delayed

Sorry for the delay in posting. I know there's only a couple of you out there that check regularly, pardon me all the same. It's 5:22am and I am at the end of a 12 hour shift of roasting. I am to crawl into bed soon and sleep and then Sarah and I will continue to move into our new rental home.

We should be settled soon. Come visit. There's room for you.

xogrk

huh?

So, half price tapas and a glass of sangria in the spring sunlight makes one feel more alive than in past moments of an otherwise florescent day. SLK & I had good experiences in our respective restaurant bathrooms. Sarah enjoyed the way her night vision kicked in, and I had the feeling I get in a dingy bathroom in Chicago or Central America. The feeling is kind of a nostalgic, euphoric, springtime feeling. I want to walk out of whatever hole I have been in and spend some time wherever I might find myself. Inevitably, I have to go to a hotel bed or keep moving down the road. This time, I meet up with my wife in the hallway and walk into our own euphoric spring.

Swift Update: The morning was delightful hanging with Sarah and coffee and eggs. Work was chaotic as usual, however, there was a fresh level of mellow in the building. Let us nurture that, no? I have been taking moments on top of the building lately. It has a good view of downtown kcmo. The view offers a glimpse into the bustle of the little hispanic community underneath. I can then dump my cooled cup of coffee down four stories to the ground. Ah, freedom...

xo

Introducing Rodeo Bob!

Saturday rundown

1. blueberry oatmeal pancakes & coffee
2. coffee
3. Sarah gets a lead on teaching ESL with a salon of Latin American ladies
4. Kemper Museum of Modern Art
5. hunt for chocolateer
6. custard
7. baked coffee
8. aromatic destruction
9. nap
10.Man vs Wild

what a week

This work week is finally over. It housed well over sixty hours of roasting and lifting and shlupping green and roasted coffee. All the folks here busted 'it' real hard to get a giant amount of coffee through a very small operation. There is more to come. I am, however, relieved to be on the other side for the moment.

Sarah and I ate some fine mail order deep dish pizza and zoned to our favorite boxed program of Man vs Wild. It's 8:30pm, and Sarah is out. I may not be far behind.

Looking forward to enjoying some more normalcy, we will visit Broadway Cafe tomorrow morning. We are then going to trudge through the rain to the modern art museum to pay respects to a couple DeKoonings they have there.

As far as latte in the photo is concerned, some baristas offer more love than others. Red beard man, you have a different love consistency. Your technique is not unified. Perhaps you rushed, perhaps you were distracted. I forgive you.

gettin to it

So here's a photo of the gent I am making some music with. He goes by the name of John. I am learning a lot of new things from playing with him. We hope to have some micro sets coming soon. If you'd like to hear some of the sounds we make, come to KC. It will tickle your fancy. And we'll serve custard.

Did I mention Sarah is 3 months pregnant?

Two down prior to death

Monday, Sarah and I celebrated being married for two years straight. We found a window of time between shifts of madness at Parisi. Night shifts mixed with day shifts have left me feeling gelatinous. Sarah and I figure we appreciate each other enough every day to not need to designate an event once a year. We will, however, use the day as an excuse for sharing some fine grub together.

We are trying to take a photo of the two of us and separate profile portraits every year. That way we can eventually watch our annual aesthetic development.

much love to you all

calcium

I have discovered a way to get some calcium. It comes masked by espresso blended in foam. Something about a barista crafting a latte with skill makes me feel as if I am enjoying a legitimate caffeinated beverage. Milk and espresso mixed together by some one counting the hours between smoke breaks tastes different than that prepared by some one digging their work environment. A workspace filled with the company of local freaks, familiar music and a relaxed atmosphere where time is expected to be required of one to wait whilst their beverage is prepared is conducive to some forms of art. That is all.

I know of some who put love in their lattes who do not enjoy such a workspace. Create away, Kizze. xo

finally

We have, at last, obtained a picture of Owen that captures his cuteness.

There you have it. He's a cute cat that really enjoys hanging out in the bathroom. He either lays on the bathroom floor or on the threshold between the carpet and tile. dunno why.

By the way, happy birthday to Ryan. Apparently it was last Friday. Being a guy, I had no idea. so, here's to you. Much love to you.

head on straight

That's it. Keep your head on straight.

Sunday

I have touched on it lately, but I must touch again. This particular job we have at work requires a lot of hours of labor with various involved stages, i.e. cutting bags of green coffee open and weighing the coffee, loading it into the top of the roaster, roasting it, cooling it(while keeping the previous steps flowing in cycle), weighing the roasted coffee, bagging the coffee, applying a tin tie, folding it and palletizing it. We are working at most hours of the day including weekends. It's a rewarding job, in that we get to work hard and see the physical fruit of our labor. The pleasure I get from it is that of sweeping a floor. Sweep, done; so unlike corporate life can be. I feel healthy to be sweeping floors, getting fit from humping bags of coffee around, and smelling like roasted coffee smoke. Getting back to what I enjoy doing is satisfying. It is not my ideal long term job, but it is sustainable.

When I refer to 'we' above, I refer to the fantastic crew of people I work with. Screwballs we all are to a degree and from a certain perspective. I am seeking an environment in which to work where all share the same goal and act with honor and respect towards each other and the brand for which we toil. All aspects of the business must be processed internally and either changed to suit the culture or assimilated by professional compromise. Of course, compromises must be made to change a small business culture. Often, the compromised ground can be regained in time if it is worthy of fighting for. That is, is it or can it be a viable business part? If so, how(much)? Or is it a point of soul for the brand? In which case, that must come from within the team, and cannot be stated before hand. Grow it on your own. More on this later.

Much love to all of you. Keep thinking.