OK, I m one step farther towards my dream vocation. Well, no, I m one step back. Oh well, you decide.
One of the things I mentioned in was that I wanted to learn how to do barista-things like running an espresso machine and brewing the best darn cup of coffee ever made. I thought I would ask this: How much do baristas make, and can you make a living off of it if I wanted to do a career change?
Well, who to ask?
introduced me to Jessica from , and through her I met Margaret, who is a trainer at the Atlanta roastery (and a really nice lady). If anyone knows the answer, she would. So I asked her how much baristas make, and this is the response I got:
Professional baristas earn a nice living in Europe.
Unfortunately, here in America it tends to be more of a minimum wage plus tips job. The Barista Guild is working to improve this situation, and you may want to check out their website, , as well as the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) website, , for further information on the specialty coffee industry. You may even want to attend an SCAA meeting.
They have educational sessions and short seminars in addition to the trade show floor activities. The SCAA is a wealth of information for anyone interested in any aspect of the specialty coffee industry. There are also publications such as Fresh Cup and Roast magazines that would provide you with insights into the industry.
Visiting websites of various roasters might be useful for you as well. Best wishes to you.
Hmm, maybe I didn t want to know.
Or maybe I did. I had heard about the from Fortune many times, but hadn t actually looked into it much because well, it requires money in order to join, and money is a fairly scarce commodity right now (well, unless I want to cut back on the coffee, fall asleep, and run into my fellow motorists on I-285, which they would not appreciate.)
So, minimum wage, eh?
Apparently you can not make money as a barista, at least over here. (Well, enough money to take care of a family of four. If I was a single guy, I d jump on it.
)
Ehh, I ll pass. I ll check into the SCAA if I want to get seriously into the coffee trade, and hang out on for now.
Disclaimer: I don t know diddly-squat about zen or all that.
I just thought that sounded like a catchy title.
OK, so the isn t perfect. Mark said it wasn t, and he s right.
It does some downright quirky things sometimes, like the trick disappearing CD-ROM drive. If it were a magic trick, it would be pretty cool, but it s not. It s just weird like that.
You have to reseat the thing, shut down all applications that might need to access it, then redetect it in Device Manager (it s considered a USB device), and voilá! The drive returns!
I ve had to do this many times since last week, but you know what?
Free is good, and it s just a loaner anyway. I can live with it, and I don t need the CD drive that often. 
It s kind of fun to tweak around with it in my spare time (what spare time?
), anyway. I ll see if I can fix it permanently later.
Anyway, last night I asked my dad if I could borrow an AC/DC inverter so I can run the laptop off of the cigarette lighter in my car.
He had an extra one that he didn t need for the month, so that a was blessing. This morning I plugged it in, turned it on, and
nothing. The light didn t come on on the inverter, and it was not providing any juice to the laptop.
Hmmm.
At first, I thought blown fuse, happens sometimes , but when I checked the fuses, they were all fine. Then I fiddled around with the lighter connection behind the dash, which was easy to do because I don t have a radio installed in the truck right now.
Playing with the connection for a few minutes, I discovered that one of the two leads connected to the back of the lighter assembly was not making good contact. I bent the lead a little bit to fix the contact, plugged that assembly back in, plugged the inverter into the socket, and we were golden. AC power to the laptop.
Now I don t have to worry about the machine hibernating because of a low battery during a really creative moment. 
The things us NaNoWriMo participants do. Now I have a nice comfortable and private place to write inside my truck during my lunch breaks.
I even figured out the best ergonomic angle to balance the laptop on the steering wheel. So I m equipped. Less than 8 hours to go (EST) until NaNoWriMo begins.
I hope my fellow writers are ready, because now I am. I can t wait!
Thanks again, Mark.
I ll give you a cut of the royalties once I m a bestselling author and rolling in the dough. (Remember, it s only old if you ve heard it before!)
Costello: Thanks.
I m setting up an office in my den and I m thinking about buying a computer.
Costello: No, the name s Lou.
Costello: I don t own a computer.
I want to buy one.
Costello: I told you, my name s Lou.
Costello: Why?
Will it get stuffy in here?
Abbott: Do you want a computer with Windows?
Costello: I don t know.
What will I see when I look at the windows?
Abbott: Wallpaper.
Costello: Never mind the windows.
I need a computer and software.
Abbott: Software for Windows?
Costello: No.
On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business.?
What do you have?
Costello: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
Abbott: I just did.
Costello: You just did what?
Costello: For my office?
Costello: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
Costello: Yes, for my office!
Costello: I already have an office with windows!
OK, let s just say I m sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal? What do I need?
Abbott: Word in Office.
Costello: The only word in office is office.
Abbott: The Word in Office for Windows.
Costello: Which word in office for windows?
Costello: I m going to click your blue w if you don t start with some straight answers! What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?
Costello: That s right. What do you have?
Costello: I need money to track my money?
Costello: What s bundled with my computer?
Costello: Money comes with my computer?
Costello: I get a bundle of money with my computer?
How much?
Costello: Isn t it illegal to copy money?
Abbott: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.
Costello: They can give you a license to copy money?
Abbott: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
Abbott: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
Costello: How do I turn my computer off?
All right, that s it. I ve had it. Tell me what you think about this.
You ve been at the same company for 3½ years, and even though you didn t think you would like the job in the first place, you ve stuck around because it s a good company. Even though the commute is terrible, it s a good opportunity because there are potentially greater opportunities here. So you ve turned down an opportunity that was closer to home and might have paid more money, because the company may potentially have some openings somewhere else, and maybe, just maybe you d be picked out for a promotion.
Just maybe. Maybe.
Here you are, stuck in a situation where you feel stagnant.
You re not learning anything new, and most recently the only enjoyable duty you had was taken away from you because of bureaucratic red tape (and possibly favoritism).
You re tired of your job, tired of not using your talents for something you enjoy, tired of spending 2½ hours on the road every day (along with an over $200 per month gasoline bill, plus vehicle maintenance).
The other job opportunity you got recently just didn t feel right, so you turned it down.
Your friends are telling you that you should get out. Senior employees are telling you that you really should find a better job to get out while you re young and you are still marketable.
The money, the promotion, and the honors do not seem to be coming.
Yet you wait. Because of potential. Because you didn t really have peace about the other opportunities you ve looked into.
Because you need job security and a salary in the meantime.
I m 99.999% sure that other opportunity was not the right one, but I m also 100% certain that I m tired of waiting.
If, by some miracle, a promotion with more money or a better opportunity does show up at this company within the next few months, I will take it.
If, however, the promotion does not come quickly (i.e.
by the end of the year) and another opportunity pops up, I may just take it this time.
I will keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities elsewhere. I have been under-promoted, under-appreciated, and underpaid for three years now.
While this is better than the outright abuse and persecution I experienced at my last job, and the salary is slightly higher, when I look at the overall I ve been talking frequently perhaps too frequently on some of the difficult things I am going through right now. This morning on the way to work, I was contemplating how, even in the midst of troubles, God is here and He is taking care of us.
In the world you will have tribulation.
But take heart; I have overcome the world. Gee, thanks, Jesus. This Scripture is one of those that just plunges a thorn in the side of many teachers doctrines.
Many Protestants will preach to you that if bad things are happening to you, it s because you re in sin. Charismatic Protestants will tell you that somewhere you opened a door to the enemy. Yet very few teach from this Scripture, John 16:33.
Few will tell you that you re going to encounter trouble by default: if you re born, you signed up to experience trouble. Many easy-greasy preachers will tell you that becoming a Christian takes your troubles away, yet they cast a blind eye towards those of their flock who actually experienced trouble in spite of their teacher s teaching, and turned away from God because of it.
Trouble is going to happen.
I ve had to get my mind around that somehow, through prayer, study of the Word, and several years of just plain hard experience. Yet the thing to remember in the midst of trouble, something I keep coming back to, is that the fact that we go through trouble does not point towards flaws in God s personality. Over and over again I have recalled Scriptures and have come to the conclusion that despite the tears, despite the anguish, and despite the numbers that just don t add up, the truth is that if I am seemingly finding flaws in God s character, the problem is not actually His character or that somehow He is turning away from His Word in my situation.
The problem is my perception of Him, His character, and His Word. The fault is inside my belief system, not in Him.
I have been profoundly taken care of.
Not only do I have the assurance that if I die, I will be with Him, I also have that assurance that no matter how bad situations are around me, God is here with me. He s inside my spirit, and even though outside things are really, really bad sometimes, inside I hear that still small voice: it s going to be OK. It s going to be OK.
It s going to be OK.
Becoming a Christian doesn t mean you get a free ticket to heaven along with a great time on earth. Receiving the Holy Spirit and being able to hear God s voice does not exempt you from difficulty in life in fact, it can increase troubles around you, because with greater revelation comes greater accountability.
If you know God s will as revealed through His Word, you have no excuse.
Things get complicated when you live by convictions. When other Christians are either backsliding or embracing things in their life that will harm them, and don t see why you re such a religious Jesus freak.
When others of the faith will laugh at you and scorn you if you voice convictions closer to the Word of God than theirs.
But it s OK. In this world we will have troubles.
But Jesus has defeated the ability of the world to ultimately harm us. Many of His disciples were martyred for their faith that sounds like trouble to me of a most dire nature! Yet they were ultimately taken care of.
They stuck with God to the end, and in the end He took care of them and has been taking care of them ever since. Though their bodies ceased to breathe, their spirits went to be with Him. Though they experiences pain and heartbreak in this earth, God has wiped every tear from their eyes.
They are with Him. He is with them. He is with us.
We as Christians are not exempt from troubles on the contrary, troubles will increase if one lives by the Word. But even though we experience troubles, things will be all right. Ultimately, things will be profoundly OK.
And here s why. I change one little thing in my blog (I don t know what I changed!) and the sidebar now appears at the bottom of the blog instead of, gee, at the side where it belongs?
??
I ve tracked it down to a problem with a post on the main page.
Now I ll have to hunt for the offending post. Oh, what fun. Sigh.
Edit: Well, I have no idea how to fix this, and I m tired. My posts look perfect (well, the code does, at least!).
If you do, email me. If not, get Firefox and you ll have a better day.
If it looks correct in IE7, let me know.
I am now two steps closer, and less than two days closer, to beginning my 50,000 word (or more) novel.
, the official handbook for . Just got my copy last week, and it s helpful and funny.
I need to have fun with this. It s been ages since I have written fiction for sheer enjoyment for the sole pleasure of writing. I don t need to chain my plot down to a rigid outline.
I just need to take the basic characters and scenes in my mind, put them to paper, and see what happens from there. To let the creativity flow.
On Wednesday, a man named Jack Zimmerman will find himself thrown into the futuristic world of Horizon City.
He has no memory of where he came from or who he is, and he will have to find out in short order, because
I still don t know what I m going to call it, but Unnamed Science Fiction Story has a nice first-draft-y ring to it for now.
In other news, NaNoWriMo now has a available. If you would like something that looks like this:
then all you have to do is find out your UID (unique user number).
The easiest way to find that is to log in to your NaNoWriMo account and go to . Your UID will be displayed on that page. Plug that into the following bit of HTML:
where xxxxxx is your UID, then stick that bit of code in a nice-looking place in your template.
Presto! You now have bragging rights or other people have the right to rib you and make fun of you forever. (Personally, I prefer the former, although if I drag my feet during the month, you have my permission to ask me how I m doing!
)
So there you go! That s your geek moment and your creative moment, all wrapped up into one convenient and easy post. Cheerio!
One of the things young children tend to teach parents is the ability to explain complex topics to them in the simplest of terms. Take patience , for example. One day, Sarah was being patient about something (probably one of us getting her a snack), and I told her, Be patient, sweetie.
She asked me what patience means.
What is patience ? There are more difficult words and concepts to explain, such as predestination, death, and sanctification, to name a few.
I could give Sarah the Webster s definition of the word, whatever that is, but she might not understand it. So how did I end up describing it? Patience is when you wait and be quiet while you are waiting.
Wait and be quiet. Be quiet and wait. So easily the words come.
So easily do they roll off the tongue, so easily they are repeated, so easy they are used as weapons towards hapless passersby.
Patience.
I m having a really, really hard time with this concept right now.
It s easy to understand when one gives the definition to a four-year-old, but difficult to handle in this twenty-eight-year-old s emotions.
What do you do when the mountain will not move? When one has spoken to the mountain, shouted at it, used all one s faith formulas on it, tithed and give offerings toward its removal, rebuked the devil, and done everything else one knows how to do and it still does not move?
When one has used all his own strength up countless times and used all of his spiritual might in prayer many more times, and the mountain, undaunted, looms above with a sneering grin in its menacing face?
Be still, and know that I am God.
Patience.
Sigh.
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