Quick Like a Bunny!!

Did you know: A chocolate latte has a special name... it's called a mocha! :) The barista taught me that one today, I like it.

Unfortunately, while I remembered to tell the nice lady that I wanted a latte, rice milk, and a shot o' chocolate, I neglected to tell her that I wanted it iced... (it's ninety-freakin'-seven degrees outside & humid, I forgot such a thing as hot drinks were permitted in such circumstances!) Soooo.... Yeah, I didn't remember until I saw her creating an awesome feather on top of my steaming hot mocha that was being served in a mug instead of in the tall glass I was expecting... my face fell, because the concoction she had, well, concocted... looked amazing and extremely tasty... and hot. I think my distress was evident, because she knew something was up. I confessed my folly, and she insisted on making me another, iced, mocha for free. Then she insisted that I take both drinks, because I needed to experience the fantabulousness that was both the hot & the iced mochas.

So I did, and both mochas were phenomenal. ("Duh", the barista just told me...) Have I mentioned how much I love this place? I love it here!

Something I've been meaning to write about for a while, but never seemed to remember when sitting in front of the lappy before: there is an irony I've found in human nature that needs to be remarked upon. Actually, there's lots of them, but there's one in particular that has amused me for a few weeks now.

At my dayjob we deal with a lot of personal information gathered from complete strangers in order that we might send them the pillows they so ardently desire. Some of the personal information we collect is as follows:
First and last names.
Email addresses.
Phone numbers
Street addresses
Cities of residence
States of residence (or provinces for our Canadian customers)
Zip (postal) codes
Type of credit/debit cards
Credit/debit numbers
"" Expiration dates
Card Verification numbers

Now, of all of the above, which would you feel the most edgy about telling a complete stranger whose face you've never seen?

Oddly enough, it usually isn't any of the last four items listed above.

Would you believe that the most often refused piece of information I encounter is the email address??? Second is the phone number, and then comes the people who get tetchy about sharing their credit information.

People are more wary of spam than they are of being robbed blind.

Seriously?! Come on, priorities people!!! I have had to talk to possibly ten times more people about the company's no-spamming policy than I have about the security measures we have in place to safe-guard the credit card information people give us.

Not that any of the information our customers give us isn't safe, but honestly... It's disturbing to realize how trusting people are with their moneys, who are deeply mistrustful with their email accounts.

Email is free, folks. It takes little to no time to change that.

Oh psychology. We are more afraid of inconvenience than of losing our identity. Who knew?

One more thing, then I hafta close up shop... since the Boiler Room is about to do the same.

I have an ATM from my bank that is a mere 5 minutes' walk away!!!! It's in a CVS, and I stumbled onto it by pure accident.

I love living in the city!!!! :D

And I think the two mochas' worth of caffeine is beginning to make itself felt... I should go consume something...

Later folks! Tell a stranger they're beautiful, you just might make their day. ;)

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

They're soooo tasty! You should try some!

I have a question that has been bugging me lately, and it might sound like utter nonsense, but that's my brain for ya...

What would happen if I water my bamboo shoot with almond milk?

Would that provide extra nutrients? Would it thrive & start growing at a ferocious pace? Or would that be like plantish cannibalism? Would it die of mortification? Would that be too thick a substance for it to digest the nutrients from? I really am becoming consumed with curiosity about this--so much so that I am sorely tempted to try it, just to see what happens.

But I don't want to kill my bamboo... :(

I'm going to google the question, just to see if anyone else out there has ever had this question & posted it online...

So the first search result was "101 Ways to Prepare Matcha Tea, Matcha Green Tea Lattes, and..." followed by "You'll Never Buy Almond Milk in a Box Again!" and "Rapunzel's Adventures"...

Maybe I should re-word the question...

"Can bamboo be watered with almond milk?"  led me to an interview with the vegan police, "Cat grass is Kat grass" and other unrelated topics... But if I drop the almond out of the question now we're getting somewhere... (oddly enough...)

Huh, so watered-down cow's milk is apparently a decent fertilizer when used sparingly... I may hafta try almond milk just to see. My poor bamboo has been getting pale, and I think some extra nutrients could shake things up in a good way... hopefully... maybe? :S

Wow, that was quite the tangent...

Tonight I'm going to see a good friend of mine in a show called "Human Combat Chess", and yes, I'm so very excited about it! It's a chess game played between live people instead of with pieces--every time a space is contested there's a one-on-one battle that throws down. I'm very excited to be going & seeing Mer in this awesome-sounding show! If you're in the area, you should seriously come!

Yeah, that's my brief plug about what I'll be doing this evening... I'm really going to have to start jotting down the ideas I get throughout the day about "hey, that would be cool to write on your blog!".... Because I'm getting tired of making it here & finding myself with nothing to write about...

Last night I (finally) got around to setting up my coffee station! I don't have enough counterspace to hold more than the microwave, so I was at a loss as to what to do with my coffeepot until I epiphanized that I don't need to keep the coffee confined to the kitchen! So I proceeded to set up a small wheeled tray/table/thing with the coffee, pot, filters, mugs, spoon, and fixings, add a small chair next to said tablish contraption, and boom! It's a tight little coffee wayplace! :D I woke this morning, pushed the power button, took a shower, then I came out and enjoyed my very own coffee that I didn't have to pay for! Woot!!

Not if only I could manage that portable breakfast sammich, I might be able to stop paying Subway for morning sustenance... Alas, thus far my breakfast sammiches are very tasty, but also extremely messy. :S Maybe if I ditch the tomato... That might help... I'll try that for lunch today & see if it makes a difference...

Speaking of lunch, I'm actually getting rather hungry, so I believe I'll call this a post & see ya later. Bye all, enjoy the weather!! :)

Fundraisers!

Last night was the fundraiser for the coming show by Green T Production's coming show: The Hobbit. It was so much fun! There was a silent auction, a variety show, a demonstration, food, fun, and people of all sorts! :) The silent auction was cool, there were artist-created fans donated to help raise moneys for the cause & I donated two. Here's pictures!

 Yay pictures! I meant to take pictures of the other fans as well but got completely distracted... So now I get to look all egocentric... :S "You only get to see mine! That's all that's important! So there!!" That's totally what I was thinking... *sarcasm*

Now I'm left wondering what else to write about. I keep getting distracted by how cold it is in here--there's a breeze blowing indoors! What's going on?! Aw snap, I just finished my drink, here's hoping they don't kick me out... lol...

Anyhoo, I was bending my mind towards trying to write something worth reading, that's right... My mind just seems filled with so many mundane happenings right now. "Fruit's on sale at rainbow." "I need to get that tail-light on the car fixed." "Why is it so cold in here?!?!" "Hmmm, dinners, what will it be?" "Budgeting, mer." "Unpacking, more mer." "Book! I'm reading one! Yay!" "I should call Mum..."

I think you get the idea. It's really rather amazing sometimes that I can even write a complete sentence without wandering off into lala land...

But, unfortunately, today does not seem to be one of those amazing times. So I shall leave you with this thought and go do something more suited to the attitude of the day... something like unpacking... ;)

If sleep is a shade of death, and the dreams we dream in sleep are but a shade of those we'll dream in death--yet waking from mere sleep is such a difference, what will it look like when in the resurrection we awake from death itself and wake to truly live, and no more to dream?

Green Bottles

I collect them... apparently?

Sorry for the lack of updates in the last couple of days, it's been a rather busy couple of days. Since my interwebs access is currently rather tied to the hours of this particular awesome coffee shop, any blogosphereing I want to accomplish must needs be done before 8pm. It's good though, it lends an air of discipline to this whole shebang...

So what was I so busy doing that I couldn't make time to visit my friendly neighborhood blogosphere? Well Sunday night ... lol, that's a story I should begin from the start...

My cousin, Cassy, recently became a Mary-Kay consultant. (I call her my dealer, but I figured I'd use the official term... the first time at least...) Her pink party was scheduled for Sunday, June 24th, and as her cousin & friend I wanted to show up and support her (and pick up some concealer, which I was startled to discover I owned none of... that's a different story though...). I usually work Sunday mornings & afternoons until 4, but I jealously guarded that evening--I scheduled auditions for different dates, I shuffled workshop schedules, I delayed seeing people--this was serious & I was committed. The night before the party I carefully combed through my wardrobe trying to find all 10 articles of jewelry & clothing I owned in various shades of pink. I went to bed wondering if that shirt was too purple to qualify as a "dusty rose".

The next morning I woke a little later than intended, but still thought to double-check the time of the party that evening. I scrolled up in the text conversation with my cousin to see what time she had texted me, and upon discovery I let slip several choice profanities...

The party was from 2-4. It had nothing to do with evening. I worked until 4. $h!t.

I shared my dismay with Cassy, and she was very gracious about it. We agreed that I could come by and say hello and hang out (and pick up that concealer...) even if the party wasn't going on still. So I did, and passed a very agreeable evening with the ladies, and was vigorously greeted by the Australian Shepherd--Jinks. Afterwards I did some grocery shopping, and got home at about 9... too late for interwebs.

Monday was more by choice, I had an auditions for a show called A Chaste Maid in Cheapside that I was prepping for, then the audition itself (I still think it probably was awful...), then workshops was happening, and then I got to see & hang out with peoples at Mer's place! She made tasty creations, we played bananagrams, and a good time was had by all. :)

Long story short: I didn't blog because I was busy. So there. ;)

Yesterday at work something happened that made me want to write about it... Soooo, this is me, writing about it...

The day was obnoxiously slow, and most of the guys in the area around me didn't come in, so us gals had an opportunity to chat that we hadn't enjoyed previously. I got to find out some backgrounds, some likes & dislikes, and some personal gossip that I carefully filed away as future character material (always be careful when talking to a writer, you never know what they'll do with your conversations). The girl who sits next to me was of particular interest in her conversations.

For the sake of preserving anonymity, we'll call her Ashley. Ashley grew up in a small town in Minnesota, is one of 6 siblings, refuses to drive anything smaller than a truck or an SUV (after hearing her relate a terrifying accident she was in, I can understand why!), is currently pursuing her degree (gen. studies at the moment), and does not like any ethnic foods except American.

At first blush, my reaction was one of disdain. She is a very classic example of small-town American gal. But the more we talked the more I realized something...

Likes & dislikes, preferences and distastes aside, this young woman is just as complex and intricate a human being as any other. She has her share of stories and history, and she comes by her mindset just as honestly as anyone else--perhaps moreso. What reason has she ever been given to enjoy Mexican cuisine? Why would she want to drive a small car? Of course she got lost in the city and hated it, why would she want to know her way around? I know why I would, but what reason would she have?

The conversation that stands out the most to me though was when we spoke of her studies. She is pursuing her Bachelor's, but for now she is undecided & will probably end up opting for a business degree. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.

"Well, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer when I was a kid."

But to be a dolphin trainer, she realized, she would have to pursue a much more intensive route of studies & training--one she apparently had no hope/desire to complete. So she abandoned that dream and left it behind her.

I never did find out what she decided to do with her life instead.

I wonder, if my parents hadn't encouraged me to always be willing to try something new, to dream big and chase dreams I treasure, to never allow fear to rule my life, to consider other points of view as being just as valid as my own--if they had not done all this and more, how different from Ashley would I be?

What right do I have to be proud of my own take on life? What did I actually do to get myself here? So much of who I am is thanks to the time and effort put forth by others, why should I take pride in such a work? Rather, I should try to make them proud of the work they have wrought--and try to work the same in the lives of other people.

There's the deep thought for the day. Now, if you will excuse me, I have other things to accomplish today as well. Laters!!

Coffee...

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but one of the addictions I battle (or love, alternately...) is caffeine--especially in it's most luscious form: chocolate coffee.

Everynow (that was initially a typo, but I think I like that... I'll leave it that way for now & see what ya think...) and again I'll go through a stint of "Ohmygoodness, it can't be healthy to have this high a caffeine intake! I'm weaning myself off coffee for good!!!"

It usually lasts about a week. I'll slowly stop drinking multiple caffeinated beverages (Dr. Pepper... Mmmmmm...) a day, then I'll be down to one or two every other day, maybe I'll even make it down to a couple a week. Caffeine becomes more of a treat than a need, and I can (mostly) stay awake at work in the morning without such crutches.

Then it happens. I find a coffee shop & think "I'll only drink an occasional coffee drink, I'll mix it up with Italian Sodas & stuff like that too." Then I stay up late the night before an early morning at work and think "I had a hard time staying awake when I had enough sleep, I better grab a coffee!" But just a small cup, and--oops, too much sugar! My bad...

Next thing I know I'm back up to 2 drinks a day, and making plans to set up a coffee station in my own apartment!!! And--gasp!!--I'm not even feeling guilty about it!! I'm thinking "clever me, saving moneys by making coffee myself!"

Shame shame shame...

Ah well, I'll save the guilt for my next spree of self-deprivation. ;)

Speaking of coffee, I found the coolest disposable coffee cup today!! I actually broke and got a small coffee with breakfast instead of my usual mere (but tasty) orange juice (yes, the monologue above actually happened...), and the lid on the cup was awesome!! It had a slidy thing to close off the opening to the coffee-dispensing mouth hole thing... Yeah, it doesn't sound as cool when I try to write about it as it did upon discovery this morning (was it the sleeplessness talking? or the sugar? Probably...)... I'll hafta take a picture and show you all tomorrow. Also, the cup itself was rather more durable than your average styrofoam--those recycled cups are amazing!! I'm totally imitating my Dad & saving that cup to reuse in future... at least until I unpack enough to find my own travel mugs... (if you're wondering why that would irritate Dad, go read that word again... am I the only one who thinks those words look scary similar in this font?)

I intended to write about something other than coffee today, but for the life of me I'm having difficulty remembering what that was... :S Give me a bit, maybe I'll think of it again...

Oh yeah! Church last night! I promised a report on that!!

Yeah, it was frightening... Not to say that the church itself wasn't very nice (it was), friendly (I was greeted multiple times by many people), warm (delightfully), doctrinally sound (I think? The songs were pretty & fun to sing), and beautiful (the vaulted roof! the stained-glass windows! The GOBOS!! they had fraking GOBOS!!!!)... but... well, most importantly it didn't feel like home. If you've been in the position to have to find a new church before you probably know what I'm talking about, but this church simply didn't... Let's just say that it doesn't matter how "right" the church is, if God doesn't tap me on the shoulder when I sit down and say "this is where I want you dwelling", then it isn't the church home for me.

Also? There were soooo many babies...

Don't misunderstand me, small children can be delightful--but small children in that high a concentration? There were soooooooo many!!! Especially considering it was advertised as being a church that catered to college-age, singles, and young couples. My thought was "yeah, you cater all right!"

It reminded me of a book I read about the way the Church views singles groups... It's simply a means to an end...

I know I know I know, I'm not technically "single" anymore now that Boyfriend is in my life. I do still identify rather strongly with that group though--what with Boyfriend being several states away and all. Our relationship is delightful, but I am so not in the same stage of life as all those young mothers are... especially the ones with 5 kids under the age of 10...

I mean, heck, I may never get to that stage...

And those are the only people who spoke to me when I was at the church. I asked a young mother & her "brood" (the oldest of whom was the first to be born into the church) where it was okay to park, I was greeted upon entry by a young couple and their 4 adorable blond children, I was introduced to the movie-director's (for worship services) wife who's husband was coming with their two young children (and she had another on the way), I was introduced before the service to another young mom (she had to talk to the mom sitting beside me about the "Hot Mamas" meeting that may or may not be happening this Sunday...), and spoke after the service to another young mother who was involved with the house church & was going to learn to speak Chinese in Chicago (her kids were downstairs & she had to leave to pick them up). I was also shown the "fireside room" where the moms took their kids to settle down if they got too fussy during the service--it was very nicely furnished with a fireside, chairs, tables, a projector (for listening/viewing the service you were missing because of your offspring), and a corner screened off from view (yes, probably for breastfeeding mothers--I mean, for mothers breastfeeding their children... no, I didn't ask).

It's not like I didn't see plenty of people my own age, or single, or probably in college... I just didn't actually get to talk to any of them. I'm not sure if it was because none of them noticed a new person (I find that hard to believe, considering I was alone just wandering around for some time and saw several of them...), or maybe they saw me get mobbed by the mothers & backed away slowly...

But, to their credit, the moms & dads were very nice and sociable. It just felt rather... strange... I felt very ... young isn't quite the word I'm looking for but it's close... Alien? Different? In a whole other sphere? :S It was strange realizing that I may actually not be that far in age from people with such utterly other life experiences... and then I realized that we weren't really that other.

Maybe it's the part of myself that still hasn't (and maybe never will) grown up... but I really don't feel like I could have children right now. I mean, obviously I could, but I don't think I would want to right now.

Bah, kids.

But yeah, the church was rather frightening.

I think I'm going to go post this now, before I ramble on more & come up with more strange nonsense... besides, I have laundry to do, dishes to wash, a painting corner to tidy, and boxes/tubs to unpack... So many things to do! :D I'm excited... ;)

Also, hello Mr. A. Lane R number 3. Yes, I know you're there, and I'm watching you. Behave yourself, and in a goodly fashion, or I will know. You know who you are. And if you don't, you're probably not who I'm talking to. But if you do, watch yourself. ... yeah ...

I get distracted so easily...

So... y'know what's entertaining? looking at the stats for this blog... Apparently this blog has been viewed from Thailand... wow!!! I had no idea! ... ? And once again I'm derailed... where was I going with this post again? Aw man, I think we're lost... ;)

I finally branched out & tried something new at the Boiler Room today: a mango-raspberry Italian Soda--it's rather tasty! :) I may have thrown off the barista though, oops... ;D

I'm also going to try out a church today--it's called "The Rock" & it meets on Friday nights. I'll let ya know later how it goes...

Aaaah, scatterbrainedness... I swear I was sane once upon a time...

Ah well, my apologies you poor readers. It's an extremely short post today. I'm off to finish my Italian Soda & go find this church type thingummy... I want to get there early (for parking) and need to leave myself extra time to get there (for getting lost). So ... yeah... toodles!

And now with screen so blank before me...

I find my mind mirroring the blankness of the screen... This will never do!

'Scuse me for a moment folks, inspiration just tried to run over me & I need to go tend my wounds...

Snap, I love/hate it when this happens... I had a blog post all planned out, but I had to go and eavesdrop on a conversation & now all my thoughts are scattered by a chance word spoken that inspires a whole new plotline...

Picture this: an improv performance in a coffee shop, an alley theatre set-up, even the barista behind the counter is part of the story. Patrons enter knowing a show will take place, but not realizing that it has started when the actors get up from the midst of the staff, or from the midst of the patrons themselves. Perhaps the actors are even seated at the same tables as the patrons--a truly interactive experience, part scripted, part improvisation.

The actors are three: playing characters of all ages--a man and two women.
The story: that of Theatre itself, disguised (as always) in a multiplicity of allegories & metaphors all taking place in a coffee shop. The actors would step in and out of characters, requiring great flexibility.
The props and costumes would be minimal, if any designated at all. The props could be mimed, the costumes would just be streetclothes typically worn by the actors.
The focus would be on the story and the acting.

Perhaps it would be a story of Humanity instead of Theatre... or of Art, or the Church... Perhaps it could be done with only two actors... or with one, or four.... Perhaps...

This is certainly an idea to pursue...

Wow, well that was fun! ;)

The sun is beginning to get low in the sky. It's about 7:30pm now, the Boiler Room is 30 minutes from closing and the light is slanting at a dramatic angle. It's one of my many favorite times of day...

So ... before I got run over... what was I going to write again??? Ah yes, entertaining anecdotes from work...

I actually lost my patience with a customer today. The man could hardly speak English (I lie, he spoke better English than I speak Spanish, so he spoke passably...) so he had a friend of his inquiring after the pillow for him. However, when the man found out what the current price of our pillow was he grew so irate that he took the phone from his friend and proceeded to (try to) rip me a new one. I remained calm and tried to interject over his tirade that the old price he was given (three weeks ago) still held true, all he had to do was drive to one of our vendors & purchase the pillow instead of buying it over the phone. So I gave him the price he wanted, and he calmed a bit to hand the phone back to his friend. So when his friend asked me what the price of the pillow was I was halfway through my quote (alas! I was on the high half... :P) when the irate gentleman ripped the phone away again and tried to lay into me again. He damaged my calm a bit when he accused me of assuming that "because [I] am from Africa you think I must be an idiot!!"... His words, not mine. I proceeded to inform him warmly that due to our conversation being held via telephone, I actually had no idea that he was from Africa, congratulations, and did he want to hear the REST of what I had to say or did he just want to yell some more? He shut up long enough to hear me out, hand the phone back to his friend, and listen via translator instead.

The man bought no pillows...

But I felt rather proud of myself in that I used no profanity either before or after this conversation... *pat on the back*

Anyhoo... that's all for now. I think M is wanting to close up the shop, so I should begin to vacate the premises. Have fun all, see ya later!