24 December 2007

holidaze

Holiday festivities are in full force, so I blog today from GlaskyHQ in Alpharetta, GA. Not too far of a drive, but far enough away from the city to make you feel that you're on vacation (as long as you ignore the Best Buy, Chilis, every other chain imaginable, and the mall on your exit off the interstate). No other blood family exists in the southeast region for us, so it's usually a pleasant party of four. The Muckerman family lives just around the corner, so there may be a planned rendez vous at the movies tomorrow.

Before arriving in suburban north Georgia, the Octane holiday party had us all in good spirits at Tony & Diane's pad. Delicious food from my lovely ladies Alyssa and Larisa... cheeses, teriyaki tofu squares, olives and sliced prosciutto and salami (maybe?), and some killer two-bite fudge cakes. Aside from the eating and drinking, we all take part in a White Elephant gift exchange every year. Everyone brought great stuff this time, so stealing became a habit. I'd say the Clapper that Aly brought was definitely a highly coveted item (mostly by Tony), but T&D put together the most sought after gift around. Seeing how a majority of Octane employees are either smokers or enjoy fine tobacco, they put together a box of VERY nice smokes from the Chicago smoking lounge Marshal McGearty. I've read that M McGearty smokes are being pushed in a test market in Seattle, which would explain Diane's ability to get her paws on some (she's out there often visiting her sister in Portland). In the exchange, I ended up with Dirty Dancing on DVD, pair of cardboard box speakers from MUJI, and a gift certificate to the local indie music/book store.

The best gift, though, was a gift to Octane. M'lissa and Curt (a shop friend and fellow coffee enthusiast) presented to us an hat for the Linea- a PID. A Proportional, Integral, Derivative devise that will allow us to monitor the temperature inside the boiler so that we are never pulling shots below our optimal temperature. I went by the shop this morning on my way up here to get a look at the beaut in action. M said that even after just three shots in a row, she was already noting a drop in temperature. I'm looking forward to learning about Linnie's swings and how to keep ourselves as baristas more consistent.

Until the shop opens up again (as we are closed for the holidays), I'll be playing the Wii with the family, eating plenty of coffee cake, and snapping some photos with the Holga. Pictures to come soon.

Merry merry, everyone.

21 December 2007

new mew

I'm still on the group mailing list for 88 DJs, and so I'm still receiving lists of what's in rotation at the moment, who needs a shift covered, and managerial ramblings. Despite the extended connection, I've been spending more time tuned into Georgia Tech's student station, WREK. Wednesday nights they feature a couple of shows that seemlessly flow into one another, and this week it was an "electronic" segment followed drone. During this time I was introduced to a new favorite- AOKI takamasa. The record the DJ played from was 28, a record of AOKI Takamasa with Tujiko Noriko.



Yes, they're so Japanese.

To some it may seem passe, but I still have room in my heart for glitchy dream synthesizers and airy female vocals.



Also,
Youngblood Gallery&Boutique now carries Tamp That aprons :)

13 December 2007

i just finished college

you spend so much time finishing something that when you finally DO reach that goal, you have to step back and remember you're human again.

so, I'm human again.

Japan update: tickets have been purchased. I will leave for Fukuoka on January 7th, 2008. Hello, world.

10 December 2007

88 daze

Today marks my last time going on air as a dj for the georgia state radio station WRAS Album 88. After 3 years of volunteering, it is time to say goodbye. I've been through 4 GMs: Amre, Matt, Cassie, and Bryce. With each year, the new GM comes along with a throng of new music directors, and subsequently different styles of music. Today, I will not play their music. I will have an extended set of four hours to play my favorites of favorites (within FCC boundaries). Please, if you can reach 88.5 on your FM dial, tune in and call (404 413 WRAS). drop a hello. It's NOON to 4PM. see you then. and au revoir.

09 December 2007

My days of studying for finals are coming to an end as I prepare to graduate from university. I find myself working more diligently and comprehending more thoroughly as these days wind down, perhaps as a cover-up in my mind of all the times I went into testing unprepared. This semester I have felt challenged, perhaps for the first time in my entire collegiate career, yet I still cannot attribute that to the difficulty of the courses. In reality, I was over flooded with ill time management. If college has taught me anything, it's that I need to keep a planner.

No regrets, of course. No plans to attend graduate school (for now). The days in my planner are blank. I think I'll finally be able to sit down and read that book I never got a chance to finish.

01 December 2007

Black cat coffee


サムイーBlack cat coffee, originally uploaded by soma-samui.

Definitely not Intelligentsia's Black Cat, but if it's canned coffee, you know I'm there. I'll try to bring some of this stuff back home.

SO MUCH CAFFEINE GOTTA GET OFF THIS TRAIN, MAN

Right now it feels better to update my blog than to study Japanese.

With that, allow me to forward a telephone call I received at Octane this week.

Caller: Hi, um, could you tell me about the caffeine differences between green tea and coffee?

Danielle: Well, it would really depend on what type of coffee and teas you're looking at. A cup of our french press coffee, though, would have a little more caffeine than a cup of the Hojicha green we serve...

C: Ok so you're saying coffee has more caffeine than green tea?

D: Well, not really. It's situational. But if you were to come here right now, a cup of coffee would have more caffeine than the green tea.

C: Alright, 'cus like I'm totally addicted to caffeine, man. I've got, like, this caffeine addiction. You know, man? I totally need to slow this train down.

[At this point I am desperately looking around the shop for Jason or Aly (the two that were working with me that day) in an effort to make eye contact and signal a mouthed "HELP ME" in hopes that they could at least pick up the other phone and listen to this conversation. But to no avail, I was left alone.]

D: Ok.... you have other choices than caffeinated drinks... We do have decaf coffee here...

C: Right but what about the Jasmine tea? Does that have any caffeine?

D: Yes, some, but not as much as green tea.

C: So my best choice would be the Jasmine tea?

D: Sure, if you're trying to lower your caffeine intake.

C: So it has no caffeine?

D: Just trace amounts.

C: Oh, so now it's justTRACE amounts?!

D: Sir, that's just my wording.

C: YOUR wording?!?! Alright fine. [Hangs up phone]

For the next few hours of my shift, I had shifty eyes for every dude that came in and ordered tea. None of them fit the agitated profile in my mind. I feel like he may have been the one to create this:



I feel like he may have called me either just prior or after the God-sighting.

I once worked for someone that popped No-Doz pills throughout the day. He liked coffee, but like the idea of popping pills better.