Mocha: The Coffee Drinker's Gateway Drug

Thanks a lot Campus Crusade.  I never drank coffee.  I never liked coffee.  It smelled great but tasted bitter.  I'm not a coffee drinker!  But then in 2007 I went to the Campus Crusade for Christ Christmas Conference (alliteration!).  Also known as CCCCC.  Not the catchiest title.

Anyways my mentor, Jeff, found out that I didn't give coffee the time of day.  He was appalled!  Why people get appalled when others don't like something that other people suffer "caffeine headaches" from I'll never know.  We probably just want another person to support the addiction :).  Jeff knew better than to take me to the Starbucks in the hotel and order me a cup o' Joe.  Nobody likes Joe at first.  He looks great from afar, but he is a bit stand off-ish.  Especially if he wasn't a family friend to begin with.

No, Jeff ordered me a mocha.

He ordered 2 actually and put them on the table in front of me and my friend Kevin (also not a coffee drinker).  He said he would leave them there while we all talked.  If we wanted to try it we could, but no pressure.  I'll admit I was skeptical.  It looked like coffee that learned some manners, but underneath it was going to be the same ol' Joe.  But then I took a sip.

I was wrong.

Very wrong.

All of a sudden I was soaring through the clouds!  It was delicious!  I couldn't believe it!  It was coffee laced with cocaine! 

Okay maybe it wasn't that great, but nevertheless it became my gateway drug.  From then on whenever Cassie wanted to go get coffee I would join her and get a mocha.  By the time my birthday rolled around in April she bought me an espresso machine.

I was hooked.  Did I become addicted?  No.  I actually drink coffee maybe once a week.  But now I like coffee.  I respect it.  It DOES taste good!

So thanks Jeff.  Thanks CCCCC.  I now understand what the rest of the world is talking about.

The Potting of the Bonsai

There it is.  My first bonsai pot.  I just got it this past Friday.  It was a tough decision since I had to buy it online.  I could not find a place within 3 hours of the North Shore that sold bonsai.  It was a bit nerve-wracking having never done a bonsai before or bought a bonsai pot.  To alleviate the process I went with some basic principles I learned from the plethora of bonsai books I have picked up from the library.

The length  of a bonsai pot should be about 3/4 of the height of your bonsai.  My bonsai is about 12 inches high so I was looking for a pot about 8 inches long.  I wanted a rectangular pot because I am doing a sort of informal upright/clump style bonsai.

When a bonsai is in a rectangular pot you do not want it in the center.  Only styles like the formal upright should be in the center.  Mine should be about 1/4 of the length from the side.  The off-center concept is common knowledge for photographs and interviews.  It creates interest.  A subject that is square in the center is boring to watch.  Next time you watch a documentary or any sort of interview pay attention to where the person talking is, they will usually be a little off center.

You may recall how tall the last pot my Ficus was in.  If you don't, (and you are too lazy to click the link) it was probably about 12" tall.   This pot is about 2.5" tall.

Needless to say, it required a lot of trimming.

All bonsai pots have large drainage holes in them.  Bonsai soil is meant to let water flow through it so the roots do not rot.  I had to cover the holes with some drainage mesh so I wouldn't lose soil every time I watered the plant.

Usually when you first repot a bonsai you have to put wires through the drainage holes to secure the tree into place.  Also notice the remains of six trunks.

 

I was able to cover up the trunk remains with the soil.  The pot is in a tray with stones and water to provide humidity.  Its not the prettiest tray in the world but I'm taking baby steps with supplies.  The Ficus needs more humidity than an apartment in Chicago in winter provides since it is a tropical tree.

There it is in all its glory.  It's obviously not done, it still needs wiring and some more trimming, but I am very happy with how it has turned out!

The Law of the 150

In Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point, he talks about The Law of the 150. The idea is basically that the average human mind can only keep track of a network of interpersonal relationships consisting of 150 people; after this point it seems people have a hard time keeping track of all the various relationships between the people in the group. Gladwell goes on to argue that organizing people in groups of roughly 150 is the most beneficial way to do things and cites a few examples of groups who follow the law of the 150, ranging from companies to religious communities.

As I was reflecting on Gladwell's book I was also trying to figure out how to simplify my life. So, a while back I thought, "Why don't I apply the law of the 150 to my stuff?" I'd make a list and limit myself to possessing only 150 objects.

However, things got complicated very quickly. For example, should a pair of socks be counted as one thing, two things, or should they just be counted as a category (all of my socks counting as one thing)? Over time the idea lost steam and never really got off the ground.

But, I found inspiration to have another go at it tonight. I attended a book club meeting devoted to simple living and the book for next month deals with getting rid of clutter. I probably won't wind up reading the book, but I did announce my scheme to the group and told them I would be back to talk about it next month. So, now I have some accountability to make sure that I get below the 150 mark by February.

I'll keep everyone filled in on how my progress is going by updating to the blog. In addition, I plan on posting a final list when all is said and done. My hope is that by sharing this other people will perhaps find some inspiration live with less and find more contentment with what they already have been given.

p.s. I did manage to solve the sock dilemma and will be counting a pair of socks as one thing :D

2010

We have entered 2010 and we still call it two thousand and ten.  How did this happen?  Did we call 1999 one thousand nine hundred and ninety nine?  No!  Once the year 2000 hit we all got used to saying two thousand and one, two thousand and two, etc...  For me, this was a major shift, and during 1999 I quietly wondered how it would work leading up to the year 2000.  Having some of my most formative childhood years in the 1990's (years 4-13) I was used to saying nineteen ninety-six, nineteen ninety-seven, etc... It was over ten years ago, but the question has finally come back.  Do we say two thousand and ten just like we said two thousand and nine, or do we switch back to the much more comfortable twenty ten?  We couldn't say twenty zero-nine but that year is over now.  Say hello to twenty ten!

American Colonies

I just finished the book American Colonies by Alan Taylor.  It was incredible.  The books is a behemoth at 477 pages, but worth the read.  It cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had about America's history, and I learned a ton I never learned in high school history.  Basically reading this book taught me more about American History than my high school American history course.
It's an overview that starts from when the Native American ancestors entered North America through Russia and ends right before the American Revolution.  Some of the misconceptions it cleared up were:

The first Thanksgiving was not so safe and happy
Columbus' contemporaries did not think the world was flat
African slaves were sold by other African chiefs
to name a few

The only inaccuracy I came across was his understanding of the Puritan's God.  He referred to their Calvinist views towards God as an arbitrary God who chooses whoever for heaven and hell.  Though Calvinists do believe that you can't earn heaven, I don't think they consider God as arbitrary.  He basically made God seem more cold and distant then I believe Puritans thought.  He did do a good job overviewing Jonathan Edward's views though.

As a side note, this book really made me want to play Age of Empires III for the computer.  It is a real time strategy game.  The book made me want to play it because the game is based in the American Colonies pre-American Revolution.  It does an interesting job giving each European civilization its own strengths and weaknesses.  I especially love how the French have an easier time gaining Indian allies, which is pretty accurate overall historically.  Real time strategy (RTS, another TLA!) games are great, but they are also maddening too me as they take a lot of micro-management.  Nevertheless I find myself wanting to play this game.  Another cool feature is that you can get shipments from the European home country to help you out during the game.

Anyways, 2 reviews for the price of 1!  Can't beat that in this economy!