Apr 09
I’ve made no secret about my love of coffee. My coffee snobness has gotten so bad that I can no longer drink the coffee at work and must purchase a dark roast from the local coffee chain every morning.
For the last 9 months after dropping of Riley I head over to the Dunn Bros. near daycare. Every morning I order a large dark roast and I pay with my credit card. Most mornings I run into the barista, Aaron. We don’t say much to each other. I place my order, he gets me my coffee. Most mornings the moment my car rolls into the parking spot my coffee is ready.
On the mornings that a new person is working the counter I get asked if I want their punch card frequent buyer card. I always turn them down citing that my wallet is already large enough. Every once in awhile Aaron will give me a free coffee “just because.” And every once in awhile I’ll drop in a $5 dollar tip in for the good service.
So this morning I roll up to Dunn Bros. like I do every morning. As I walk in the store I grab for my wallet. Unfortunately all I grab is my ass, there is no wallet. After losing my wedding band (a story for a different day) I’m a little nuts about my things. I panic, wondering if I’d dropped it at the gym last night. I hightail it back to the car to give Courtney a buzz.
While this is happening I notice the daily routine of my coffee being poured inside. I felt bad but I was going to need to blow off Dunn Bros. this morning. I just didn’t have the money.
As I waited for Courtney to pick up her cell phone one of the baristas walked out to my car and handed me my daily coffee. I looked at her and thanked her and explained my situation. She said it was on the house anyways. While a free cup of coffee isn’t an extraordinary gesture, I appreciated the fact they went so far as to walk it out to my car.
Aaron and his cohorts are good folk. If you’re ever looking for coffee in the morning, I’d head over to Dunn Bros. in Maple Grove.
Apr 05
Let me get you up to speed on our life, as it stands today:
Courtney and I went to Cancun in February with Chad and Tina. It was probably the single greatest time that we’ve had in a very long time. Here’s the proof that we were there, and here’s me swearing off booze and Mexico. When in downtown Cancun, I would highly recommend La Habichuela. We had quite an excursion trying to find our way to the restaurant but it proved well worth the adventure.
I have recently been rolled off my first consulting engagement and was quickly put on a “tweener” project, something to keep me busy while a more permanent engagement was arranged. In the beginning I was quite reluctant about the short-term project. I was told that I was supposed to be a hired gun for some legacy VBA work in Excel, both of which I have little to no experience with. I was told that I needed to put on a good show because if all went well, I would be a good “foot in the door” for other projects. Now, over the course of my career I’ve heard this excuse uttered hundreds of times but this was really my first experience with the “foot” working. I cranked out the project for the client quickly and successfully. They were so happy with the work that they promised future engagements. w00t!
Now, for Riley. As it stands today he’s just passed 17 months old. He has entered toddler mode fully, which means just about everything with him is a struggle. When he laughs, he laughs long and hard. When he’s frustrated he throws himself on the ground in a tantrum as only a Motylinski/Angerer offspring could. He’s more fun then I ever thought he would be. But he’s also mind-numbingly infuriating a the same time. He’s beginning to talk, so we can rationalize with him in a small way. He loves being outside. A few times we’ve caught him running out he side door, which he can open without trouble. We spend the majority of our time trying to keep him entertained. Sadly, he’s not one for spending lazy afternoons coloring. He’s more the type to go splash in a puddle or the dogs’ water bowl.
