Lilac Colored Glasses

I fell in love on my second day working in the coffee kiosk.

It was an immediate gut reaction coupled with a hungry desire to explore the object of my lust.

The cream whipper. My precioussssssss.

Many of our drinks come with the option of whipped cream, so we go through somewhere around 10-12 liters a day. When I was learning how to make the cream I was told that we put a bit of vanilla syrup into the cream as well, to sweeten it up a bit.
Well then of course I looked at our multitude of other flavor options and began to dream.
Sweet, sweet daydreams of hazelnut whipped cream or cherry whipped cream or, even something more intriguing like banana coconut whipped cream. Oh the possibilities! But sadly, I’ve never seen a cream whipper anywhere aside from coffee bars.

Until this week.

Yes, Cloruyt is selling this in it’s Collishop store (where I believe we may register for a few things for the Belgian reception).

Now I just have to convince CB that it is a necessary part of our future life together…

I started this blog three years ago today.

I really never thought it’d still be around as I tend to not really stick with most personal projects for very long, but here it is, still going strong. To celebrate I’m going to do something I’ve been planning on doing for a while now (no, not updating my blogroll…I suck, I know): post an updated 100 things about me list. It’s been about 2 and a half years since the last time I did this so some things about me have definitely changed, but since I am still essentially the same person, there will be some repeats on the updated list. Anyway, happy 3rd blogiversary to me and here we go…

62 Things About Me, (version 2.0, to be continued)

1. My favorite colors are still purple and green, with blue in close second

2. I love seafood, with the exception of lobster

3. My spiritual beliefs are a blend of atheist and buddhist

4. My cultural traditions and background are Jewish

5. I’m named after my grandfather, Kenneth and my great grandmother Mildred

6. I have traveled to Canada, Belize, Guatemala, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, France and Germany

7. I have one younger brother. He’s a sous chef and is under the delusion that he’s always right

8. I expatriated to Belgium in 2007

9. I speak Dutch

10. My fiancé and I do not own a car

11. I am currently employed as a barista (good thing I spent all those years getting a college education, right?)

12. I have a tattoo on my lower back

13. I have 3 more tattoos planned

14. I used to have 3 facial piercings, not counting my ears (1 in my tongue and 2 in my eyebrow)

15. I may get my eyebrow, nose or lip redone soon, depending on what my fiancé will tolerate

16. I can make really good chili and lasagne when I take the time to do it right

17. I want to have 3 children

18. I can force myself to eat every vegetable except Brussel sprouts

19. I have 2 cats, Rex and Luna

20. I used to have 2 ferrets, Scylla and Brutus

21. I can voluntarily dis and relocate the middle knuckle on my right hand

22. I’m ambidextrous with the exception of writing

23. I like teddy bears

24. I love Arthurian legend, Viking, Celtic, Greek and Roman mythology

25. I thought vampires were hot before they became trendy (and I still do)

26. My favorite gems/stones are lapis, sapphire, amber and emerald

27. My favorite flavor in coffee is caramel

28. I like Brusselse waffels, but not Luikse waffels

29. I’m pretty sure I’m a sexual synasthete (sorry dad, if you’re reading this)

30. I aspire to write curriculum for gifted pre-schoolers

31. I love the beach and the ocean

32. I used to dream of being a marine biologist

33. My 2 idols growing up were Eugenie Clark and Madeleine L’Engle

34. My favorite childrens’ books are Where the Red Fern Grows and a Wrinkle in Time

35. The book that most directly influenced me is Parable of the Sower

36. I can listen to the same song on repeat for hours if I really like it

37. Places I’ve never been but want to go in the U.S. are New Orleans, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and Bangor

38. My not so secret vice? Soap stores. Especially Lush.

39. I love, love, LOVE to read

40. I sang in several choirs in highschool

41. I had one of the leads in my senior musical

42. I have a Bachelors degree in psychology with minors in english and anthropology

43. Ideally I want a masters in early education and a doctorate in curriculum and possibly another bachelors in women’s studies

44. I will never be rich

45. Every man I’ve ever dated has been born/baptised Catholic

46. I hate being cold

47. I have a difficult time identifying what’s actually bothering me when I get upset

48. I’m only patient when it comes to working with children

49. I smoked for 10 years, but quit when I was 26

50. Places I still want to see in Europe: London, Paris, Rome, Athens, Auschwitz (don’t really want to see this one, but feel obligated)

51. I like pretty much any non-cheese based soup

52. My favorite fruits are blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and cherries

53. Tragically, I’m allergic to cherries

54. I don’t like cantaloupe or honeydew

55. I’m allergic to pretty much every weed/tree/grass there is

56. I’m a die hard Steelers/Penguins fan

57. I gave up on the Pirates about 15 years ago

58. I don’t think I have a “prized possession”

59. Hypocrisy is my major pet peeve

60. I’m more than a bit socially inept, really, if I was a child in this day and age I might be tagged mild aspergers

61. I personally believe children are over-diagnosed in this day and age

62. I need routine to live productively

Please stop tossing your money across the counter at me. It does not make you look cool and it is not in any way, shape or form polite. I understand if you choose to place your money on the counter, but please stop throwing it.

Please speak to me when you are buying something. even if it’s just a brownie. Do not pick it up, hold it up in the air and stare at me like you’re mute. Part of the whole customer/barista interaction is… y’know… the interaction. Speak!!!

For the umpteenth time, if you’re in a hurry, do not order a cappuccino. Milk foaming takes time. If we tried to predict/premake everyone’s order, you’d all end up with cold, nasty drinks. If you want something fast, ask for something prepackaged in a bottle.

No, we do not sell phone cards, bus tickets, sandwiches or beer. Just because we’re the only place that is open late and on Sunday does not mean that all the other shops in the station give us their inventory to sell to you. We are a coffee stand. We sell coffee.

When the metal covers are pulled over the windows and locked and the lights outside of the kiosk are off it means we are closed. Open windows means open. Closed means closed. No, we can not break your 50€ bill. No, we will not make you a coffee. Closed means exactly that: closed.

And last, but definitely not least, the hole in the lid of the take-away cup is for drinking, not for straws. I know you all, as a country, seem to be unable to comprehend drinking your coffee through a hole in a lid, but really, trust me, it’s much easier than sucking 180° hot chocolate through a straw. You’re probably drinking melted plastic that way anyway. Drink your coffee through the hole.

Thank you and please come again.

As long as you follow these basic rules.

Which means that Poetry Month is over and I’m finished with the daily poem. I would, however, like to submit my 5 best poems for consideration to Robert Lee Brewer’s blog, so I’m asking for feedback. If you were willing to stick with my poems this month, would you mind listing your 5 favorites in the comment section? I’m not a great judge of my own work so I’m asking for some objectivity from you, my devoted readers.

Also, May, the month of my long awaited, much anticipated wedding to CB. Yes, I will be getting married in 29 days. Going home to Pittsburgh in 3 weeks. Seeing friends and family and a real, juicy 100% beef hamburger for the first time in 6 months. There are no words for how much I’m anticipating this trip. And how much I’m anticipating the moment CB and I put the rings on each others’ fingers and become husband and wife.

So yeah.

Flowers are blooming, the sun is shining and there are a lot of good things just up ahead.
Time to take a deep breath and enjoy life a little bit more.

“For today’s prompt, write a letting go poem.”

Finger by Finger

I’ve let go of habits.
I’ve let go of expectations
and deadlines
and pride and
in some cases, dignity

I’ve let go of so much.
But there are just some dreams
That I can’t help
but clutch.