My Brother and I were chatting the other night....

...never mind that I was in class at the time. (Dianne!)

He was home getting ready to watch "Top Gear" and he asked me, "Which is faster? Man or car?"

Sounded like a trick question to me. So I didn't answer.

Later he sends me two emails:

1) The man is faster than a Fiat Panda...in case you were wondering. They raced around the London Marathon route at rush hour and the car lost by eleven minutes.

2) "The man beat the car on about 1/2 horsepower and some toast!"

Love that brother of mine!

New Blog Title Needed?

I am procrastinating on homework...shocker. Only one more Saturday of homework after today! For at least four months anyway...

But I was wondering...should I change the title of my blog? Since I'm now longer a barista? I guess deep in my heart, once a barista, always a barista but maybe there's a better title to be used.

Open to suggestions...now I'm off to post some pictures from San Francisco!

I LOVE my sister!

I had to place an order for my brother-in-law. Online shopping carts do not accept orders from Sudan, for some reason. So, I asked my sister for her credit card number. This is how she sent it to me. The XXXX represent the numbers; I didn't think it wise to post them here. ;)

"There were XXXX ducks when I last counted. XXXX of those were mallards. There is .XXXX percent chance that I miscounted, but let's just assume I didn't. That still doesn't account for the fact that XXXX of the said ducks are not in a row! What's a girl to do? Can't wait to see your back in less than XXX days. Such a relief that I don't have to wait for a Visa. I can come whenever!"

I still needed an expiration date for the card, so I asked, "If you had a Visa, would it expire?"

Her answer: "It might, MAYbe in 2010."

End of My Starbucks Era

This coming week is my last week at Starbucks. I am hanging up the green apron. In honor of this momentus occasion, I present a list of things I will and won't miss at Starbucks.

MISS:
Free pound of coffee/box of tea per week
30% discount in stores
19% discount on Verizon bill
Starbucks Paseo baristas
Free drinks while I work

WON'T MISS:
Frappuccinos
Tall Nonfat Extra Hot Semi-dry Cappuccinos & other obnoxious drinks
Customer humor like "Do you have any regular coffee back there?"
Breakfast sandwiches in all forms
Food warmers in general
Frappuccinos
Peeling bananas at 6 a.m.
Tips in the form of rolls of change
Dressing head to toe in black because coffee stains blend in
Ball caps (L.A. county health code)
Frappuccinos

OK so the "won't miss" list became longer than the "miss" list, which is either a sign that it's time to quit or that it's just easy to complain about work things. Or maybe both.

Glad that I made so many friends over the years - good baristas make good friends.

Moving

Five weeks from Monday, I'm moving! Moving back to Nashville. I didn't think I would be so ready to go - but man, I'm ready for the next five weeks to fly.

I'll miss California (at least some things about it) and I'll miss my friends (though I expect to see some of their faces in Nashville before too long).

But I'm really excited about seeing what happens next. Starting in June, life looks different. I'll have two roommates joining me in my house - Sarah F. and Sarah G. It'll be weird to be back in my house (though I expect to adjust quickly after the smallness of my CA apartment). And it'll be different to have two other people there. But I'm excited for the change - and it'll be nice to have people in the house while I travel.

Yes! I'll be traveling quite a bit between June and February 2010. Yay!!! I think that's what makes me most happy - to be moving around, city to city, state to state. I decided this winter that if I don't have an e-ticket in my inbox, I experience a mild panic attack and seek out someplace to visit. (Not sure if this an addiction or just a sign that I'm supposed to be traveling for a living.)

I really have no idea what to expect come June 18 when I arrive back in Nashville. There will be some adjustment to the city, people, the house, the traffic, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm ready to be back in my community where people know my story, my history, my dreams, my AGE. Yes, my age. I'm fine when people think I'm 26, but I really like 33 and the experience that comes with it. And I kind of grow tired of explaining what it is I do for a living.

Most of all, I think I'm ready just to start applying what I've been learning. I'm ready to get back into my church community. I have enjoyed being at Cornerstone in Simi Valley and hearing Francis Chan speak most every week. But there's something about being involved in ministry; I don't have that opportunity so much in CA. And I'm ready to start doing more for my sister and brother-in-law and Sudan. I have no idea what that looks like really but that's OK.

So in five weeks, the next phase of whatever begins!