Summer 2014 August 7 Thursday (Coffee)

80 degrees this morning.  Thunder, lightning, light rain.  Walked 57.43 minutes, weights.  Rode bicycle yesterday morning about 41 minutes, adjusted somewhat to the wind!

Had a nice birthday “day”, Aliene made meat loaf, went to Outback for dessert.  

Coffee is one of my interests and I like to say my only vice.  For years (at home) I only drank Starbucks “French Roast” on a regular basis.  I even keep a backup coffee maker in case something happens to the one I am using!  

A friend (who also prizes excellent coffee, and is a little more likely to experiment with his coffee than I am) gave me a package of Starbucks Cafe Verona and I have decided to switch my regular coffee.  Since I have been drinking Starbucks “French Roast for at least 13 years and possibly as many as 25 years (I really can’t recall drinking any other kind at home, but of course I have), that is a major decision for me!

I”m not sure what the difference it.  It is slightly smoother and has a little more flavor than French Roast.  Anyway, I like it and I”m glad the Sams here has it!  Actually, for some reason, in Memphis, Costco had Starbucks French Roast, while Sams only had  Starbucks Medium.  Strange.  

Same with Peanut Butter (my favorite food).  Sams had Jif Crunchy, while Costco only had Jif Creamy.  (I like either one, but Jif Crunchy is my favorite).  

By the way, none of this name-dropping is “sponsored”. (I wish!)

Back for Coffee, I still have a package of Starbucks French Roast, so I’ll need to decide how to handle finishing it while still having Cafe Verona on a regular basis. 

Eating out, when I want coffee, is always an adventure, since after the morning period, many restaurants don’t know how to serve coffee. I have found Starbucks and McDonalds almost always have acceptable coffee.  In most cases, at McDonalds will make a fresh pot of coffee if you ask  if there is any fresh coffee available and McDonalds has the ONLY cup that I feel comfortable drinking coffee in the car.  I have tried a number of “car cups”, but none of them seem to work, that it is, they spill, or the ones that don’t spill are impossible to drink out of.

Starbucks and McDonalds have excellent coffee.  Steak n Shake has wonderful coffee in the morning or when when they make a fresh pot.  IHOP (based on limited experience) seems to have excellent coffee.  TGIFriday’s coffee tastes like bad instant coffee, so I never drink coffee there and in fact rarely eat there  anymore. On the Border and most Mexican Food restaurants just don’t have good coffee.  J. Alexanders coffee is lukewarm (they keep it in metal coffee servers which don’t’ really keep it hot) and is undrinkable.  Firebirds (Memphis) has great coffee if you get it fresh.  Outback normally has good coffee, although last night it was lukewarm and I couldn’t even get a refill.  Bonefish almost always has excellent coffee or will make it right if is isn’t.  

Coffee is one thing I will send back if it is even slightly cold or old!  I don’t drink carbonated beverages (Coke etc.), or   so coffee is really the only thing I like.  (I do like ice tea if it is strong enough, I hate ice tea when it  is more like water!)  My best bet is probably just to save the money and don’t order anything but water!  

I do always try to rate restaurants on “Yelp” on their coffee, if it is bad, good, fresh, old and how many refills I get.  

Anyway, I love coffee, especially strong and  hot coffee. Now, if I could just find a coffee cop so I can drink coffee while driving!  

That’s it for now, Thursday, August 7, 2014.

Winter 2013 December 20 Saturday

68 degrees, cloudy, rain coming in.  First day of Winter, 2013!

Sitting in Starbucks, working on computer and watching the world go by. There is a certain timelessness about sitting and Starbucks.  I especially enjoy it when I have the time to enjoy it, if that makes any sense.  I don't like drive-thrus anyway (nor drive-inns for that matter).   I don't like to eat in the car (or drink coffee for that matter, unless I'm on a long trip and I can't see any purpose in picking up something and eating it at home, unless maybe a pizza or ice cream.  A few years ago, I was taking a night class and it was convenient to stop by Starbucks and pick up some coffee on my way to class. I think I like the sense of the "experience", which includes sitting in Starbucks.  

All I drink is regular coffee (well, the strongest possible) anyway, with an occasional iced coffee when it is too hot to drink hot coffee (which is almost never), although sometimes I drink iced coffee just for the taste and the experience.  Actually I try not to drive after drinking two "Vente" iced coffees, because of the caffeine buzz, about the only time I feel coffee affects me.  I can literally drink several cups of coffee and then go to sleep. 

I frequently say "coffee is my only vice" and I"m not even sure it is a vice, except excess is a vice.  My biggest coffee in drinking coffee is finding a decent cup of coffee.  Starbucks is always good, as is Steak n Shake,  McDonalds is good as long as it is fresh and hot. It is really frustrating in a restaurant where you may pay $3.00 for a cup of coffee and they try to give you cold and old coffee (J Alexanders is the worst), or try to pawn off instant coffee on you (TGI Fridays, I just don't bother to order coffee there anymore) or just don't know how to make it apparently (On the Border).  I should start a "Hall of Fame" and a "Hall of Shame" for hot coffee, although there are many in the middle. 

Life continues in the "every day is a Saturday except for Sunday" mode, except that is not exactly true, as I am keeping relatively busy keeping up with searching for another position etc., as well as catching up on projects that got behind.  I am trying to keep my same routine, and after Christmas (well, may after New Years), I am going to set regular "office hours", so I don't get lazy.  I am already feeling the "leisure time spin" where I occasionally have some inept moments when I try to do choose between all of the projects I could be working on, books to be read etc.  On the job, it is easy to set priorities, but while "on the beach", there really are not priorities for daily use of time, although there is a significant overall priority.  

Maybe Starbucks is the sense of shared experience.  I am surprised at how many job interviews I hear in Starbucks.  Clouds are still going overhead, cars are stacking up in the parking lot at Starbucks.

Fall 2013 October 20

39 degrees this morning.  Didn't seem to be that bad, exercise went fine. 

Weekend half over.  We tried a new place for breakfast yesterday "Brother Juniper's" .  We have a wide variety of excellent restaurants within two or three miles, so we hardly ever get out of our area to eat out anymore.  However, after we decided to stop eating at Starbucks (we'll still enjoy the coffee!), we thought we would try something different.  Brother Juniper's has been rated as the "Best Breakfast" in Memphis.  It was certainly enjoyable and the service was excellent.  Parking was non-existent and there was a 30 minute wait at 8 a.m. (not a bad wait, coffee was available, some seating if you moved fast and some paintings to look at, but don't try it if you're in a hurry).  

My major yardstick, the coffee, rated five stars.  A different taste, but excellent and the service was really outstanding.  Coffee was refilled constantly, which I appreciate.

Speaking of coffee, some of the best coffee places are Starbucks, Steak n Shake, and Firebirds.  Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel coffee isn't quite as good (to me) for some reason, I definitely will drink it, it just isn't quite as good as the others.

 J. Alexanders coffee is luckwarm and undrinkable, just eat there and go across the street to Starbucks.  Also, forget it at On the Border, they just don't know how to do it.  

TGIFridays and Bahama Breeze seem to use some  type of instant coffee which is almost undrinkable.  Save your money.  I don't eat at Logan's Roadhouse much (no reason, just don't, I love their meat loaf) but I believe the coffee is usually ok.  I have learned to just not order coffee at any Mexican or Chinese/Japanese/Thia etc. restaurant.  You're either get some junky instant coffee or they just don't know how to do coffee.

Ruby Tuesday's also has excellent coffee.  Perkins has so so coffee, just tastes somewhat like Cracker Barrel and Bob Evans.  Rafferty's has excellent coffee, just insist on it being fresh (same at Firebirds).  The Blue Plate always has  excellent coffee, although we hardly eat there anymore (too far to drive).  After a weird experience with the Manager at the Texas Roadhouse (she is gluten intolerant and was more or less told to eat elsewhere by the Manager,) we haven't been back, but I seem to remember their coffee was ok.  O'Charlie's is uneven, if you insist on hot fresh coffee you will get it and it is good.

Macaroni Grill can have excellent coffee, but they seem to have a no refill policy, so I just save my money.  Red Lobster?  If I remember correctly, save your money, like almost any seafood place.  

What I resent most is paying $2 to $3 for a cup of coffee and then getting a tepid, old cup of coffee or not getting refills.  I assume the coffee doesn't cost much and they make a big profit on it.  I don't care, I'll pay, I just want a fresh cup of hot coffee with reasonably frequent refills!  

I could go over iced tea, but it is difficult to get tea as strong as I like it, but Steak n Shake has excellent strong tea. Most places in Memphis have good tea.  I don't even think about ordering tea in Oklahoma City, all you will get is slightly favored water.  

It has been a cool, but nice weekend.  I have my annual "audiocardigram" (or something like that) tomorrow.  Like the annual physical, I always am slightly stressed about the Doctor saying "I see a problem", but I believe it is better to know, than not know, if there actually is a problem.  

I have always had a very low heartbeat (38-40) and I'm not that worried about it, but I recently read in Dr.K about how it can indicate problems.  Of course, every new Doctor I sees checks it out and it is just normal for me.  

Looking forward to a day of slightly flexible time.  I have some things to catch up on etc., but at least I can do it on my own schedule.