Last night, Nathan thought it would be a brilliant idea to go out for coffee and wings at midnight. I love Nathan; I REALLY do. And I love spending time with him. And I was very glad to go out last night... But I'd had too much caffeine (and maybe half a shot of Bailey's -- don't tell...) and couldn't sleep. So I stayed up all night writing a journal entry that I'm afraid to read now that it's daylight again. I didn't get to sleep until near 5 in the morning, and then had to wake up at 7.30 in time for work at 8.
I made it. Oh yes. It was kind of a crummy day at work, relatively speaking. I got yelled at. I don't want to talk about that. I know I'm oversensitive, and it was just one stupid comment -- one comment that was phrased in exactly the right way to absolutely ruin my day -- so I'm not going to focus on it any longer. I'll focus on some good things about work.
There are a few things in the world that are perfect. Not very many, mind you, but there are a few things that are perfect. And I'll tell you about one of those things right now. Nathan directed my attention to it, and I couldn't agree more. So I'll share it with everybody...
In Java Joe's, most of the front wall is glass windows facing east out onto State Street. Across the street is a parking garage -- the one Aaron always used to pee on, although I don't guess you needed that much information. And painted onto the windows -- or stuck on with stickers, or something, is the Java Joe's logo. Underneath that, it says "espresso and coffee bar," and "panini and baked goods" or something to that effect.
At 5.55 in the evening, give or take a few minutes, the sun is beginning to set in the west, and for maybe ten or twenty minutes, it hits the glass on the side of the parking garage. The light is then reflected back off THAT glass and shines directly through the front window of Java Joe's. And for maybe five minutes, the words "Java Joe's" make a shadow on the tables inside. It's a perfect imprint of the logo -- it's clean and sunny and warm and that moment is absolutely perfect. And then, slowly, the shadow shifts until it's a little hazy and it's printed on the hardwood floor.And that is perfect. I don't think anything in the world can quite compare to that. It doesn't get any better. It only lasts a few minutes and then the sun drops too low to reflect off the parking garage.
I made the mistake the other day of bragging that I make the third-or-fourth-best espresso drinks you'll ever have. I said that the only reason I'm only third or fourth on the list is because I haven't had a LOT of practice, but that I'm getting there.
I spent a bit of time with Dave, one of the owners of Java Joe's, the other night. I really like him, and I really like his wife Kathy, too. Dave and I hit it off immediately the night I met him. Dave is a coffee junkie. Dave knows everything there is to know about coffee. And so he showed me a few of his SuperSecret tricks. I've changed my mind about being third-or-fourth-best. After spending ten minutes at the espresso machine with Dave, I have decided I have no privelege to brag -- none whatsoever.
Dave's espresso is like liquified god in a cup. At first, I wasn't sure quite how he'd done it, but I suspect it might have something to do with love. Pure love. It's like, if you play violin in your garden every day, your plants grow faster and taller and have more flowers. And if you stand in front of an espresso machine, putting your entire soul into the grounds, kind of silently speaking to them, maybe humming a little love song to them, they come out like Dave's espresso. I swear to gahd, he talks to beans. He MUST. I can't think of any other way he could possibly make such good drinks.
I love my job. I don't think I've ever woken up so eager to go to work. I've never had a job before where I've actually forgotten to go home after my shift is up.
Truly, anything beats cleaning up feces in a gas station parking lot. ("I'm not even supposed to BE here!" --Clerks) But even ignoring that, and the fact that I've never really had anything but totalshit jobs all my life (except the post office; I really liked the post office), I LOVE this job...
Today we got a shipment of coffee beans in at Java's. The beans were still warm from being roasted. They travelled ALL the way from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Binghamton, New York overnight. That's 2,500 miles. 10 hours on a plane if you make all your connections. And they were still warm. Nathan and I took turns hugging the bag of beans for a minute. THAT was perfect.
I have to sleep now. I'm exhausted.
Goodnight.
~Helena*
"In a perfect world there's no perfection..." --some really cheesy song by, like Joan Jett or somebody...
PS -- Bobbie... If you EVER use the term "Elite Club" in my presence again, you're going to get a tuba shoved up your ass wrong-way first. *sweet smile* Thank you and goodnight.