Thursday Thoughts

At the coffeehouse drinking an Americano. As usual it is good. I have never had a bad one here. I can be sure of that point. In fact the only complaints that I have ever had here have been because of the other customers. The coffee is always good. The baked goods are always good and the service is always attentive and friendly. Is it too much for me to ask that the other customers behave like the members of the functional society that we live in. This isn't Bosnia or Somalia for Pete's sake. Is a little civility too much to ask?

Lover's Eyes - Mumford and Sons

Look around before you sit down. Take notice of the other people both in the coffeehouse and in the line. Take the time to actually read the board before you order. You have been standing in line for 30 sec to a minute maybe two at the most and that is plenty of time to make up your mind. This isn't Starbucks. Do not ask for something blended or whipped or extra foamed. Get your coffee sit your ass down and be happy that you are lucky enough to live in a country and a state and a city that really appreciates a cup of the good stuff. If you want a damn milkshake then take your ass to the Baskin and Robbins and get a damned milkshake.

Shaman's Blues - The Doors

Better yet. If there are a total of three seats at a bar location. Do not sit in the middle seat and spread out your gear so as to take up the space in front of the other two seats. This is akin too going in to the restroom and upon seeing a line of empty urinals stepping up next to the one other person using a urinal and peeing right next to them. This is clueless and rude and betrays you for the savage that you are. It does you a disservice and brings shame upon your family and your friends and any right thinking person would at this point choose to stop being your friend and just end the relationship entirely. Trust me. They are better off without you in their life.

Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Oh...and another thing. I get that you may be an a date of some sort with your lady friend. And good for you if you are. I get it the couches here are very comfortable and cozy. But seriously. This is a public place and you two are obviously not highschoolers. GIVE EACH OTHER SOME ROOM!!! I do not need to see your intimate relations in public. The baristas do not need to hose down the couches with disinfectant when you eventually untangle your entwined limbs and slither out into the darkness. That kind of shameful behavior belongs in the darkness and not out in the light among the decent people.

Isle of Avalon - Iron Maiden

This has been Lance's Coffeehouse Etiquette class for today. Get it together people. The world will be a better place for all of us.

Fantastic Friday

It is another amazing Oct day in Oregon. It is honestly hard to describe how lovely it is outside. It is Oct 18th and people are sitting outside at the Coffeehouse an the doors are wide open. I am wearing shorts and short sleeves. I firmly believe that Oregon is truly Gods country. I am American born and a native Cascadian by the grace of God and a Timbers fan by choice!

Join me in fighting for the freedom of Cascadia!! Let us shake off the yoke of the Federal Government!

Katrina & The Waves - Walking on Sunshine

Today just feels like a good day to me. That may be because I am seriously hopped up on my amphetamine of choice, Caffeine, but I am not complaining. I feel good today and lately these days have been few and far between. So, thankful for small favors. I am always grateful for a momentary respite from the doom and gloom that my psyche has been residing in lately. I am also incredibly thankful that I have a place to go where I can drink coffee and see people who always seem glad to see me. Even if they are faking it, they do such a good job of it that I always am glad to be there and that feeling really does make a difference in my life.

You all get a hug!!

Coffee-shop Etiquette

So I had an interesting conversation with my father a few weeks ago. He had told me that sometimes he goes and gets a donut and then takes it too the coffeeshop to drink with his coffee. Now this particular coffeeshop has pastries but not donuts. There is a company in Salem called Great Harvest that does some really amazing breads and scones and muffins and cookies and they supply this coffeeshop with those tasty treats but they do not make donuts.

I told my dad that I didn't think it was correct to bring your own treats to a place that already has treats for you to purchase. I do not know store policy on this but it just feels wrong to me. Well today as I was beginning my morning job search and enjoying my super tasty Americano, I noticed a fellow come in wearing a suit and carrying a cup of Starbucks. Now, the perceived quality of Starbucks coffee aside, it really seemed like the wrong thing to me to carry in another companies coffee to drink in a coffeeshop that makes a totally different brand of coffee. I just do not understand why someone would do that.

To me it is like taking my Big Mac to Burger King. Who does that? Why would you do that? Are you that clueless about things? It just makes no sense to me. It probably bothers me more because of how much I love Broadway Coffeehouse  but I also know myself enough to know that if I was in another restaurant and the same thing happened I would be taken aback by it. It seems a real lack of common sense to me to not drink or eat from the place that you are meeting. They are kind enough to provide you a location and sometimes free wireless and other things. The least you can do is too purchase something from them. Because if you continue to not purchase things then it is quite possible that the place could go out of business and no one wants that.

So in closing please continue to patronize your local businesses and support your community. If you are in Salem then by all means give the Broadway Coffeehouse a try. If you like coffee you will not regret it. They serve Stumptown exclusively and that, my friends, is good coffee.

(Puts soapbox away) 

Broadway Coffeehouse

As I mentioned yesterday and may have mentioned before on this blog. I like coffee. Some would say that I also have a chemical dependency on the caffeine that rides along with the coffee. I would say that has nothing to do with the fact that I like the smell and the taste of it. Sure, things would be horrible if I didn't enjoy drinking it but I really do like the taste of coffee and I love the smell and the process of it as well.


And thanks to the friendly folks at my local coffee house. The aptly named Broadway Coffeehouse since it is on Broadway st. I have found several new ways to take in my daily dose of the good stuff.

What I have pictured above is how I spent last Saturday morning. It was a nice Chemex of an Indonesian coffee along with the morning paper and a very tasty Marionberry scone from Great Harvest.

I personally can't think of a better way to start the day then to have a tasty cup of coffee and a nice pastry of some sort. One way for me to get both of those things is at the Broadway Coffeehouse and I just am unable to recommend it highly enough. So if you get a chance get over there and give it a try.

If you do not like coffee, God forbid, they also have tea and hot chocolate and Chai and lots of other things to drink that I am told are really quite tasty. I find it to have a very comfortable atmosphere as well. I basically have not had a bad experience there. They are open seven days a week from 6am to 10pm which is good because "anytime is the right time for coffee"
(That phrase is mine. I claim it by order of the internet bloggers collective.) They also have free Wi-Fi so you could be down there right now reading this while you drink their coffee. Think about that. Did I just blow your mind?

But, do not just take my word for it. Go down and check it out. You will be glad that you did.

At the Coffee Shop

Well I am back at the coffee shop enjoying my weekly splurge. But, I am not sure if I am enjoying it or not today. I seem to be in a bit of a mood. I am not sure what started it. I had a good day yesterday, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC championship and will be going to the Super Bowl. That alone should have been enough for me to have a good week let alone a good Monday but that does not seem to be the case.

I think it started with the two gentleman discussing politics at 7:30 in the morning when I walked in. That is far to early to start discussing the problems of America and the world. They are playing the new Decemberists album which I really like so that has started to pull me out of my funk a little bit. But, wait, in comes a gentleman who seems to be going to use the window bar to do some writing but he is not going to actually buy anything and in fact he is going to lecture those around him about how coffee is bad for you. I love it!!!

Please come into a place that exists to serve coffee and use its services without paying anything in return for them. That is the height of rudeness as far as I am concerned. I find it interesting that as I look at myself and what makes me tick is that I tend to judge people based not on creed or color but on whether or not they do something "stupid" in a social setting. But, what defines "stupid" is only something that I know and the definition changes all of the time.

I realize that this doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who knows me. I have always been a pretty big fan of people taking the time to listen and to not behave like the dumbest person in a crowd of people. That is unless I am at a sporting event and then I like to let the heckling fly. But even then I try to do it in a clever way and not in a crude way. I believe clever is what separates from the savages. *sniff*

I just hope that today is the day I am clever enough to find a job.

Coffee Monday

It is Monday and I am at the Broadway Coffeehouse enjoying my job search and my coffee and marionberry (sp?) scone. I find that even though I do not like being unemployed and I do need to find work soon. For reasons both economic and social and mental. I really do like having a Monday morning free to step in to the coffee shop have a cup or two or three and do some writing and some searching. It gets me out of the house and allows me to listen to people around me and to marvel at some of the things people say and how people act. I would again recommend the Broadway Coffeehouse to those of you who have not tried it out. I do not believe you will be disappointed at all.

I had an interesting past week and weekend. It was Thanksgiving and so I did all of the usual family stuff. I went to my Parents house and there were several members of the extended family there all from my mothers side of the family. Aunts and Uncles and Cousins and some assorted second Cousins it is always good to see them. But what I did this weekend that was different was that I took a drive out to the Brigittine Monastery in Amity, OR. The initial reason for the drive was because a potential wine tasting trip fell through and I had heard that the monks sold some very tasty fudge out there so I convinced or to be more accurate once they were in my car I just drove people out there. I found that I really enjoyed being out there. I live in a world of almost constant noise of some sort. It is either people talking or it is music or electronics of some sort and it is always around me. When we pulled up to the monastery there was a sense of peace and quiet all around me. We went into the main building which houses the gift shop and met a monk there who answered some of our questions and gave us a fudge sample.

(The fudge is amazing by the way. I purchased a pound of it for $10. It is really very tasty and I am sure that I should not be eating it. But I believe that since it is fudge made in a monastery it makes it Godly and I also understand that Godly fudge or chocolate has no calories to it. So eat away.)

The origin of the Brigittine order is an interesting one.

"The Order of The Most Holy Savior, popularly known as Brigittine, was founded in the year 1370 by St. Birgitta of Sweden to give praise and honor to God. Elements which characterize the Brigittine Order include a deep love of Christ, especially in remembrance of His sufferings, the fullness of liturgical worship, a respect for learning and authentic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the holy Mother of God, all incorporated into a simple monastic life style."


The comes from their website. But I am in the process of reading about the group and St Birgitta herself. I am finding it pretty interesting. I hope to share more about that in the future. But, all that being said I would encourage people to take the trip out there and check it out. The level of calm it can bring to you is simply amazing.

One last thing. I turn 41 tomorrow. I am in a completely different place this year then last year. I believe that is a good thing and as soon as I get this job thing taken care of then everything should be looking rosy. I do not mention my birthday to get attention I just want to make note that I am in a better place now then I was last year at this time. Well better emotionally and mentally if not fiscally but that is another issue. I just know that I wouldn't be in the better place I am in if not for the support of my friends. I will not name names I believe most of you know who you are and what you mean to me and I will probably be talking with you in some form or another as the week progresses but I just wanted to make mention of that and say thank you to them on my blog. You all mean the world to me.

Have a good week folks.