of being the presiding head judge over the final round of five teams of competitors. Yes, teams. Each team consisted of a barista and a server, with the barista responsible for knocking out four different drinks off their menu for two waiting sensory judges. Two tech judges examined the baristas technique using the standard USBC scoring. The two sensory judges were served not by the barista, but by the server, armed with an arsenal of coffee knowledge to enlighten the judges (and the crowd). Each team was to pick a theme and the finals saw presentations touching on Bird-friendly and sustainable coffees and their effect on environment as illustrated on a flip-chart as well as a touching expose on coffee in Japan complete with videos of Japanese coffee commercials projected on the wall behind the espresso machine. There were also plenty of coffee facts sprinkled throughout the presentations from the legend of Kaldi to the proclaimed superiority of Counter Culture among East Coast coffee roasters (i think Joel was sucking up to his head judge).

While incorporating a server is not necessarily revolutionary, the exciting factor was that they were encouraged to have fun. And fun they had, from straw hats and overalls to a long-winded story of high adventure that would've been delivered in a gnome costume had one been found in time. I felt free to laugh and enjoy myself and respect the humor and creativity of the presentations as well as evaluate the drinks served.

The baristas and servers accepted the challenge put before them (there were fourteen teams between the two stores at the beginning of the competition) and fought hard to take a prize that was unknown to them until the awards ceremony. Maybe it was fifty bucks-either way they were going to enjoy the experience. In the end, the winning team won transportation and lodging along with $250 each spending cash for a weekend trip to NYC as well as mad bragging rights. Pretty amazing.

The event was capped with drinks and cake at Tryst, bringing together baristas from at least four different DC-area cafes in addition to the businesses that are a part of the Tryst family. And the evening did not end without ideas on how to make the next competition (tentatively scheduled for January) better and more fun for all involved, not only to raise the level of coffee skills and knowledge but to celebrate all that it is to work in the greatest industry on the face of the planet.

Go, coffee, go!

cows, cheese

2007-08-06T16:05:00.001-07:00

In the 1960's, the Aubrac, like almost all the mountain areas of Europe, entered a period of profound social and productive crisis...The few who remained (to raise cattle and produce cheese)...were persuaded by zootechnical experts to switch from local breeds of cattle (the Fleur d'Aubrac or Rouge d'Aubrac, pictured above) to Holsteins, the famous dappled black-and-white creatures that invaded the world milk market in the late 1970s. They are the most productive of all cows...They produce almost twice as much milk per day as "normal" cows.

The Aubrac farmers could hardly believe it when they were shown those production figures. Within a few years, Holsteins had replaced the Aubrac cows almost to the point of rendering them extinct. Problems, however, soon began to arise...their milk, which contains much less fat and also less protein than that produced by the indigenous cows (as well as being less tasty), is virtually useless for making Laguiole cheese, whose traditional production method requires milk with very different characteristics. So, along with the indigenous cows, the traditional cheese was also disappearing.
-Carlo Petrini, Slow Food Nation

(all that just to post a picture of a cow)

(oh, and things have begun to change for those picturesque cows. they are making a fine comeback. as is the cheese)

foreshadowing

2007-07-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken at the La Marzocco factory in Firenze. At least twelve 3-group and nine 2-group machines to be made from the subjects of this photograph.

Delicious.

I reside in Arlington--part of the Southeastern United States

2007-07-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

“In Atlanta, the heat and humidity for a significant part of the year can be debilitating. Before air-conditioning, people got used to it with modifications in their behavior, namely, doing as little as possible. This held for people of all social ranks and was, in fact, a traditional feature of modern culture. People compelled to do hard physical labor would do as little as possible as slowly as possible, but so too would insurance claims adjusters and bank presidents cooped up in offices. Since doing as little as possible tends to produce less of value to human society, it would be fair to say that the climate of the southeastern United States was not naturally hospitable to advanced civilization. Air-conditioning, or “comfort cooling,” as the industry likes to describe its product, made modern life possible in that part of the country…In contemporary Atlanta, one need only sweat making the journey from a given parking lot to a given building. Air-conditioning and cars are the primary determinants of life in Atlanta. The city’s utter dependence upon them is assumed if no longer completely conscious.” James Howard Kunstler, The City in Mind

Feelin it.

thoughts on the coffeehouse of my future

2007-07-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

I often refer to "the coffeehouse of my future" as I continue to learn the how-to's and how-not-to's of opening and running coffee bars. After six years of working most every job available in your average shop--from counter boy to barista to baker to manager to bookkeeper--and now six months of customer relations work for a wholesale roaster, I've seen too much not to have taken a couple of notes.

There comes a point in a baristas life when making high-quality drinks is no longer optional and the intangibles come into play as "that thing" that will distinguish your shop among all others.

Ask me six months, a year, ten years from now and this list will have grown and changed, but I have a few things that have kept popping up recently that I wanted to record at least for my own reflection at a later date.

1. Live where you work
Ask me more about this one and I may go on a tirade about New Urbanism, sidewalks and the decline--and now, hopefully, rise--of american community life. Be specific about coffee and I'll go into the following:
First off, you'll save a lot of money. I don't know how many owners and baristas I've encountered that spend into the hundreds of dollars each month in commuting to and from work and buying meals because they are stranded away from their own kitchen and stove. Bad deal.

Second, if your customers live in the shop's neighborhood, they openly dislike and distrust the fact that you don't. They'll share it with everyone they know. They might not carry this prejudice into their reviews of your product or even stop coming, but they won't be happy. And they'll make that known.

Third, you can't get a feel of your customer base by living inside your store. "My customers say they want X" Honestly, your customers don't really know what they want and neither do you. You can only get a feel for this by exploring the street you are on and getting to know the stories and histories of the community you are serving. Shop at the grocery, eat at the deli, drink at the bar. And then turn around and offer them what they need rather than what they think they want.

2. Serve
While that last point may have come across as somewhat low on humanity, the coffee industry is ultimately a service industry with an emphasis on serving. Thankfully we are not simply vending machines and God help us if we are all shooting to model our stores after a Burger King or a Taco Bell.

Don't ever lose sight of the role of the evangelist--the good messenger. Oh, to open the eyes of the blind with that Yirgacheffe or Macchiato. While we possess such great knowledge, we must judge our educational efforts by both the honors student and the kindergartener. A wise man says, "love your enemies." The enemy here is sometimes seen as "a future customer" with dollar signs in the eyes of the business owner. This is not the way of love and should not be the way of our industry.

Sustainability doesn't end at paying a fair price to a farmer or having confirmation that pesticides didn't touch this plantation. Self, don't advocate sustainability if your own life is not so. Fairness, equality, justice. In my business? In my family? In my community? In my life? Fight for justice at home and abroad. Serve your employees. Serve your customers. Serve your producers.

I actually had a few more things that have been on my mind, but all this preachy preachy has sort of worn me down. Self, don't forget.

Gibbon on History

2007-06-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

After traveling throughout parts Italy and spending a few days in Rome a month ago, I realized that I know very little about the history of Rome and the Roman empire. I've always been a Greece guy, focusing my classical studies on Herodotus, Homer, the Tragedians, Plato and the lyric poets. Now I'm trying to learn a little about the Romans by diving into Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. While I doubt that I'll finish the three volume abridged version that I have, I'm picking up some nuggets along the way.

"Antonius diffused order and tranquility over the greatest part of the earth. His reign is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history; which is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind."

It appears that Gibbon, one of the most esteemed historians of his--or any--time, believes that "history" is just a record of humanity's errors. Maybe I don't want to be famous, after all. I've spent 28 years trying my best to make a way into the books--without much success--through positive actions. Maybe that's just the wrong approach. From now on, I'll focus on failure. That's the ticket...failure.

birthday boy...ho hum

2007-06-15T04:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 28th birthday.

While it was a good day, it is plain that it no longer carries the same pizzaz that it once did. I remember witnessing my parents birthdays as a child and wondering how it is that they were able to conceal their extreme excitement. Surely they must be exploding with glee inside but need to maintain some sense of maturity since they are old. Really, what's better than your birthday?

Apparently, I've gone to join them, crossing over that line where birthdays don't exempt you from working, even working longer or harder, and don't bring piles of exciting toys and knick-knacks and baseball cards. Just checks.

Maybe next year, I need to have a child's birthday party to relive some of the emotions of my youth. Gift packs for the guests, a big disgusting cake, streamers and balloons. Or I could have an adult party like last year, with Belgian ales and international cheeses. For some reason, I decided to bypass the get-together this year. Just leave me to get old and die, thank you very much.

Either I'm starting to understand whatever it is that my parents have understood for years or maybe everyday is so festive that it's difficult to muster additional energy for party days. When you are already running at such a high level of positive intensity, how can you raise it up another notch?

In no way do I feel like I'm entering some sort of "big fade" where the rest of my life boils down to boredom and varying amounts of depression and crisis, which must be the fear of every slightly aging young man or woman. Maybe not boredom so much as simplicity. No crisis...I'm not wired for crisis. I'd be more prone to boredom, I'm sure. Honestly, though...Life is good. Birthdays are strange.

spring turns to summer

2007-06-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

...
Hot midsummer’s petted crone,
Sweet to me thy drowsy tone
Tells of countless sunny hours,
Long days, and solid banks of flowers;
Of gulfs of sweetness without bound
In Indian wildernesses found;
Of Syrian peace, immortal leisure,
Firmest cheer, and bird-like pleasure.

Aught unsavory or unclean
Hath my insect never seen;
But violets and bilberry bells,
Maple-sap and daffodels,
Grass with green flag half-mast high,
Succory to match the sky,
Columbine with horn of honey,
Scented fern, and agrimony,
Clover, catchfly, adder’s-tongue
And brier-roses, dwelt among;
All beside was unknown waste,
All was picture as he passed.

Wiser far than human seer,
Yellow-breeched philosopher!
Seeing only what is fair,
Sipping only what is sweet,
Thou dost mock at fate and care,
Leave the chaff, and take the wheat.
When the fierce northwestern blast
Cools sea and land so far and fast,
Thou already slumberest deep;
Woe and want thou canst outsleep;
Want and woe, which torture us,
Thy sleep makes ridiculous.

excerpt from "the humble-bee" ralph waldo emerson

funny how these things work

2007-06-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

ha.

so i make this post about returning to the blog. and then, well...

in some sense, i suppose it doesn't make much of a difference. currently, there is just a porch, some rain, obscure norwegian acoustic music. maybe that is enough.

it appears that our vegetables are doing well. i really need to spend some time with them, but it's been raining nearly the entire time i've been home since getting off the plane yesterday afternoon. i'm looking forward to eating something that i've grown-a salad of my own birthing.

ten days in france and italy behind me but i'm still processing the experience.

for now, a picture of my neice, linnea. i'd like to think she's named after an espresso machine, but a flower will do.

notice the floating $50 bill. don't worry, it was recovered.

i don't know how i got suckered back in

2007-02-11T17:58:00.000-08:00

The other day I found myself getting strangely nostalgic about the days when I used to maintain a blog. Well, maintain isn't really the right word for it, I guess, considering my frequency.

But I thought I'd try to revive it and see if I can come up with something more interesting this time around.

prettty preeety

2005-11-26T07:40:00.000-08:00

129602-004
Originally uploaded by phrenologist.

soon the streets of missoula will be covered with snowy snow. and then they will just push it into piles in the middle of the street rather than taking it away. it is great fun to hurdle the mountain when trying to get from break espresso to worden's market to get the fine cornucopia sandwich. that's the one with the turkey and cream cheese and dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and all kinds of yummy-yummy.

happy thanksgiving.

one month to go

2005-08-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

DSC_5529
Originally uploaded by restingmusic.

again, i apologize. well, not really. it's hard work preparing for a wedding. but well worth it. on the 17th of next month, i will be wed to a beautiful and wonderful young lady. afterwards, we will fly far far away to ecuador for a week.

please check out the wedding site. it's quite great.

sorry i'm so lame

2005-06-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

so this has turned into the lamest blog ever...
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
i apologize.

but, in the meantime, please check out www.jillandryan.net to see what i've really been up to in the last month.

speaking of which, i was at the nats game on saturday and sat one row behind "steve" from the jerry springer show. i really didn't know who this person was, but apparently he's famous.

the washington nationals

2005-05-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

so...

i've been to four nationals games so far this season. i watch on tv if they are on. i listen to the radio. i read the box scores. the team site is my home page for firefox.

...

i never thought i'd be hooked again.

they got me.

i lived in montana for four and half years and thought that i'd escaped the lure of professional sports, but having a pro baseball team within walking distance of my apartment has changed everything. i thought i'd given my life over to coffee and all things artsy and alternative, but, still, there it is, plain as day. i'm a sports fan.

i was raised a sports fan, and though i tried to get away for so many years, i've come back around. i have the fitted hat. i keep a scorecard at the game. i root, root, root, for the home team. it's over

feel free to check them out yourself at www.nationals.com.

downtown missoula

2005-04-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

downtown missoula
Originally uploaded by mandapanda191.

oh, Missoula, how i miss you at times. i long to be back in your arms, even just for a moment. to feel your breath on my cheeks, your colors surrounding me. the little things, the sunshine, the railroad tracks, the blackberry muffins at bernices. one more cornucopia sandwich at wordens market.

i love you and hope to see you soon.

the best news of the week

2005-04-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

go here for some fantastic news...

http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/

scroll down a little and read about how the idaho state house of representatives passed a resolution about the best friggin movie ever.

!!!!!!!!!! that's right, baby.

such sadness

2005-04-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

so today was danielle's last day...

that makes me sad. i don't want to get all sappy here on the internet for everyone to see, but i know that i'll miss danielle. i have enjoyed the last--actually, i can't say that i know how long it has been that we've worked together... it seems like i don't remember her not working at the shop. i've learned a bunch from danielle and, hopefully, have helped her to learn a thing or two. although i wish she didn't have to go, i'm excited for all the adventures she'll have out in san fran. travel, experience, good stuff.

vota por summer. in other news, i'm watching napoleon dynamite in spanish right now. i was told that it must be done. i don't speak spanish well. at all. the entertainment comes from the voices they chose for the characters in the movie and how these other actors interpret the script. yeah, it is a very strange must-see for any napoleon fan.

jill says to the world:

2005-04-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

"by the way, if i could add to your website, i would say: 9/17 or
bust! we're getting married regardless of rain, monsoon, guests,
dress or hall. if we have to, we'll meet at the courthouse. that's
it and that's all, whether you like it or not!"

that's right, we're getting married on september 17, 2005. and that's final.

excited but puzzled

2005-04-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

so i was on low's website, wondering if they may be coming back to the area soon. (they were just here in february) it turns out that they are coming to baltimore in june and i was super pumped. !! but then, i looked to see where the show is...and it is at the rams head live. there is a bar in annapolis called the rams head that i've been to before, and it's good food, nice space, etc, but never a place that i would expect to see low. the place in balt is their other location.

while i'm sure it is a fine venue, i had to wonder quite a bit when i read through their upcoming schedule. while they featured some pretty cool acts including the roots, earlimart, medeski martin and wood, and pinback, they also have coming up: Dwight Yoakam, KC and the Sunshine Band, Europe (the final countdown...now you remember), third eye blind, and steve winwood.

when they were just in town, they played the black cat, with pedro the lion opening. now they are playing six days before winwood (who is playing on my birthday). this might be kind of an odd show for them, but i'm sure they will pull it off. they are playing with a band called no wait wait, who i am not familiar with. find out more info on them here. see low's website to your right with the other links.

hooray for the best band in the world!

Coffee artist...

2005-04-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

i had posted a picture below this one of my first triple leaf. this was my second, a few minutes later. liz and ellen thought it was better than the first, so i thought that i would post it as well.

once, i thought such realms of art as unattainable, but now...maybe soon, such feats will be commonplace. we'll see.

First Ever Triple!!

2005-04-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

i was supposed to be writing a paper, but i had been thinking about pushing my latte art to a different place all week. i figured it was about time to try the triple leaf...

on my second serious attempt, i pulled this sucker off. not super clean, and i let it sit for a few minutes while i decided whether or not it was worth a picture or not. i guess i decided it was.

kitchen tables!!

2005-04-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

yeah!!!!!!!!!!!

jill and i made our first major joing purchase yesterday. we bought this used kitchen table from a friend of a friend that is moving. it has three more chairs and a leaf to make it large for all the parties we are going to have. pretty exciting stuff.

well, the wedding date has gone from september 3 to september 17 back to september 3 and now, likely, back to september 17. but until there is a reception site reserved, i wouldn't place many bets. hopefully, this is it. for our own sanity.

i'm writing a paper on david hume's understanding of personal responsibility and how we come up with ideas about divinity and eternity. yes, those two are related. at least i will present them as such. more exciting stuff.

thoughts about the barista guild of america

2005-03-19T20:26:00.000-08:00

i am a new member of the barista guild of america. what a barista is, few know. what we need our own trade association for, even fewer would understand. i definitely see a need for such a community, but since it is still a fairly new entity, we are still trying to figure out who we are and what we are doing. after processing the thoughts i've had the past couple of weeks, i posted this this morning on the bga discussion forum:

[quote="trish"]
I hope that the BGA will be about coffee education and free exchange of ideas not about "how do we please the judges".

um...

please bear with my analogy...

i am a week old bga member. for a long time i dabbled in spirituality, but now i have joined an actual church. i am a card-carrying barista. what does this mean? since i have been a barista for years, my actual role and job description does not change. but now i guess i feel a new obligation to the masses (evangelism) and to the brethren (discipleship). i have visions of crusading through the coffee shops of virginia, dc and maryland sharing the gospel of hardcore specialty coffee and bringing many to salvation...

but...i need a bible to preach from. or some tracts to stuff in tip jars. i feel a little impotent in my mission.

from the bga website:
Simply put, the Barista Guild of America is a trade organization for Baristas. The Barista Guild focuses on promoting coffee quality as the principle standard for success, encouraging craftsmanship through education and collaboration, building community among Baristas, recognizing achievement, and cultivating a sophisticated "public face" for the industry

being a new believer, i look at the mission field of an american public missing the deliciousness of a well-prepared cup of coffee, and the state of a church where 99% of the baristas do not know exactly what they are doing or why and i want to change the world. how do i "promote coffee quality", "encourage craftsmanship", and the rest? as the bga, we can hopefully equip each other and bring many into the fold, and i am definitely excited about where this is going. we are a new religion and are maybe still formulating our doctrine as well as our mission philosophy. don't get me wrong, i am pumped about all that is happening in the industry, etc, etc. i just want help. and i want to help others.

maybe we need some standard literature/resources to use in our evangelizing as deferio suggested...i don't what this all looks like. i just want to know how i can help to stir a coffee revival in this region and around the country outside of just going to work every morning and reading discussion boards.

-end analogy.

puck pyramid brought to you by carlos ramos

2005-03-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

Picture012.jpg
Originally uploaded by restingmusic.

carlos occasionally does the most random things. today he constructed this structure from spent coffee from the morning rush.

danielle is leaving us. i am sad about that. she has to go and move to san francisco. darn ambition.

...i guess we have to try to move the wedding date. there is a wedding the same weekend involving one of jill's family friends and will require the attendance of many and the desired attendance of jill's family. so we are now exploring a date a couple of weeks later. now i have to go tell everyone a different date. hopefully everything will work out well.

back in eastern market

2005-03-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

well, i'm home.

i apologize for not winning. i am not the united states barista champion. but i am still a champion. in the hearts of so many. like my mom. and my fiance.

it was a lot of fun in seattle and a joy to compete alongside so many wonderful people who make wonderful coffee. superstars in the coffee world. to be 20th in the competition behind the nineteen ahead of me is an honor, even though i wanted to rank a bit higher.

and now...well, i guess i'm famous. i was part of a story nationally broadcast on npr on all things considered and locally on wamu (scroll down to "holy grail of espresso"). people have been wandering into the shop to see what all the press is about. hopefully we are delivering.

seattle was beautiful as always and we had great weather. my feet and legs are still a bit sore from all the walking and my mind is reeling from all that i learned from everyone this weekend.

ready or not...

2005-03-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

well, at about 4:30 today, i will take the stage and make a bunch of coffee...

i spent hours last night and this morning perfecting the mix of music that i will use for my fifteen minutes of competition time.

the final line-up:
sufjan stevens- he woke me up again
kings of convenience- live long
rogue wave- be kind and remind
benjamin gibbard- farmer chords
nick drake- from the morning
iron and wine- peng!

the most important part of my performance is complete. now all i have to do is make some espresso and smile like my life depended on it.

off to the usbc

2005-03-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

well, it's time. in the morning i will be flying to seattle to compete in the united states barista championship. i am very excited and a little nervous. my milk technique is down, i'm perfecting my introduction, i need to trim my beard. more than anything, i'm just excited to get to be there. it should be a lot of fun and very, very interesting.

there isn't a whole lot else to say. other than it's time for me to go pick up my tuxedo. that's right, tuxedo. we'll see what happens. go murky!!!!!

the homer simpson showboating academy

2005-03-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

michelle kwan is millhouse's idol.

it's kind of weird that they are rerunning a simpsons episode from like a month ago.

anyways, on saturday night, i went with a couple friends to see lou barlow at the iota. it was interesting to see this old skool indie rock star (see sebadoh, folk implosion) now aged, both married and with child. he played some of his old somewhat depressing songs from albums released when i was in junior high and high school but also played a few tracks from his new album, EMOH (HOME backwards), that have a bit more optimistic tone.

he remarked that a girl approached him after his show in philadelphia, asking him if she could be honest with him. she ended up critiquing his music, stating that none of the songs have ends. they are all left unresolved. lou didn't really know what to do with that. he didn't really have a defense, but he also didn't really recognize why they don't have ends.

i would venture to say that they shouldn't have ends. a song, an emotion, a prayer--none of these really have concise conclusions. and maybe we shouldn't pretend that they do. even though lou is married, his love for his wife isn't final. it grows, it changes, there are joys, there are pains. to finish a song and have the listener see the whole picture and have a sense of finality--well, that's not reality. that's not honesty. ...just a thought. keep being honest, lou.

"stop american nationalism"

2005-03-04T10:44:00.000-08:00

that was the message of a bumper sticker that i saw yesterday as i left to go do laundry. during my drive, i found myself pondering what such a bumper sticker is suggesting.

question 1: who is this addressed to? an individual, a group of people, the government? i would assume that this statement is geared toward the american public. toward the group of people who live in this country and possibly consider themselves to be americans.

question 2: what exactly is american nationalism? on a definition level, nationalism is defined by www.dictionary.com as
1. Devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation.
2. The belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals.
3. Aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination.

definition's #1 and #3 appear to be fairly positive things in most any light, so #2 is probably what is being attacked. on one level, yes, we need to consider international interests. obviously. (i'm sure the bumper stickerer would argue as well that it is obvious, but not followed) but we could all think of ways that the international interest may be irrational and against what any single person might deem to be a positive international goal. i, for instance, would like to see the world push more towards being on a strict diet of cornmeal pancakes and straight espresso (but not mixed).

so the attack is against a group of people looking out for themselves, right? if my whole neighborhood decided that they were going to persecute scandinavians and my family thought that that was not fair or reasonable and acted in our own interest against this injustice, are we deemed family-ists and branded as being uncooperative? where is our commitment to the neighborhood? well, it fell to the commitment to justice, truth and, finally, what will benefit my family (because we'd be scandinavian). i am aware that my examples are somewhat ridiculous and extreme, but it seems natural that an element of nationalism must exist or else the nation or people group will not be strong in themselves, but just bow to what where the greater wind blows.

question 3: how should we stop such a thing? so is the bumper person suggesting that we put or national identity on the altar? i don't know what this looks like. "i am no longer an american"? but i live here. i live next to people. i live in america with a group of other americans. stopping me from having a national identity and looking out for our interests is asking more than i'm willing to give (and i know that the argument is that we may be looking out for our own interests directly in the face of international interests) and i can't believe that we even could do this, even if we tried.

if we aren't a nation, what are we? if you don't like our policies as a nation, or as a gov't, then argue for a change of policy, not a disassembly of the community that we have called america. i don't know if this makes much sense at all, but neither does forsaking my nationalism for the sake of some vague idealism that doesn't correspond to the real world. one must be careful in throwing out the very positive and community-and peace-building aspects of nationalism along with the political moves that are possibly dangerous 'nationalism' as was alluded to in the bumper sticker. we want and need each other in the communal sense, whether that is a family, a city, or a nation. yes, even as communities, we are not infallible. but that does not legitimize a full-on overthrow of community-forming.

ksdfjlaksjfl

2005-03-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

yes here it is

a little get to know you

2005-03-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

so i manage a coffee shop, right. and there are all these people that wander in and out. some of them are great and others, not so great. some provide intrigue, but others fatigue.

last week i was walking to the bank and was stopped by a gentleman on the sidewalk. he asked me if i knew where to find free wireless internet. i looked at myself, wondering if i, indeed, look like someone who knows where to find such things (i was reassured later that i certainly do), before telling him, "yes. go to the corner and take a left. you'll see murky coffee. they have wireless." he expressed his gratitude and walked off and i continued to the bank with a smile on my face, thinking how serendipitous it was (the word he used later) that, of all the people he was to ask, he asked the guy who runs a shop providing what he searches for. what a great city. what a great neighborhood. what a great human race. how lovely. how divine.

as i walked into the bank to do the daily deposit for the shop, something horrible occurred to me. "what if he's one of those guys?" the next day, my question was answered. although i was happy to see him return after he sat for an hour the day before, working on his computer and spending five bucks or so, he pulled out the headset for his phone and proceeded to make a half hour long phone call to the customer service department for some major electronics retailer, trying to sort out some problem he was having. he was loud. he had one of those kind of whiny annoying voices. he was sitting at the bar about four feet from me the whole time.

fine. come in. do your work. talk on your phone. whatever. but don't be loud. don't fill the whole shop with your complaining about how the digital video camera you bought doesn't have the promised capabilities, etc. grrrrr. why does this bother me so????

part of me wishes i had never run into this gentleman. i could've sent him to another coffee shop a few blocks down the road. i could've denied him service for annoying me. the other part of me...well, honestly, i don't think i'm going to give in and just say that it's all about serving people and loving them and making him a great latte whether he is owed it for being such a fine customer or not. all i will say is that some days i get it better than others. i'll leave it at that.

another pic of my baby and me

2005-03-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

ryan_jill
Originally uploaded by restingmusic.

this was taken last summer at our friends wedding reception. look how clean shaven!
i have realized the comfort that i have now in the status of our relationship. engaged is better than dating. dating was definitely better than friends. hopefully, married will be better than engaged. i think it will.

although i don't know what my job situation will be like in 6-8 months (basically, whether or not i want to continue at murkycoffee), i do know what the greater context of my life will be. i know i'll be here in dc and with the love of my life. job security is down the list of priorities at the moment. just don't tell jill's parents...or mine.

juliet

2005-02-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

Picture018.jpeg
Originally uploaded by restingmusic.

got the pic even though she fought against.

new york love

2005-02-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

new york love
Originally uploaded by restingmusic.

here is a picture of my love and me in times square right before christmas. we were psyched about traveling together, feeling that we might continue to see the world with each other, but now it's a bit more secure.
she is the mostest beautiful. more pretty than nyc any day. i love my jill soooo much. i remarked the other day, "i love this girl so much that i'd even buy ice cream full price for her."

everything changes in an instant

2005-02-27T17:19:00.000-08:00

"are you kidding me?" was the response that i was looking for. she was very surprised and elated. "will you marry me?" "will you see the world with me?" "will you spend the rest of your life with me?" calls to parents and time spent crying. oh, glorious. ewen quoted a book the other day, saying, "romantic love is a trapdoor to a lifetime of sacrifice." well, here we go.

now the little questions begin...pick a date, find a place for a reception, what kind of cake do we want, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. and etc. but it will be oh, so good.

this site will take the shape of a "how to poorly plan a wedding in six short months." an adventure, life is.

i woke up in the middle of the night with the united live song, "shine for you,"in my head: "look across the world / and let us shine for you, Lord / the whole world is yours / and I want to live for you, O God." that pretty much sums it up. here we are, for You.

8:12 on the morn of life's changing

2005-02-26T08:17:00.000-08:00

Today it is ripe. She is mine and I am hers. I will put a ring on her finger. Scary. Beautiful. Faith. Hopefully she will be surprised. Hopefully I will not stutter.

Damien Rice serenades my musings...getting me in the mood, I suppose, though I have about 14 hours before the actual engagement...engaging...question asking...proposal. It's a proposal.

Exciting. Still scary. God help us.