I’ve been neglecting Livejournal lately – really, since my paid subscription ran out. I can’t figure out what amenities I lost when it ran out, but it had the psychological effect of making me feel bad for using it without paying.
Business at the cafe has been slow, so I do less drink-making than I do marketing-materials inventing. The Midwest Barista Competition is coming up, and I am less than enthused. The owner of the cafe has put a deadline of January 12th on our signature drinks recipes (these are personal beverages that baristas are required to have to compete).
I mentioned here previously that the enthusiasm I held for competing as a barista was very, very short-lived. I am a notorious choker, and even if I wasn’t, I have a feeling a barista competition will have all the charm of a regional Dungeons and Dragons championship. And my skills are subpar for competing. I can make a fabulous, glassy latte. Occasionally, I can pull latte art out of thin air. But I don’t have the consistency and experience needed to win, and if I don’t have the chance of winning then I feel like I need to direct my energies elsewhere.
Speaking of regional Dungeons and Dragons championships, I played Lord of the Rings Risk last night…
We went to the twins house to hang out and drink beer. I bought two pomegranates for a solstice present. I haven’t been to the twins’ since we all went and saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre together, and I had been worried that I had committed some social error that would keep me from ever getting to hang out again. Then I realized I was being paranoid because I had been holing up in my office for months working on cafe stuff and client work. Hermitting, as I call it. I verb everything.
Anyway, the evening was largely successful, and the girls have a lovely Christmas tree and the boys have a menorah shaped like the lion of Judah, which I liked a lot. Of course, instead of simply complimenting it, I had to refer to it as the Rastafari menorah all night….
I had my ass handed to me at Risk. Of course, that was partially due to the fact that I was completely sloshed after one beer, which was embarrassing. The girls and I arranged to go shopping today and then J. and I left.
While shopping today, two wonderful things happened. I found a battery-operated flash bar that fits my SX70. And my very first Christmas memory came back to me in a slightly startling way.
When I was two, we spent Christmas with my mother’s father. I was still leery of the whole Christmas thing, and as one of the first grandbabies, I was a little intimidated with all the attention from loving relatives. My memory is of my mother ushering me into a large living room with an enormous glittering Christmas tree. Underneath the tree was an ironing board with doll clothes laid out on it, a rocking horse, and a few other things. I remember the ironing board the most, a small pink thing that folded up and had an illustration of a girl in profile on it.
Well, at the stuff shop today, they had my ironing board on display in the front of the store, only it was blue instead of pink. I was so delighted. I’m a lot more enthusiastic about the holidays than I was when I was two.