Notes from caffeineville

One small voice in a hill of beans

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Did you ever have an object that you loved too much?


Well this is mine.

My beloved Leica M4 P, a two-pound workhorse of a camera that is practically my other set of eyes. This camera sees the world exactly the way I see the world.

I just posted her on eBay. It's time to let go.

Word of the Day:

Sacrifice n.
1. the offering of animal, plant, or human life or of some object to a deity, as in propitiation of homage. 2. the person, animal or thing so offered. 3. the surrender or destruction of something valued for the sake of something having a higher or more pressing claim. 4. something so surrendered or lost. 5. a loss incurred in selling something below it's value.

I Love Sushi!!!!

That's all for today.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Survey





What is your favorite coffee-house drink, and why?

What is your favorite sandwich, and why?
(If it's an unusual sandwich, please tell us how it is made.)

I'm doing a little market research, for no reason - really, I swear.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

It takes a big man to accept your small tips



My Husband is a bartender and a server at a local restaurant - he does this because, as a professor in a small local college, his pay is....unreliable.

My husband earns each and every dollar on hope, hope that his customers will be sane, hope that they will enjoy their food and his service - but mostly hope that he will get tipped appropriately.

If you eat at his restaurant, for the duration of your meal, you are his employer. He basically works as an independent contractor; he has no insurance, no sick days, no vacation days and his base pay is below minimum wage because it is the custom in this country to tip 15% for good service and 20% for great service. For some people this is a career - not just something that little Jenny does during her summers home from college. These people work hard, they are on their feet for hours at a time and they navigate crowded rooms with hot liquids and sharp implements, they are diplomats, baby-sitters, and counselors all while smiling and remembering that the folks at table 12 need an extra fork and have to catch a movie in 20 minutes.

As the keeper of the books in our family I enjoy great stress every week because we never know how much money he will make. A week of rainy weather? Bad tips. Kitchen messes up the order? Bad tip. Tourists? Crap shoot. Yes, he has a lot of wonderful, regular clients who eat there each week. If it weren't for them we'd be eating ramen noodles every night.

All I'm asking is that you think about it next time you tally up your restaurant check; was your server good to you? Did they give you a little of themselves? Then, please - be good to them.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Much Better, Thank you



I have a goal; an outlet for my anger, a place to express my creativity, someplace to feed my desire to contribute to society, and to fulfill myself as a Chef and an entrepreneur.

I have a PLAN.

More later.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Frustrated



Sometimes being a woman sucks, I'm in a crappy fucking mood today - sad, tired, and angry. What is really bothering me, though, is that I can't trust my own emotions. Am I really angry, tired and sad - or am I "just" PMS-ing. Do hormonal fluctuations negate actual emotions, or intensify them? Most days shit just rolls off my back, but not today.

Nothing makes me more mad than someone you are arguing with using PMS as an excuse, as in "you aren't really mad at me for crashing the car, you're just PMS-ing" No, mother fucker, I'm really mad at you for crashing the car! (fictional example)

Someone this week has been making me feel very crappy about myself - that I'm lazy, ungrateful, spoiled and selfish. I'm upset that this person feels this way, and I'm upset that they are getting to me and I'm beginning to agree with them. Nothing is more frustrating than questioning your self-worth along with your emotional stability. Let me add weak to my list - weak, sad, tired and angry (and possibly hormonal).

pooh.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Aiiiiiieeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am:
34%
Republican.
"You're probably one of those chicken-littles who thinks maybe we should worry a little bit, occasionally, about the fate of the planet that our lives all depend on."

Are You A Republican?


NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I wanted to be 0%!
I don't really want to be classified, especially as a Republican.
I know, I know - then why take the quiz? Because the power of Satan compelled me; 666!
(btw, the Hitler question didn't really have any good answer)


Word of the day:
Petard n.
1. an explosive device formerly used in warfare to blow in a door or gate, form a breach in a wall, etc.
2. a firecracker making a very loud noise
---Idiom. 3. hoist by or with one's own petard, caught by the very device one had contrived to hurt another.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Aaaaaah

Do you know what is a really great feeling?
When you have just the slightest little sunburn and you get in to bed at night with crisp cool sheets and the breeze comes in through the window and gives you goose -flesh.
I love that.