Change... It happens.

I haven’t blogged in a year and there are a lot reasons for that.  My life is much different today that it was one year ago. What has changed?

I have traveled this year and seen 7 countries and been on three continents. I will blog more about my travels. After almost 25 years I am single again.  I do not own the coffee shops any longer. I live in a three bedroom apartment in downtown Terre Haute now. I have a job, yikes!

So soon, very soon I will be blogging again. Stay tuned! 

More Life Lessons

I really enjoy my international friends. The more international freinds I have the more this makes sense: (Borrowed from another blog) "When you get to know people with different ethnic backgrounds, from different cities and countries, who live at various socioeconomic levels, you begin to realize that everyone basically wants the same things.  They want validation, love, happiness, fulfillment and hopes for a better future.  The way they pursue these desires is where things branch off, but the fundamentals are the same.  You can relate to almost everyone everywhere if you look past the superficial facades that divide us."

Never do anything thinking there is a chance to failure. I have a hard time practicing this. Gene Krantz said: “failure is not an option” when they were trying to find solutions to the problems of the Apollo 13 moon shot. Personally, I know my attitude changes when I have that little doubt of failure in the back of my mind.

No one wants to admit it but everyone is a hypocrite.

The most interesting people I have ever met couldn’t figure out what to do with their lives.

Sometimes there is not justice., because justice is rarely achievable. But look around the country, there are many who will not hesitate to destroy lives demanding it.

Kindness and a smile can almost always make someone’s day. There have been times that just by being uncommonly pleasant I have been able to turn a customer from being rude to one that walks away being nice. Most people will realize their being and ass when you try hard to be kind to them.

Life is a trip you have to take by yourself. You will have lots of guest along the way but very few are long-term.

Trusting my gut!  My “Gut feeling” is almost always right. The tension in my abdomen speaks volumes about how I truly feel about something. I know you “don’t judge a book by its cover.”  There are people I meet for the first time and just do not feel good about them. I hate to sound judgmental because that is not what I am talking about. You can just tell sometimes about some people.

Every time I over analyze something I always come the wrong conclusion. I hate it when I think too much. I try to take things at face value and when I do things work out better. Saying I won’t over analyze and actually not over analyzing are two different things.

There are always a certain people who feel it is okay to judge me. I try not to let it bother me and try not to be like them.

Although you might think so, no one is keeping track of how many times you screw up!  There will always be some who take pleasure in your misery but they do not keep score.

Self-examination is the only path out of misery… at least it should if you’re honest with yourself. You can always find the truth but admitting it to yourself is another problem all together.

 To write a person off as worthless or not worthy of being a part of your life is an act of great violence. But sometimes you have to write people off.   Sometimes you have to remove certain people from your life, even if they’re family. From another blog I read: “If a person wants to be a part of your life they will make an obvious effort to do so.  Don’t bother reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay.”  You can do everything possible to build and maintain relationships but sometimes you have to give up. 

I thought I would give you an update.

It has been a busy several months. We opened the new store in Brazil. I’ve also been busy with the other stores and trying to cram in Portuguese lessons. Trying to learn a new language is very difficult; maybe more so as I age. The issue is that I have little chance to practice what I learn by trying to converse with someone in that language. You can memorize all the words and in fact I have great vocabulary in Portuguese but when it comes down to actually putting into use I really struggle. SO…I’m not happy with my progress.  I do have some help but it is only about an hour per week.

This is a busy time in the coffee business. It will stay pretty busy until mid-December then drop off and won’t pick up until the second week of January. Additionally there are several charity events we participate in. ISU homecoming is this weekend. We always book a lot of music in October and November too.

I haven’t blogged in a while; I just haven’t felt like it. I could have found some time to do it but it just wasn’t a priority. You can always find time if something is a priority or important to you! I could have set aside five minutes here or there but when it is not a priority or important I didn’t want do it.

 The Mid-life crisis thing doesn’t seem to be easing any. When I think I understand what is going on I learn I don’t have a clue. It is odd, I still find myself wandering at times; no real goals, no “zest” for life. I don’t know how to fully explain it. I’m sure there is a light at the end of the tunnel but I just don’t see it at this time.

Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great” wrote:  “In the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life and it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.” I wonder how much of mid-life doldrums are caused by not feeling my work is meaningful.  Or feeling some parts of my life are not meaningful?  I’ve been successful but I don’t feel successful.  Robert Burgelman, Stanford Professor said: “The single biggest danger in business and life, other than outright failure, is to be successful without being resolutely clear about why you are successful in the first place.”  

Who knows how long this last but it really seems like it is lasting forever! 

Well…that is the update.  Maybe I will blog again soon! 

The American Coffee Party. "...too small to succeed…and because tea is for wimps!"

Owning a couple of coffee shops I have the privilege of hearing and participating in political conversations on a regular basis. The American Coffee Party is my answer to politics in America today. The core principles outlined below are based on the collective of conversations i have had. In general they reflect a majority of the people I speak with. The majority of these conversations have taken place with folks that would consider themselves democrats. Ironically some of these ideas are center or a little right of center. Probably reflective a more conservative "Midwestern" attitude. 

The reality is this;  people from all walks of life and all income levels are very frustrated with the current state of the economy and politics in general.  Regardless, this is not the time to argue about the smalls things. Until we put people back to work our only focus should be the economy. We can worry about the other things later.

By the way…I am “officially” not announcing my candidacy for the Office of The President of the United States. I am not seeking that office because I am not a “slime ball politician.” Nor will I ever seek that position.  Although this was just for fun I have to admit I do believe in these ideas.

The American Coffee Party.

What do we stand for?

      1.    Fair and short election cycles. We believe that the election process for national offices is out of control and extremely corrupt. Therefore we would propose the following:

a.       Primary Process will only last for eight weeks followed by twelve weeks of campaign prior to the election on the first Tuesday in November.

b.      National campaigns will be publically financed and not to exceed $25,000,000.00 per presidential candidate and not to exceed $150,000.00 per senate and congressional seat. No outside money can be accepted. No outside influence of any special interest, PAC or other organization will be allowed.

c.       Term limits:

                                                               i.      Two terms not to exceed ten years in office for President. Additional two years if a vice President takes office over half way into a presidential term.

                                                             ii.      Three terms and not to exceed seven years for congress. Additional year in the event a congressman has been appointed due to vacancy.

                                                            iii.      Two terms for senators not to exceed 10 years.

       2.   We feel that serving the United States in public office is a privilege that does not include lifetime benefits currently afforded those who serve. Public service or serving the public in Washington is just that, Public Service! There are no benefits of a pension, health insurance plan or any other benefits that go with the job or go with you when you leave the job. You did your service to our country, be proud of your service but we aren’t going to pay you for the rest of your life.     

       3.   The practice of a President appointing various Tsars for special purposes will be abolished.                                  

4.    4.   Money, Lobbying and Lobbyist. Lobbying is within our right as a citizen. We understand that it can serve the purpose, when handled correctly, of informing a member of congress of all the possible benefits and shortfalls of any legislation. Therefore, the only acceptable forms of lobbying are as follows: E-mails, personal visits, phone calls. No money,  no PACs, no soft money, etc. will be allowed to corrupt the process. Public financing of campaigns will take care of a lot of this but no public official will be allowed to accept anything from anyone lobbying for any reason.

      5.  Taxes. The IRS and or current system of taxation should be abolished. A flat tax is the only system that is fair and just. Everyone pays the same percentage of their income regardless of how much they earn. We feel everyone should have “some skin in the game!”

      6.   Abortion: Worrying about this issue right now is like rearranging furniture on the deck of a sinking ship!  No public funding but it will not be the goal of this party to overturn this issue.

      7.  Gay/Lesbian rights. We are all Americans; therefore we believe in a live and let live policy. We are not about giving special rights to any group nor are we about denying rights to any group.  Live and let live.                                              8.       Education.  We believe the department of education should be abolished. Money should be sent to each state in the form of blocks grants. It should be up to the State and Local School Corporations to determine how best to educate the students in their respective areas. Federal Mandates adversely affect some areas while helping others. Therefore a cookie cutter approach nationally is a waste of time and money and does not produce the results we need as a nation to stay competitive in the world.

      9.    Immigration.  Everyone is welcome but you are only welcome if you enter legally. Our borders will have to be secured through every means necessary.

      10.   National Language. Our national language is English. This is one of the things that tie us together as a nation of people. Therefore our national language is and always will be English.  We will no longer accommodate other languages other than to provide the opportunity to learn English through publically financed language courses.  The immigrant should intergrade into our society not our society changing to fit their needs.                                                                                                                                                                       11.   Energy. As a matter of national security we should be as energy independent as possible. There are vast resourcing remaining in the country that has yet to be tapped. The first place we will look for our energy needs our within our borders. Additionally we will invest in viable green technologies for the future. 

      12.   Foreign Aid. We are glad to have you as our friend but if we have to pay you then you’re not our friend. The only forms of foreign aid will be for humanitarian reasons and in the event one of our “friends” around the world has suffered a national catastrophe, famine, etc.

      13.   Military. We believe in a strong military with defensive and offensive capabilities. However we do not believe our military should be used as the world’s police department. We would propose the following:

a.       Military bases around the world number between 490 and 1180. An accurate number is not obtainable. We will close 75% of these bases and focus on protecting all U.S. assets in U.S. territory.

b.      No involvement in any conflict unless the U.S. or a U.S. territory is threatened. No involvement in any conflict unless a vital U.S. interest is threatened. No Involvement unless U.S. territories, citizens or assets have been attacked.

      14.   Decriminalize marijuana. This is a revenue opportunity for the Federal and State governments as well a large cost saving.  Regulate it better than we have done with alcohol!!!

      15.   Balanced Budget. We believe the federal government should never be allowed to spend more everything it brings in. Annual budgets are never to be based on projected tax revenue.  Therefore we believe the federal budget should never exceed the 95% of the precious year’s tax revenue.  

      16.   Gun control. Leave our guns alone. Even though I only own a shotgun I want the right to purchase a gun/handgun.

      17.    Race Relations. Can we stop segregating ourselves by hyphenating our citizenship and just call ourselves Americans.  And can we just stop with all the political correctness, hypersensitivity and just fix the problem we have…and do it together? All of this is divisive and does nothing to bring us together but it keeps us apart.  Honestly, I’m 44 and most of my generation does not care where you are from and what color you are! We believe in “live and let live.”

I'm sure someone will be offended by something in this but that wasn't my intention. I'm frustrated too and just feel better writing a few thing down.  

Brazilian women, Livemocha and a suicidal fish! A random post for fun.

 I’m not sure how many people who read this have learned a foreign language but it is challenging. I’m learning Portuguese; specifically Brazilian Portuguese.  After 40 plus years of only speaking English I have found that my brain does not want to be exposed to anything different. I'm using a couple of programs to learn. I want to talk about one of them, Livemocha. 

Livemocha is web based language learning program. The website is: http://www.livemocha.com Actually, this is a pretty good system since you are subjected to reviews buy native speakers of the language you are learning. You submit both written and spoken exercises that are forwarded to a native speaker. The native speaker has the option to review or not review. They can review and respond with audio, written or both. You as a student are also given the opportunity to review the work of those (in my case) learning English. Now there is also a rating system for each exercise. It goes from 1 to 5 stars. 1 being  the worst and 5 being perfect.

  The review process I spoke of in the above paragraph can be brutal when you are on the receiving end of the feedback. Most Brazilian men that provide reviews should not waste their time. There reviews will consist 1 star and feedback of “not very good, practice more” or  “your accent is strong and you don’t pronounce certain words correctly.” I wouldn't mind the reviews if they were productive but they are not. My response to some of these men are:

“No shit, I have an accent!?!?!”  “You seriously took the time to tell me I have an accent but can’t tell me specifically what words I need to work on?”  “I’m learning okay, so next time please provide me with actual feedback that is helpful or don’t review my submissions!”

On the other hand, Brazilian women are very nurturing. Brazilian Women will take time to actually help you. It is funny how nurturing they are. First they’re very encouraging with a “Muito Bom!”  Translated: “Very Good!”  Even if you know you did not do that good of a job they will  at least recognize the effort. Next they will list the words you wrote or spoke incorrectly. This is extremely helpful and if it were not enough they will record a review for your submission. This way you can hear how to correct your mistakes. At the end of the review process they will finish with “bom trabalho, continuar a aprender!” Translated: “good work, keep learning.”  And they will sign the review with “beijos” which means kisses and is pretty standard close with no real meaning! Sometimes the women will even volunteer to help more through video chats on skype.  Overall, Brazilian women are very helpful! I have even used help from some of these women on skype. They have the patients of Job! 

I said as part of using the site you are given exercise to review which brings me to this: The ratio of English speaking people to all others must be 1 to 100 because I am bombarded with friend and review request. I had to cap my friend list at 100, otherwise I would never be able to learn Protuguese. All I would have time to do is review others submissions. I have earned a top teacher spot on livemocha because of all the reviews I do. I have also been granted “translator” status which means I have access to providing additional translations and review. All this is great but it means that everyone learning English from every other country is on you like “ugly on a monkey” when it comes to exercise review requests.  You feel like a grilled cheese sandwich thrown among seagulls!

I recieve somewhere around 25 submission review requests per day and that is a lot. A few from men but mostly from the women. I think they must communicate with each other, it is like they all know I’m going to give a fair and detailed review! After all, if I want honest and helpful feedback and I should provide the same.

Okay so this brings us to the fish. I said I am now a “translator” and can submit additional translations as a helpful tool for those learning English. I didn’t realize that I could provide translations for any language until I was reviewing one of my Portuguese lessons and the following two sildes came up:

The caption with this slide was: “Um peixe precisa de água para viver.”  Translated it means the fish needs water to live. Easy enough and harmless until I see the next slide:

The caption for this slide was: "Este peixe precisa de água, mas não quer nenhuma." Translated it means the fish needs water,  but has none.  Of course, me being a bit demented needed to add in the additional translations: “Não quer viver mais só; é suicido.”  Translated: Don’t want to live alone anymore, it is suicide! 

The additional translation has not been removed from the website! 

Busy Summer

It has been a busy summer. With the new store opening and everything else just have not had time to blog. I should be posting a new bog soon!

Thanks and keep checking back!

10 New rules for the road

1.       I don’t have a navigation buddy on the dash of my car. If you do then use the damn thing, you know who you are! I don’t care that you are about to miss your exit but don’t slam on your to make the exit.  I don’t care how freaking far you have to backtrack just tell Tom Tom you screwed up and he will adjust your route…okay?

2.       You have Xenon headlights? Well I have a handful of loose change just for you. The next time someone with a jacked up SUV or truck tailgates me with these headlights I’m tossing a handful of loose change in the air. Either you will back off or buy new headlights, paint and windshield. Trust me; I have lots of loose change in my vehicles!

3.       Look; the left lane on the interstate is for passing not parking. If you have to pass get it over and done with and get out of the left lane! Motorcyclist, this goes for you too. I know you have a disadvantage because of your size. I also know that people can’t or don’t see you as well as a vehicle but please don’t sit in the left lane.

4.       Speaking of left lane bandits. There is a crazy standard feature that every passenger car and truck will have attached to the windshield; its called a rearview mirror. Can everyone say that? Lets try together;  R E A R… V I E W …M I R R O R! Good, now let me tell what it is for. This devise is for seeing behind your vehicle. Now when you are parked in the left lane and you can’t see the last car behind you because of all the other cars, it is time to move to the right lane! Thanks for your cooperation in advance.

5.       No more big tailpipes on small cars! What the hell is this all about? I’m sorry but I’m going to get crud. Is the size of your tailpipe directly related to the size of your rectum? So you are driving a 1991 rusted out Honda Civic, you somehow think that a huge “buzzer” type tailpipe makes the car much cooler? Really? Your just an idiot and shouldn’t be on the road. I’m sure that the phrase “survival of the fittest” will apply to your life someday.

6.       Don’t make eye contact with other drivers unless you intend to yield your right of way.

7.       Green Lights. Just because you witnessed a green light at an intersection once doesn’t mean it is okay for you to proceed regardless of the current state of the light at your present intersection. If it is red you stop, green you go! No really, that is how it works.

8.       Parking. SUV’s and Trucks are not compact cars people. Plan accordingly when parking okay?

9.        Alright Jackwagons, First of all I want you all to buy a belt and pull your damn pants up. Second I want you to drive sitting up rather than laying back. You have to be able to see over the steering wheel when you drive… so sit up and drive right.

10.   Last, Littering! It is time to start showing the Ad Council TV commercials again. You remember the ads? The commercials with the Indian crying? I am stunned at time to see the amount of litter next to the roads. Okay…while we are on this. TRUCKERS, if you are going to urinate in a water bottle, milk jug, gatoraide bottle, please throw it in the trash and not along the interstate exit and entrance ramps. Please! This is just gross.