Crazy for you...

Here are a few things, in no particular order, that I am crazy about. And by crazy about I don't mean I like these things a lot, I mean I'm nutso:

1)When I'm drinking I often have a need to either place my glass or cup dead centre on the coaster or to line it up against some design or feature, usually a line, on the table. Anyone who has had a drink with me and who is either somewhat observant or has seen Paul try and move my glass when I'm not looking knows this about me.

2)Sometimes I feel a need to tap trees or poles as I walk by them.

3)When taking a newspaper from the newspaper box I have a very difficult time taking the paper from the top. The second one will do though I prefer to go down a few further. If it is a broadsheet style paper I won't take it unless the various sections are all lined up and tightly packed. If it is a tabloid or berliner style paper I won't take it unless the top and bottom are, for the most part, even. I will then take the paper, fold it, and put it in my backpack at which point if it is a broadsheet style paper the various sections may not remain lined up and tightly packed and if it is a tabloid or berliner style paper the top and bottom may not remain even. This apparent contradiction does not bother me.

4)When sitting in a room, no matter how many times I have been in that room, I will count ceiling tiles or venetian blind slats or anything similar that I am able to count. I am pleased if I discover that different windows have the same number of blinds and bonus points are scored if I can discern a not very obvious pattern in tiles.

5)I don't mind stepping on sidewalk or walkway cracks as long as I can step on all of them or at least step on some of them at a regular occurrence. If this is not possible I will attempt to step on none of them and I will adjust my gait accordingly to achieve this.

6)When driving or being a passenger in a car I like to count the broken lines on the centre of the road. For a reason unknown to me, though possibly it has something to do with the majority of modern music being in 4/4 time, I count the broken lines in fours. I am very pleased when the lines pass in accordance with the beat of whatever music I happen to be listening to and I'm also very pleased when the final line in a section corresponds with a four in my count.

7)When I'm drinking coffee from a paper cup with a lid the seam of both the java jacket and the cup need to be directly opposite the mouth hole of the lid. If I'm not using a lid, I still need the seam to be directly at the back of the cup so that my finger tips touch it. If I'm drinking coffee from my travel mug I need the mouthpiece to be at a 90 degree angle to the handle with the handle to the right side. If I'm drinking coffee while driving in my car, I prefer to place the cup in the passenger side coffee holder. If I actually have a passenger I may let this one slide as I wouldn't want the passenger to think that I am, in fact, crazy.

Workplace Satisfaction.

Would it be wrong to quit a job because they ran out of coffee? Because we're out right now. And I'm not pleased. Not even mildly amused.

Spit Out Your Coffee Funny!

I was just reading Richard Dawkins' thus far excellent The God Delusion when I came to this passage:

The journalist Andrew Mueller is of the opinion that pledging yourself to any particular religion 'is no more or less weird than choosing to believe that the world is rhombus-shaped, and borne through the cosmos in the pincers of two enormous green lobsters called Esmerelda and Keith.'

It was at the point of reading the word Keith and realising the absurdity of a lobster named Keith, or the unlikely pairing of an Esmerelda with a Keith that I had just taken a sip of too hot espresso. The espresso almost made it's way out of my mouth and onto the pages of the book, but I managed to hold it in, though I burnt my tongue in the process. But what was I to do? It was a library book.

And speaking of coffee mugs...

As you can see, I haven't deleted my entire blog and I've even been writing a little here and there. A number of people have told me they're glad I still am and who am I to deny giving the people what they want? The thing that I liked most that someone said to me about it was along these lines: Even though I don't really get too personal here, there is so much going on in my mind that reading my blog is like having a quick coffee with me. You get a bit of a glimpse of what I'm thinking about or what is interesting me at any given time. I like that thought, so with that in mind, I continue...

Water Advisory? Whatever.

Because of the heavy rains and winds of the past few days Vancouver is currently under a boil water advisory. Basically the weather has stirred up the reservoirs, increasing the amount of silt in the water which makes it more difficult to filter. So Vancouverites are either buying bottled water or boiling their water beforehand. I fall into the latter category. However the big issue here is not the drinking water but rather an unforeseen victim of the advisory. Namely, coffee. In spite of some popular misconceptions about what the drug of choice is here in our fair city, the fact of the matter is that Vancouver is a city fuelled by caffeine, powered by the bean if you will. As someone said to me on the phone this morning, "All of the newspaper headlines should be,'Vancouver grinds to a halt.'" Here's something you may not know: coffee should ideally be made using water just under boiling temperature. So how does one make good coffee and still serve safe water? Well, apparently one doesn't. Unable to get enough safe drinking water, many of the city's coffee shops have closed down. Lots of people make their morning brew at home, but a large percentage of Vancouverites like to leave their morning cuppa to the pros. And the pros just aren't providing. Which means a lot of cranky and tired people are running about, not quite able to function at their full capacity. It should all be back to normal in a few days, but until then, please spare a thought for the poor, caffeine deprived, headache addled Vancouverites. Be patient with them.

On Being A Grown Up.

A couple of months back, I wrote about my milestone of ordering decaffeinated coffee for the first time in my life. Since then I've had it a few more times, though maybe not as consistently as I ought to, because, let's face it, I prefer the real deal or at least the thought of the real deal. Anyhow, today I took that one step further. Today I bought whole bean decaffeinated coffee. That's right, I brought the stuff into my house. I ground it in my coffee maker. I brewed it in my espresso maker. I'm drinking it right now. It's okay, though not as good as the usual espresso I like to have in the evening. A number of things have brought this on. A few recent nights of being awake until after 3h00. (Though only one of those can be blamed on coffee. (You're right Donna, it was crazy of me to have that Americano at the movie on Tuesday.)) As well, the onset of the rains (yes, they're coming) and the dark nights means more evenings at home. And if I'm sitting at home of an evening, I really like to drink coffee. I guess I'm now at an age where I can't drink real coffee too late and expect to sleep well. And though I'd actually rather be awake well into the night, I have this job that I have to go to in the mornings. So for now, decaffeinated coffee it is. Sometimes.

Milestones

I feel like I've entered a new stage in my aging process. I passed two milestones in my life this weekend. The first one was getting a pair of scissors...a tiny pair of scissors. We're all friends here so we can talk about body hair, can't we? The purpose of the scissors? Trimming too long nostril hairs. Now, having hair growing from one's nostrils is certainly not a new phenomenon for me and I assume for most men. And I've been trimming or yanking them out for a few years now, so that isn't the milestone either. Up till now I have used too big scissors, or nail clippers or any other implement I thought might get the job done. But now, I am the owner of a small pair of scissors whose sole purpose for me is to trim my nose hairs. Does that make me an old man now?

The next milestone has to do with my not very good sleeping abilities and a certain beverage of which I like to drink way too much. Coffee. For the very first time in my life, this evening I ordered a decaffeinated Americano. I've drank de-caf before but in those instances it was either forced on me, given to me unawares, or there was no regular good old caffeinated coffee to be had. Tonight I actually ordered and paid for a decaffeinated coffee of my own accord. Apparently my sleep is now more important to me than my coffee. That may take a little while to sink in. For the record, it tasted alright and no one seemed to notice. As I was up way too late last night and am tired, I don't know that this is a good night to judge whether or not the lack of caffeine affected my sleep at all. That said, I'm off to bed.