Out of Hibernation
14/06/14 05:05
There is nothing like a jolt of java to pull a man out of a slumber. There is more to the story than just the java though. Not sure it is a story that needs to be told but it is one that deserves maybe just a moment of reflection. Nothing more and nothing less. Perhaps more notable is the fact that I'm back on board with my journal if only for today. Then tomorrow it will be only for tomorrow. And on it goes. But it starts with a bang and ends with a whimper and as ass backwards as that seems that is the way it is. I'll go for long periods not even thinking about this here journal and then as predictably as the seasons come and go I return to it as faithfully and with all the heartfelt dedication that I can muster. The coffee in my head helps with the mustering and the sanctity of the early morning hours where distractions are few make for a perfect storm where I can sail the high seas without fear of falling overboard. Maybe more akin to walking a tightrope as I sit here at 5:22 on a drizzly Saturday morning. Can someone please take a little more slack out of that net?
Evan is home from school for the summer now. We were just getting used to having him be away and now he's back. Our biggest concern was that we were going to have to make serious adjustments in our schedules and thinking since he has been out of sight and out of mind for so long. Not having to worry about the comings and goings of your children can be immensely liberating and that is was while he was away at school for the last year. We didn't have to go to bed each evening worrying about being awakened at all hours of the morning if and when he decided to come home. We didn't have to worry about seeing to it that he had something to eat or that he was paying the proper amount of attention to his health and well being. We didn't have to worry about his being out with his overly indulgent friends and what that might mean for him in the scheme of things.
It is also true that things don't always work out the way you imagine they might. I wouldn't have guessed, for example, that we might not see him for days at a time. I wouldn't have guessed that he would end up with a job but that too has become a reality. So what if it is only part time. But his momma worries nonetheless and perhaps that is her nature and not altogether a bad thing. We only ask that he check in from time to time and that means once a day. That is asking a lot of a son who is coming into his 20th year and apparently finding his own way in life despite our best efforts to hold his hand along the way. His friends are still overly indulgent and into things that can get Ev into trouble so we will worry for him since that is what we do best. The local newspapers are replete with stories about teenagers running afoul of the law and lives ruined and even lost so the lot of us need to be mindful of such things. He more than us but that goes without saying.
Speaking of drugs and all things nasty and illicit, not that I would put caffeine in either of those categories, I decided to buy one of those K-Cups machines. Not sure what I was thinking. Maybe I was bored after countless years using a Melior pot and this more recent innovation seems to have gained a modicum of respectability amongst coffee drinkers. Besides, if Starbucks was selling them they must be the real deal. Now that I have one, I have to believe that Starbucks sells them because they did not want to find themselves at the tail end of a tsunami that was taking the coffee market by storm. Starbucks was not selling them because they thought it the best way to brew a cup of coffee. They simply did not want to be left behind when every other company under the sun was selling pods and increasing profits exponentially as a result of this latest innovation.
In the process, they gave credence to an otherwise inferior product and have done a disservice to their customers and the generations of coffee lovers that have beaten a path to their counters since they opened their doors in downtown Seattle in 1971. Starbucks lowered their standards and the public noticed. I noticed but only after buying one and finding that it just doesn't get the job done. It does little to produce the kind of body I like when I have my coffee. The pods don't have enough coffee in them to get the job done and that is no doubt by design. And whatever happened to roast dates? The spectrum of acceptability now includes this vacuum packed bullshit? I made the mistake of putting my trust in my favorite vendor when it came to making this decision and I feel somewhat betrayed. I will continue to try to make the best of my purchase despite my somewhat troubling experiences to date. I can use my own coffee with this machine so there may be an acceptable outcome that I can live with yet. It does deliver a cup of coffee more quickly than I can get mine together using the melior pot so that may be the real allure of the machine. I was looking for quality and they were selling convenience. Doh!
Evan is home from school for the summer now. We were just getting used to having him be away and now he's back. Our biggest concern was that we were going to have to make serious adjustments in our schedules and thinking since he has been out of sight and out of mind for so long. Not having to worry about the comings and goings of your children can be immensely liberating and that is was while he was away at school for the last year. We didn't have to go to bed each evening worrying about being awakened at all hours of the morning if and when he decided to come home. We didn't have to worry about seeing to it that he had something to eat or that he was paying the proper amount of attention to his health and well being. We didn't have to worry about his being out with his overly indulgent friends and what that might mean for him in the scheme of things.
It is also true that things don't always work out the way you imagine they might. I wouldn't have guessed, for example, that we might not see him for days at a time. I wouldn't have guessed that he would end up with a job but that too has become a reality. So what if it is only part time. But his momma worries nonetheless and perhaps that is her nature and not altogether a bad thing. We only ask that he check in from time to time and that means once a day. That is asking a lot of a son who is coming into his 20th year and apparently finding his own way in life despite our best efforts to hold his hand along the way. His friends are still overly indulgent and into things that can get Ev into trouble so we will worry for him since that is what we do best. The local newspapers are replete with stories about teenagers running afoul of the law and lives ruined and even lost so the lot of us need to be mindful of such things. He more than us but that goes without saying.
Speaking of drugs and all things nasty and illicit, not that I would put caffeine in either of those categories, I decided to buy one of those K-Cups machines. Not sure what I was thinking. Maybe I was bored after countless years using a Melior pot and this more recent innovation seems to have gained a modicum of respectability amongst coffee drinkers. Besides, if Starbucks was selling them they must be the real deal. Now that I have one, I have to believe that Starbucks sells them because they did not want to find themselves at the tail end of a tsunami that was taking the coffee market by storm. Starbucks was not selling them because they thought it the best way to brew a cup of coffee. They simply did not want to be left behind when every other company under the sun was selling pods and increasing profits exponentially as a result of this latest innovation.
In the process, they gave credence to an otherwise inferior product and have done a disservice to their customers and the generations of coffee lovers that have beaten a path to their counters since they opened their doors in downtown Seattle in 1971. Starbucks lowered their standards and the public noticed. I noticed but only after buying one and finding that it just doesn't get the job done. It does little to produce the kind of body I like when I have my coffee. The pods don't have enough coffee in them to get the job done and that is no doubt by design. And whatever happened to roast dates? The spectrum of acceptability now includes this vacuum packed bullshit? I made the mistake of putting my trust in my favorite vendor when it came to making this decision and I feel somewhat betrayed. I will continue to try to make the best of my purchase despite my somewhat troubling experiences to date. I can use my own coffee with this machine so there may be an acceptable outcome that I can live with yet. It does deliver a cup of coffee more quickly than I can get mine together using the melior pot so that may be the real allure of the machine. I was looking for quality and they were selling convenience. Doh!