Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Lamentations of a Coffee Fiend (Thanks, Starbucks Germany)


For the most part, spring had finally decided to grace us with its presence, but this year, it hasn’t been much of a fair-weather friend, pun intended. However, today is a beautiful sunny day, which gave me the perfect opportunity to go for a coffee run.
I wasn’t always a fan of coffee. When I was in the south of Spain, I went to a language school and for the entire month, whenever we had a break, our group would go to the bar downstairs and I’d order a café de leche and a small ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Very nutritional, I know. Some believe that it only takes a month to form a habit. In this case, I think it’s true.
These days, I actually don’t fare well drinking filtered coffee, but espresso-based drinks are wonderful. Since our city has a few Starbucks in the area, for the past few months I obsessively visited them in pursuit of their stupid gold card. (I know. It’s sad.) After 30 purchases of who knows what kind of fancy, frothy sugary expensive drinks, my thighs now hate me. And surprise, surprise – I’m kinda over it.
It makes me think that I should have lofiter goals in life.

It also makes me think that someone, anyone who loves me should have intervened. Given me a word of advice. A passerby on the street should have come to me and said, “No one in the world needs a 20-ounce caffeinated beverage.” More specifically, the German baristas should have placed a gentle hand on mine and asked, “Are you sure you want a triple shot venti caramel macchiato with soy milk today? Because, we could also just send you to the hospital for a shot of adrenaline since you obviously need it.”
But no, instead, over the course of five months, I made a ritual of ordering some crazy concoction that perfectly masked the true flavor of the beans. Go figure.
Now, as I finish my latte, I have some words for a few passersby. You never know who’s in need of an intervention.
1. To the man smoking a cigarette while holding the work shirts you just picked up from dry cleaning – You idiot.
2. To the man kicking the umbrella case from one side of the street to the other while calling it horrible names – That’a right, buddy; you show that inanimate object who’s boss.
3. To the women, both young and old, who walk around with paper shopping bags at the crook of your arm as if they’re Louis Vuttion purses – There is no elegance in a brown paper bag. Just hold it normally and go home.
4. To the Babushkas who were at the coffee shop when I stopped by this morning and were still there when I walked by this afternoon (for the third day in a row) – Congratulations. You are now the new face of Starbucks.
5. To myself, because I obviously need a reminder: Do I really need to go anywhere thirty times within a five-month period? This is beyond an addiction at this point. It’s just a shame.
Here’s hoping that you have more discipline in life than I do. Have a great week.
©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Write Away


Yes, dear readers - it's exactly what it feels like. I've been neglecting you. It's not because I don't want to interact with you on a weekly basis anymore, I certainly do, but I must admit that over the past few weeks or so, I've been quite distracted.

Call it a small Seitensprung of sorts, yet I do intend to remain true to you. It's just that in the past weeks, I felt inspired to write a book from start to finish. It's not my first book, and it won't be my last, (I tend to dance in the non-fiction realm), but it is my first complete work of fiction. And I wrote it in five weeks from start to finish (circa 140 pages). Yeah, I'm proud of that. I wanted to see if I could do it, and well; now I know I can. Next task: Rinse and Repeat.



As mentioned, there will be modifications to this blog, but I have a feeling that they won't be made until a few months from now or so. While I love sharing experiences about my life in Germany, it seems as though the main dynamic playing throughout my entries is about the fun, frustrating and never dull cultural clashes between American and German mentalities. Obviously, similarities come into play as well. Eventually, I'll be meandering in that direction…

Until then, thanks for your patience and support! Keep working on your own Bucket List and have a great week.

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Blog Changes Coming Soon


My initial goal for this blog has been to maintain it for one year. I can't believe that I'm less than two months away from achieving it! So many things have happened within that short period of time, and I'm pleased to say the changes have been for the better.

There will also be a few changes to the blog within the next few weeks as well. If you check out my posts fairly regularly and notice the thematic changes, I hope that you'll like them; if you didn't even know this blog existed until you read this post, then just forget that I said anything at all.

It's just small reflection of how we deal with the ebb and flow of life's changes. Who knows where it will lead?



Have a great week.

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse. All rights reserved.