Java madness continues in honor of The 2011 National Coffee Day!

Here is another inspirational, coffee-themed piece that I found on ye olde hard drive. It was originally shared with yours truly around six or so years back and now seems the perfect time to actually post the same online.

Get yourself a hot (or cold) cuppa, and enjoy!

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old University of Notre Dame lecturer.

Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.”

“What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each others’ cups.”

“Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn’t change.”

“Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.”

The 29th of September this year is National Coffee Day. One of the coolest, most pulse-racing and heart-palpitating events of the year, in my humble, Starbucks-induced opinion.

Apparently, according to NationalCoffeeDay.net: “There are 111 million of coffee drinkers around the world consuming more than 440 billion cups of joe every year. And the numbers keep rising.”

Definitely more than enough reason to celebrate! (Especially for StarBucks, Costa, Second Cup and other such establishments that have artfully reshaped the practice of drinking coffee into a complete lifestyle – and a thriving industry.)

The article below is from a collection of inspirational stories called The Passage, published in 2004. This particular write-up is credited to Regina Rosarii. I originally got a photocopy of this piece way back in 2005 from one of my former bosses in the Philippines.

The Mayonnaise Jar and the Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember – the mayonnaise jar and the coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things like your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions, things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else, like the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Yesterday’s rather sentimental post prompted yours truly to go through some more folders of images downloaded off my first-ever camera phone, ye olde Nokia 6600.

I found some very interesting impromptu photos taken sometime in June 2007, featuring a stuffed animal I christened Bogart.

Bogart lives on the desk of my Mommy Lerma, a former colleague, a longtime neighbor, and a very cool mother figure who makes the best pork estapado in the world.

Bogart, full body shot

I am not exactly sure what kind of animal Bogart is supposed to be, but he seems to be a hybrid dog, cat and mouse. Now, that is enough to give any living thing an identity crisis.

Anyhow, he is proudly hand-made, as it is common in the Philippines for people to make stuffed toys at home as some kind of “sideline” business.

As I love all things cute and cuddly, I wholeheartedly support this up-and-coming cottage industry. Of course, I also have my very own collection of these homemade goodies, most of them lovingly created by my Nanay Pagit.

Over morning break one day, I found Bogart on my desk, smack dab at the center, sitting there like he owns not only the whole darned table, but the entire building and the ground it stands upon.

Bogart and Shi face off
“Grrrr…”

Bogart drinks coffee, right out of Shi’s cup. The nerve!

Bogart eats otap, a local delicacy biscuit made in the fair province of Cebu

Bogart chows on durian – the fruit that “smells like hell but tastes like heaven”

Bogart and Shi’s lavender Nokia 3530. Is he planning to send an SMS to someone? Or is he reading my sappy love texts? Ewww.

Really, who can resist Bogart’s hybrid charm?

Not a soul!

Shi and Bogart lurrrvvvvve each other

I last saw Bogart in September 2007 when I went to our office for the last time before my trip to Oman. He was still on my desk then, and I feel that he remains there until now, waiting for me to come back.

For a second face-off.

Thank you to Costa Coffee in the Madinat Qaboos area for the WiFi access, through which I am currently accessing the Internet.

This facility comes free, the number of hours corresponding to the amount of coffee and/or snacks one has purchased. Basically, one Omani Riyal (OMR) is equivalent to an hour of WiFi access. Costa MQ’s connection is, so far, fast and reliable. It does not hurt that their Mocha Frescato is sumptuous, as well.

May I also take this opportunity to greet His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and the people of Oman: Happy, happy, happy Renaissance Day!

Belated Happy Halloween, minna-san!

I hope everyone had fun trick-or-treating, in one way or the other.

As for me, I got my manicurist to paint my fingernails and toenails the very gothy color of pitch black. My euphoria was only slightly dampened by her disclosure that a good number of girls also had their nails done the same way.

Well, never mind that. I have always believed that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

This long weekend, I spent most of my time watching Hellsing (repeatedly, especially Order 6 with the Walter fight scene) and war movies, as well as tweaking the WordPress blog and other PHP scripts installed at my domain.

You can only guess the sheer quantity of coffee yours truly has consumed, of course.

Before I release you all from my uber-geekiness, allow me to share a silly note: Calamansi, according to certain acquaintances of the tourist trade persuasion, is also called the Philippine lime.

Hmmm. Lime.

The blue sky must be forever tall and forever clear. That’s the way the world should be.

~ Gentatsu Takatsuki, in conversation with Shigure Takimi, Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi no Requiem

I was able to meet my longtime friends Genefel and Melody at SM Megamall last Wednesday night for a good old gabfest over hot and cold cups of Starbucks java.

We talked straight for three hours and would have continued until dawn. However, I had to get back to my hotel to prepare for my early morning flight while Gen and Mel both had work the day after.

They gave me the most amazing metal chandelier earrings adorned with glittery crystals. Arigatou gozaimasu again!

I arrived from Metro Manila on Thursday, following a quick, uneventful airplane journey.

The moment I got home, I could not help but immediately pop my newly acquired copy of Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi no Requiem (Requiem for the Ishin Patriots) into my VCD player.

The movie has a simple, straightforward story that would be appreciated even by someone who is not familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin mythos.

I absolutely loved the charismatic and noble Shigure Takimi, one of the movie’s central characters and arguably Ishin Shishi‘s primary driving force.

His noble warrior’s philosophy and driven, staunchly patriotic character reminded me very much of Katsumoto, brilliantly portrayed by Ken Watanabe, from the 2003 Tom Cruise starrer The Last Samurai.

Yesterday evening, I received an e-mail from the organizers of the National Novel Writing Month that I have been officially accepted and listed as a participant.

NaNoWriMo 2005 will be my first year in the project, so I am really looking forward to all the novel-writing excitement and mania that will ensue when November rolls about.

Right now, I am suffering from a three-fold obsessive affliction.

That is, a coffee craving that shows no sign of abating, Kill Bill: Volume 2 and, of course, Rurouni Kenshin. As I write this, I am downloading a helluva lot of RK images and wallpapers to tide me over through the long Ramadan weekend.

I also wish to share with all and sundry that my father is now, officially, a Kill Bill convert.

This past week, I was able to purchase a video CD of Kill Bill: Volume 2 as it came out in our local stores and ended up watching it when I got home.

Father passed by the television set, paused for a glimpse of the action, and asked if it was David Carradine (Father being part of the Kung-Fu generation) playing Bill, to which I answered yes. The rest, as the cliche goes, was history.

From then on, Father proceeded to watch both installments of the Tarantino sword-slinging saga. He also made this analysis: “Bill loved Beatrix, and still did, even until his dying breath. Things could have worked out if the Bride had not left his side to give their child a different, if not better, life.”

Amen to that, Pops, and everything.

Amazon.com provides the summary of the movie:

With this thrilling, must-see movie event, writer and director Quentin Tarantino completes the action-packed quest for revenge begun by The Bride (Uma Thurman) in Kill Bill: Volume 1.

Having already crossed two names from her Death List, The Bride is back with a vengeance and taking aim at Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), the only survivors from the squad of assassins who betrayed her four years earlier.

It’s all leading up to the ultimate confrontation with Bill (David Carradine), The Bride’s former master and the man who ordered her execution!

As the acclaimed follow-up to the instant classic Volume 1 – you know all about the unlimited action and humor, but until you’ve seen Kill Bill: Volume 2, you only know half the story!

Cold garlic bread and ice-cold chocolate milk tea is a very good combination for breakfast on a hot summer day. Everyone should try it. Just the right blend of sweetness and bite.

With today being Labor Day, there is no work and school for everyone.

As expected, numerous demonstrations and protest marches took place all over the country. Most of these were organized and attended by worker groups and labor unions, as well as left-wing groups that are proudly passionate in their perpetual “militant struggle.”

I spent the holiday at home, scouring through my bookshelves. I came across the entire X-Men: Fatal Attractions series set in the dusty stacks and, struck by nostalgia for love of this series, read straight through all six issues.

The arc, circa 1993, is arguably one of the most well-written X-Men sagas, alongside the classic Dark Phoenix saga written by the prolific Chris Claremont.

I was surfing through random sites when I came across an interesting list. It is from this blog. This is one of the best pieces I have ever come across that extols the virtues of being a coffeeholic.

Read away and thusly subject thyself to intense heart palpitations:

You Know You’re Drinking Too Much Coffee When…
1. You ski uphill.
2. You speed walk in your sleep.
3. You answer the door before people knock.
4. You sleep with your eyes open.
5. You just completed another sweater and you don’t know how to knit.
6. You grind your coffee beans in your mouth.
7. You have to watch videos in fast-forward.
8. The only time you’re standing still is in an earthquake.
9. You lick your coffeepot clean.
10. Your eyes stay open when you sneeze.
11. The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.
12. You can type sixty words a minute with your feet.
13. You don’t need a hammer to pound nails.
14. You don’t sweat, you percolate.
15. You’ve worn out the handles on your favorite mug.
16. You’ve built a miniature city out of plastic stirrers.
17. People get dizzy just watching you.
18. People can test their batteries in your ears.
19. When someone asks you, “How are you?” you answer, “Good to the last drop.”
20. Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil.
21. You go to sleep just so you can wake up and smell the coffee.
22. Your Thermos is on wheels.
23. You can outlast the Energizer Bunny.
24. You don’t even wait for the water to boil anymore.
25. You think being called a drip is a compliment.
26. You don’t tan, you roast.
27. You don’t get mad, you get steamed.
28. You soak your dentures in coffee overnight.
29. You think CPR stands for “Coffee Provides Resuscitation.”

Whoever wrote this knows me so well it is scary.

Maybe it’s because of all those Harry Potter books that I am now a very avid tea drinker. And that’s just putting it mildly.

I don’t know, but I have found myself drinking nothing else lately. My mother’s friend, who got me the HP books from Hong Kong (thus I have the British edition, the original Rowling prose), gave us a boxful of Lipton teabags that produce a very delicious beverage *starry eyes* I ran through the entire box in five days max, and am now stuck in stuffy grocery stores during school breaks looking for the exact same blend. A fruitless quest, so far.

So that leaves me stuck with thin-tasting “foreign” brands that were, in fact, manufactured locally. But tea is tea, and I love it.

I tried to drink coffee this afternoon, and it has been the better part of two weeks since I last drank something coffee-like or some such. I could only bring myself to drink about two-fifths or so of the cupful, which was foaming with cream and, in my previous standards, utterly delicious. But it was not like that anymore.

I think the slow market drain of Nescafé frothé left me heartbroken, because I seem to veer away from coffee when I learned that they were phasing the blends out.

Gosh. I really am beginning to sound like a someone seriously deprived – or depraved. Your pick.

I think I will go make some tea to settle my nerves.

Time and time again, I have met those who ask what’s the point in getting up early in the morning, before sunrise, when you have nothing to do at that time of the day.

My answer is that it gives a person a feeling of fulfillment to be up and about before the sun is. Does it not give you a feeling of…invincibility, and strength, when you are ahead of such a powerful celestial body in doing something? It’s like you are more alert than the sun itself in heralding the new day – and all its challenges.

Of course, there really is good reason to get up early when you keep on dreaming about sipping and savoring every drop of frothy, steaming-hot French Vanilla coffee.

You are driven to make that dream a reality ASAP.