10.24.12

Quotables from #SMWChicago

I’m getting back into blogging and I’m going to ignore SEO for now just because I think I need to spout off creative nonsense. In the past few months, I’ve seriously amped up my social media game. If you’ve been following me on Twitter for a while, you might have noticed more Tweets than usual and [hopefully] a more concentrated effort on sending out interesting content.Read More

09.18.12

Defining Identity

 

I didn’t write the above note, but it does represent my emotional turmoil pretty well. I’ve been refraining from writing here, because I feel like my posts need to be thoroughly thought out, with relative content, and to a defined niche market. That’s what I keep reading about, anyway. But then I realized that there was TOO MUCH information out there and all of it- the contradicting advice, the people who claim to be ‘experts,’ the incredible amount of topics to cover- was stopping me from writing. Screw SEO, relative content, and a targeted audience. I’m currently writing for myself and if someone else wants to read about it, so be it.Read More

08.28.12

Equating a Corporate Job to a Bad Relationship

In full disclosure, I used to work for Groupon. But this could really just apply to any job you feel unfulfilled in. In the end, I left not because of the media’s constant criticism of the company, but because the job was no longer a good fit for me. If you’re looking for articles on reasons to sell your stock or give it bad press, you should probably stop reading now.Read More

07.29.12

Make an effort to smile

Is it really that difficult to smile? I understand that when you’re exhausted on your feet and you just don’t want to serve cups of coffee anymore, maybe the smile will fall. But that still doesn’t give you an excuse to not smile. You’re in a service industry. Specialty coffee, regardless of how high up the “specialty” ladder you are, is still a food service industry. Fake smile, real smile, I don’t care. Though I can tell when you’re fake smiling, I’ll give you a point for effort. As long as you’re not fake smiling every time I go into the store.Read More

07.23.12

Pride & Other Business Thoughts

As some of you may be aware, my last day of corporate work was on May 25, 2012. Since then, I’ve revamped my personal life, social activities included, and gone into unexpected philosophical thoughts of life. And of course, I’ve slowly pushed the business forward.

It’s only been a short while, but I’ve learned a great deal already. Since I like making short lists and I imagine it reads easier than long paragraphs, here goes my learnings:Read More

07.15.12

Coffee & Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

I’m a pretty picky coffee drinker. So when my coffee beans go two weeks over the roast date, I just don’t want anything to do with the beans anymore. Unfortunately, this means that at my very slow pace of drinking one cup a day, I tend to have coffee leftover. What do I do with the leftover coffee beans? I bake! Recipe for the fudge is after the jump.

Here’s my supereasy recipe for making fudge. Makes 24 servings.Read More

06.25.12

Life thoughts from a rooftop

I was at a friend’s place yesterday, sitting on the roof, contemplating the skyline. I find skylines, especially at night, very calming. Meditative. The clouds move in, creating layers that light pollution reflect on. Hanging out on a rooftop with friends with nothing but the sky above you often gets people talking about life.

His mom was visiting that weekend and when we moved downstairs into his place, she commented with the breeze of an older person’s wisdom,

You will never be as smart as you are right now.

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06.20.12

Word Vomits

I can’t believe this. After two years of not updating this blog, I’ve all of a sudden, in one night, decided to publish three blogs. Three. I must be insane. But I can see the defense for it: personal coffee reflections (this one), Chicago coffee consumers who just want events and without too many opinions (Chicago Coffee Scene), and lastly, the business one (Caffentures).Read More

05.01.11

Revival

I’m reviving this blog. Since my exit from the coffee shop, my new job had taken over my life, spinning away my interests, friends, and general inertia for anything remotely interesting. I’ve gone through the adaptation phase of my current job and now I’m in the settling-and-refocusing phase.

It’s taken a few moments about this for me to get kicked back into coffee.

1) A month ago, the recruiter who interviewed me said he liked me for my passion for coffee. It was a public passion (this blog, my internship, my club, my previous job) and he noticed. While obviously it wasn’t the only reason I was hired, it still helped that I had an outside interest. That I wasn’t going to go home after work and sit on the couch and do nothing.Read More