Many Drafts but Few Posts

Dear Oly Living Followers,

My sincere apologies for my ever so belated post, again. Truth be told I have several drafts saved on my computer that I never return to, finish and post. However, I am thinking about blogging. I do start to write, but after one page in Microsoft Word I forgo the post and instead proceed to the "save as" button. I can't tell you what it is that keeps me from posting what I have written down but my posts have yet again fallen into a very inconsistent pattern. Or maybe we can say that they aren't inconsistent any longer because they have been inconsistent for so long that now inconsistency in my posting is the usual. Either way, it has been more than a few weeks since my last post and catching you up on Olympia Living is crucial.

-First, the church.

We have grown out of Russell's house and are now looking for a space of our own and I do believe we have found it. There is a plaza on Tumwater Blvd and Capital that's occupied by Infernos Pizza, a Teriyaki restaurant and a gym amongst other things. Before Tumwater had built the government buildings that sit across the street from this plaza and before this plaza had any business in it, our potential space was occupied by a Forza Coffee shop. The shop has totally been set up for coffee, so hopefully by the spring/summer time we'll be up and running as the only specialty coffee shop in Tumwater. We'll definitely be using the space for Sunday evenings, but hopefully throughout the week it will be a superb alternative to the Starbucks that's down the street. We have had various meetings with roasters, taken trips to look at equipment, gone to barista competitions and basically dove head first into reading and researching about speciality coffee. As of now we have purchased two Mazzer grinders, an espresso fridge, and a La Marzocco Lenea espresso machine. We are still in the progress of sorting out the lease and we'll still need to purchase our choice of pour over equipment (V60, Chemex) and furniture, but we're really doing this.

-I've lived in the NW for six months.

It's been a real trip, let me tell you. It's amazing to see who I was coming into this move and who I am now. It's crazy to see what God has done in the life of Sound City and the Knights, this coffee shop and my life having now lived here half a year. I'd like to say it's been rainbows and butterflies every step of the way, but it definitely hasn't. The winter time has taken a toll on my morale, but I've learned to push through weird times like those. I'm definitely anticipating July, when the summer time kicks in and the rain subsides.

-My job is going well.

I'm meeting a lot of people in the city of Dupont, but like I said earlier it will be nice to be working in the specialty coffee industry rather than your typical franchised Starbucks, Forza or Cutters Point. It will be nice to work with people to care about coffee and their customers. This will also provide a means for me to work full time 45 plus hours and be able to move into my own apartment (preferably one that is close to the shop so I can bike there each day). But Forza has been good. I've made some great friends and thankfully I'm getting more hours.

-Kennewick and it's Finest citizen.

A few weekends ago I took a much needed trip to Kennewick to visit my friend Tyler. The drive is about four hours long, but it's a pretty drive to say the least. I love this state, it's unfortunate that it's so far from everyone that I love in WV. The weekend was out of this world minus the fact that I broke down, alone, in Benton City. It was horrible, but my car is fixed now and everything turned out okay. I can't even tell you how thankful I am for Tyler. Before I moved I knew that it was going to be so crucial having him live to close to Oly, and now that I live here crucial doesn't even describe it. We both have definitely had to adjust overtime. There's just something about having a friend to help you out along the way. Tyler is awesome, and I'm not just staying that because he follows this blog (lolz).

-Aaron's Grad School

So most of you know, a friend of mine back home has applied to some schools in the Northwest, Univeristy of WA and Western WA University. Both are great schools and we've been praying a lot about it, however, we just heard from UW this week that Aaron didn't get accepted, so we were a bit bummed. He should be hearing back from all the other schools he applied to soon, and I'm praying WWU in Bellingham has got a spot with his name on it.

So there are a few updates for my trusty followers. You're prayers and support have been monumental throughout this journey.

Cortez, Adley and Phyllis

I had a day off from work this morning, not surprising seeing how Forza has given me seven hours this week, so I had some time to do some serious thinking, and I do mean serious. In recent Olympia news we got a new bird feeder in our “side” yard (we have no backyard), and it has provide some entertainment this afternoon. Not to my surprise, today I noticed several little birds gliding by, making a pit stop at 4708 Durham. I couldn’t help but think, what does our feeder mean for our new feathered friends.

I then closed my eyes (we’ll say for dramatic effect) and began to see things their way, or at least the way I would like them to see things, our feeder in particular. What if, just what if, these fowl recognized our bird feeder as their Wendy’s, T. Bell or McDonalds. What if our bird feeder was their drive through while their morning outing for worms was their gourmet meal from… Olive Garden (because I know nothing about gourmet food and I’m content with saying Olive Garden is gourmet because in my case it is on the pricey side of living).

So what does our feeder mean for them? What kind of food are Leona and I serving to our new guests? I have yet to decide because I have yet to nail down the exact mentality of these visitants.

Perhaps we serve some sort of Mexican cuisine. The sparrow sitting on the ledge outside my window, nibbling away at his meal is Cortez. Taking a break from the reality of his job as SBBP (Spanish Boarder Bird Patrol, obviously) he stops to grab some refried beans, rice and a San Miguel. He works to maintain the peace at the boarders with the French, not because they are French or Spanish birds, but just because it’s their native tongue. Cortez’s stop at our tiny Mexican Bistro is his only quiet escape.

There is also potential that to these birds we serve a variety of organic vegetables, hummus and some equivalent to Stacy’s pita chips. Adley a down on his luck Wren has stopped by as a frequent flyer. He knows that 4708 is a place he can grab a healthy bite to eat, because his health is all he has going for him these days. He stops by, grabs some squash and green pepper and forgoes the chips, but uses his pepper dipping into our mouthwatering hummus. Maybe Adley is seeking some entertainment, therefore he peers through the sliding glass window to catch an episode of Mad Men Season 2, thinking right along with me, that this show is incredible, yet Peter is his favorite character, which I don’t fully understand.

And then of course, maybe it was Phyllis that stopped by this afternoon. Phyllis in her mid 70’s out for a quiet flight looking for a cup of coffee and a muffin, in which in this case we serve. Phyllis has been married for 52 years to her Avifauna Academy sweet heart, Charles. Together they hatched six babies four of which are female and two of which are male. Their sons and daughters have provided several grandbirds for them and each Sunday they all come to Phyllis and Charles nest for lunch. On Monday Phyllis is usually tired, today in particular. Today she needed more time to relax than usual after spending the day prior in the kitchen fixing a rather large meal. Relaxing, a cup of coffee and a muffin was just the way to do it, therefore Phyllis dropped by our place for some R&R.

Well maybe I did have too much time on my hands today, but then again maybe ornithology is something I’ll dive into this year. After all, it is a new year.