Icewind's Ramblings

I went into a Starbucks today for a cup of coffee while on our way to a meeting and it dawned on me why I really do not like going here preferring to stop by one of the many coffee stands with a cute barista on almost every street here in Anchorage. I hope I get right because I heard it rather quickly and didn’t have anything to take notes with but as we stood in line to get a normal, plain ole cup of java there is this pompous guy in front of us ordering.   It dawned on me the more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. He walked in to the Starbucks and barked out "decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low, and one NutraSweet," ooh, you're a huge asshole. I think I’ll keep bringing mine from home or hitting the drive ups. Ice

At Starbucks the other morning, I noticed a new sign at the counter. "Support our troops. Send them coffee." Seriously? I don't know about you, but if I was regularly waking up to 120 degree heat, wearing a minimum of 50 pounds worth of field equipment while being shot at by people . . . I don't know if coffee would be the first thing I would wish for. How about a Popsicle? Maybe a snowcone or just a cup of ice. Just my thoughts. Ice

** I wanted to give you a heads up that I am catching the red eye flight out of Alaska in a couple of hours for a much needed R&R from a really busy work schedule. I am heading back to the hopefully sunny skies of Cancun with about 20 friends who are in the industry. This is a ‘business’ related trip but will have plenty of time to slow down, get away from fax machines and phone calls and regroup for the upcoming construction season. I will try to get back to my writing of observations while down south and also get to a refreshed schedule. My recent trip south to Florida gave me time to reflect on my habit of coffee drinking during each daily cycle. I drink coffee at home; work, that afternoon period during or just after ‘rush’ hour and also during the evening. Oddly it calms me and I really enjoy the taste. But sometimes a great thing is just too good to continue at the pace I have been going. Over the last several months I wanted to cut back and the recen...

I’m trying to cut down on my coffee drinking but this one was too good to not pass on . . . I’m sitting there after work for a cup of ‘joe’ and a quick look at the newspaper when next to me had to be the fastest nanny interview in history Woman: What would you do in an emergency? Nanny: Call 991. Woman: (pauses) What? Nanny: Call 991. Woman: (pauses) Right . . . Uh . . . (pauses) Well . . . Thank you for coming. It was great and a much needed laugh but trying to sit there with a straight face as they both left was hard for the three of us within ear shot of what had just happened. Now if we only had a Dunkin’ Donuts closer than 3,000 miles in Las Vegas for a good donut. Ice

A mother and her young son were sitting out front of a Starbucks having a conversation about God. It went something like this. "Where is God?" asked the little boy. "All around us." Answered the mom. "What does he do?" Asked the son. "Answer our questions about everything." Said the mom. "Oh." Hey Kid! That’s not God your mother is describing, that’s Google. God sees our prayers as status updates on Face book too. Have a nice day! Speaking of religion . . . it was interesting at church this morning as everyone talked about all the recent activity here in Alaska . There was also great music and our youth ministry talked about the trip 34 of our kids took over spring break to Costa Rica to help build a church and interact with the local community. Other topics . . . Spring in Alaska . . . Its great! The temperatures are around 30 degrees after ...

I saw these couple of weeks ago and thought it was kind of cute so I figured I would post something sooner or later. I think all of us at one time or another knows someone or has had to deal with a few of these people. I don’t have time to write tonight so this is my (_zzz_) tired ass heading for some much needed sleep. Do any of these fit you? Hopefully not but just in case here goes: (_!_) a regular ass (__!__) a fat ass (!) a tight ass (_*_) a sore ass {_!_} a swishy ass (_o_) an ass that's been around (_x_) kiss my ass (_X_) leave my ass alone (_zzz_) a tired ass (_E=mc2_) a smart ass (_$_) money coming out of his ass (_?_) dumb Ass (W) Presidential ass (I couldn’t resist for those out there who feel this way) Ice

Reality TV proves one thing pretty clearly . . . we love to see other people's misery. We take pleasure in it. It's fun for us to see people squirm and interact in sometimes combative ways with each other. If it were a flavor, people would drink it up. That's why I think Starbucks should just come out with a brand of coffee that's not trying to help anyone . . . you know . . . coffee. What a concept! It is hard for me to go into a Starbucks because I sometimes do not know exactly what all that crap is on their menu. There’s double this, latte that, where on their sign board is there just regular coffee? We are in the in-between time for another season of Survivor or The Amazing Race? I can’t wait to see the personal interactions for a new group of people. Yes, and it seems so strange that they both have been on television so long. Not much time to write tonight as I return from the hospital but there may be ...