farewell vanjava

today was my last day of work at vanjava coffee shop. no...i did not quit (are you kidding me, i'm running for the president of coffee). unfortunately, vanjava has been added to the growing list of independant coffee shops gone belly up. its sad. i could see it coming, but i still was dreading it. i don't know, there are still rumors of the owner trying again in another location, but i'm not holding my breath.

it turned out to be an interesting last day. one of my regulars, who happens to be the head of the michigan malitia (and a big fan of micheal moore) started in on his usual rantings about the government. but the conversation took an interesting turn. he began to tell me how much of an impact i've made on the customers here, and how much he appreciated me. i usually listen to him only to appease him, because like i said he is the head of the malitia...and we all know how many weapons they usually own. but today his words really touched me. you never know where encouragement is going to come from. and if i ever feel like overthrowing the government, i know who to call.

then another customer came behind the counter to give me a hug. i shouldn't play favorites, but he and his wife are definately my favorites. she actually sewed a quilt for jaden. their names are norm and kitty...aren't those perfect names? and they look every part their names. he is retired, and she works for a retirement home. so my point...norm came behind the counter to give me a hug, and then asked me if i'd ever seen his tattoo. i was intrigued. he then lifted up the back of his shirt to show me this intense beach house scene tattoo covering his entire back. it took him over a year to get it done. but he wasn't done there. he then lifted the front of his shirt and revealed an wilderness scene covering his entire chest and belly. not what i was expecting from norm. the man looks like santa clause. santa clause is covered in amazing tattoos! he then tells me that kitty has tattoos as well. these people can't get cooler.

writing this...i see why i'm so bummed about vanjava closing.

money...ick

forgive the title. i was going to talk about money and when i started to write, i just sounded whiney. even though i can be a whiney person at heart, i don't like to show that on the blog. it will ruin my cool, laid back cover. so all you out there right now, you just keep on thinking i'm not annoyed by money one bit. keep telling yourselves that i'm above worrying about it. because i know it would rock your world to think that i spend time thinking about money, and i would hate to rock your world.

lets talk about food instead. i think i want to be a vegetarian. i don't eat a lot of meat as it is. but to be honest (and i'm an honest person) i only want to be a vegetarian because its cool. i went grocery shopping today and bought all this great stuff for me. veggies, organic soups, fruits...and so on. and i enjoyed the lady checking me out commenting on my heathly eating at home. my heathly eating at home...i like the way that sounds. i like the thought that she looks at me as one of "those" people. but sadly i'm a fraud. i went straight home and ate chips and dip for lunch and finished it off with a sugar daddy...no meat to be seen, but still doesn't fit in the "heathly eating" catagory.

so i guess you can call me a healthy food buyer who loves sugar and steak. i think my chances for "cool vegetarian" are slim.

farewell to lefty

those of you who frequent my blog may remember one post dedicated to my pinky toes and the abuse they have suffered in life. well, there journey is not over...especially for lefty. see, the problem is that if you complain about your toe, you have to explain why it got hurt. for example, sunday i was talking to my friends melissa and shanna about my recently hurt toe. the conversation went like this;

me:hey guys, look at the size of my pinky toe.
Shanna: its really big compared to your other one.
Melissa: that looks bad. how did it happen?
me: i ran into a wall.
melissa: oh.

i'm guessing lefty will eventually fall off in protest someday. he will be missed.

i don't know what to think

bumper stickers and christianity. what a lovely combination. especially when you are driving behind a man in brown buick with a picture of calvin (from calvin and hobbes...not john calvin) kneeling at a cross with the inscription "real men love Jesus" and with the stars above the cross making the shape of the christian fish on his back car window. i don't know what to think when that man also proceeds to lay on his horn and throw out a dirty look because the car in front of him wanted to...gasp.... turn into quality dairy. my thought is that if you have the gall to declare to the world that calvin is a repentant christian, you better watch the way you treat other drivers.

then...i see a car not 5 minutes later with the bumper sticker stating, "Do you follow Jesus this close." i must say i enjoyed that one, but it also sends out a little attitude.

i don't mind a little attitude, but i just don't know how i feel about slapping that attitude on your back bumper. i tell you...we christians are an odd bunch.