my walk to work takes less than five minutes.
it's something like three or four blocks.
but in that short stroll i've been asked so many different things by different people.
some of which include

do you have spare change
do you have time to talk about mercy corp
do you care about polar bears.
do you want some good weed
do you want to legalize weed
do you want to support our basketball team
do you have the time
did you vote
do you have a smoke
do you have a light
would you like to buy the homeless newspaper
do you want to toke up
would you like to buy this guitar
(i'm told its a classic)
do you have a light
do you have a light
do you have a light


most days i have to say no.

i'm excited for two reasons.
well, maybe more.
but two of them are because my mother-in-law is coming in this week
and, because she is, we are all going to make the pilgrimage to the mecca downtown that is Powell's Bookstore.
there is a powells a few blocks away from where we live but you don't need a map to navigate it.
i'm pretty excited.
i'm going with a list.
maybe mccarthy's no country for old men
or the omnivore's dilemma.
i'm really in need of a good book.
got any suggestions?

coffee 101...

today i went to a coffee class for peets.
we talked about what coffee is.
where it comes from.
we tasted different kinds from different growing regions.
slurped them down and used descriptive words like

toasty
wild
biscuity
buttery
fruity
clean
bold
and
balanced

after three hours of sippin my hands where shakin.

i'm really enjoying my job.

i've decided that i really shouldn't be drinking an 8 cup presspot of coffee on my own.
i've also decided that eggnog is not for lattes.
it looks good on paper but we need to seriously rethink that.
have you ever tried to steam eggnog for a latte?
i came home this morning from work with bits of nog in my hair.
this holiday i will take mine cold thank you.
with a little rum.

mish and i rented the wendell baker story this weekend.
it had all the wilson brothers present and accounted for.
kind of seemed like a bottle rocket reunion of sorts .
but not really.
not nearly as witty.
but the movie takes place in austin and i think watching it made me actually miss texas a little.
of coarse i miss my family and friends like crazy but i hadn't missed texas all that much.
until this weekend.
i got to admit that there is a little bit of pride in my voice when i tell someone i've moved here from texas.


mish is out helping a friend tonight paint some walls in their basement which is in the process of being finished out.
i'll be heading to work in a little while for our holiday meeting where i will be presenting this years holiday blend.
exciting.
it is sort of embarrassing how bad some of us nerd out on coffee.
you should hear some of the things my co-workers say.
some of the things i now say.
its crazy.