Arme Schlampe

Wow. I can read about it in the papers and follow exchange rates, but I didn't really understand how weak the dollar is until today, when I paid $7 for a cup of coffee.

Now don't get me wrong, it was a fancy coffee and probably the best I have had in years (melange) but this is kind of silly.

No, it is completely ridiculous.

However, theater tickets on opening day at the Volkstheater were only $12 yesterday. We went to go see Eine Heikle Sache, Die Seele by Dimitré Dinev. (A Tricky Thing, the Soul) enjoyable, completely macabre, and very funny at the same time. It is a farce about a wake that plays heavy with existentialism and living in exile.

Today is an excellent museum day; it is cold and rainy. I went to see the Paul Klee exhibit at the Albertina, and had to skip a few activities I had planned because I spent three hours on just that part of the HUGE gallery. Raise your hands if you knew that Klee was so fascinating. In fact, I found myself breezing through the Oskar Kokoschka exhibit at the same place because I had had enough culture for one day. At this point I should probably mention that I had gone to the museum because of Kokoschka in the first place. (Kokoschka is Austrian, while Klee is just Swiss.)

I did learn one new word in dialect from a friend who ha drecently been to Bern. Apparently in Switzerland, it is not unusual to see "Mistkratzer" on the menu. This translates to "shit scratcher" Can you figure out what dish this refers to?

Speaking German again has resulted in broken gears in my head. I've forgotten a lot. However, after three days I'm already at the language crisis phase where I also can't remember how to express myself to say in English, either. This is a good sign. After a couple of days of this, I generally speak much more fluently.

I wish I'd thought to bring my camera software. It would be fun to actually post the pictures on the day they were taken rather than two weeks later.

Updates

Two updates:

1. Report on my full-body whiplash. There is none. However, I do have a gigantic welt on my left thigh.
   
2. From the comments: Alexis asked about a week ago how I was doing in my quest to kick the Starbucks habit. I am very pleased to report that I have been quite successful. Making coffee before I leave for the office is part of my routine now, and since it is a French press, the coffee is strong enough that I generally don't need a second cup. I'd say I go in for a latte maybe once a week now, if that.
   

Resolution Update And Then Some

Resolution Weeks Two and Three
The drive to make my own damned coffee continues on. Week two was pretty easy. I only succumbed to Starbucks on Friday. Being that it was my birthday, I was just in the mood to be served.

Week three is where it got interesting. It seems that the green coffee giant has noticed my absence, and is moving heaven and earth to get me back:

Monday of last week I decided to use my Starbucks gift card from Lauren for an afternoon pick-me-up. The card reader was down, so the cashier said. She just gave me a free latte, since I hadn't brought any cash with me.

By the time Friday came around, I was out of milk, and was forced to caffeinate at Starbucks. I ordered my latte, paid with my gift card, and moved over to watch the barrista make my drink. Just then, the steamer/espresso maker started to overheat, spewing steam and milk and froth everywhere. Thank goodness someone managed to unplug the thing before it blew. Lucky for me, there was another machine and I got my latte. Because I ended up waiting 10 minutes for my drink, I also got a coupon for a free drink of my choice.

Do you see what is going on here? I'm going to get my coffee for free until I'm hooked on getting my daily brew at Starbucks again! But fear not. I won't fall for this trick. I stocked up on milk this morning and I ground my beans for the week. My commuter cups are all clean.

The straws on the spokes come later
I mentioned to Dr. B once that I needed to replace my 30 year-old Schwinn this year. It's a great bike, don't get me wrong, but the tires are thin and difficult to replace. This causes the inner tubes puncture often. The front derailleur has some rust, and one of the gears is missing a tooth.

Being the kind, giving person she is, and given that she's sick of hearing me bitch about my poor Schwinn, she gave me an overly large gift certificate to a very chic bike shop in town. After much deliberation, I decided that I would not only accept said overly large gift certificate, but that I would break with my tradition of needing several years to buy anything costing more than $50, and leave that day with a bike.

And I did it!

Meet the Gary Fisher Nirvana:



It only took me 20 minutes to decide on this purchase, as I was in love from the moment I sat on its sweet, sweet saddle. Bikes have shock absorbers now-a-days. Why didn't anybody tell me this? I was trying to act all knowledgeable about the mechanics of bicycles, and I think the sales lady bought my act until I let out a little scream of delight at how bouncy the bike was.

She: "Those are shock absorbers."
Me: "Fancy! Do all bikes have those now, or is this special?"
She: "No, bikes have pretty much had shocks for a good five years now."
Me: "Do they make coffee now too?"

Anyway, this hybrid baby features big honking thick mountain bike tires. I tested them out all the way home. (The bike is guaranteed in full for seven days, including punctures.) I navigated right through potholes and gravel like a madwoman and five hours later the tires are still inflated. And my butt? It doesn't hurt! The gears - 24 in all - shift like a dream.

The only drawback I can see so far is the "easy release" front wheel that I pretty much have to remove and lock to the back of the bike when I park it anywhere but my basement. When the saleswoman showed me how to release it, it did indeed look easy. But things are never as easy as they look when you have to do them yourself. I expect this to be a pain in the ass.

I forgot to buy fenders, but did trick it out with a rear-view mirror, a kick stand (bikes come shocks, but no kick stands!) a headlight, and a mounted Kryptonite lock. So unless it rains, I'm pretty much unstoppable.

More Goodness To Come
I'm only working two days this week and the Hucklebug Returnith!

Resolution - Week One

I'm happy to announce that I indeed managed to make it a whole week without Starbucks. A situation occurred early on when I woke up late and had to rush around to make it to work on time. I would have missed my train if I stopped to make coffee at home, meaning I would have to rely on the swill I can make for free at work.

In short, it was a vomitous occasion. I tried mixing it with milk that I'd brought to work earlier in the week, but it was so bitter! So I added sugar, which resulted in kind of a sweet and sour effect. So then I added one of the toxic vanilla-flavored creamers, (can you tell I was desperate?!) and was nearly moved to eject the contents of my poor stomach immediately. I solved the problem by drinking tea. The rest of the week progressed rather smoothly.

Today, when Dr. B and I went out for our monthly-ish pedicure, we went to Starbucks first, and did, alas, have a latte. But I made it a whole week as planned, and had ONE as a treat. Tomorrow's morning brew will be made at home.

It is funny that my original Starbucks blog generated so many comments! Obviously coffee is on the mind and in the hearts of at least six of you. Let me put your mind at rest on a few items:

1. I am not frothing the milk at home. As yummy as that is, I just don't have the time or coordination to do something like that at 6 in the morning. I also don't have a frothing device. For everyday consumption, coffee with plain old regular fat-free milk (organically puss-free) from the fridge is just fine.
2. I'm not really tied to the Starbucks brand - I do get lattes from other coffee shops. It is just that Starbucks is so damned convenient. I pass FOUR on the way to work. The independent coffee shop across from the El makes a decent latte, but it is only 10 cents cheaper and they take for EVER to make one. Also, a lot of the independent shops around here use Intellegencia coffee, and I just can't stand it.
   
3. My caffeine addiction doesn't bother me in the slightest, and I have no desire to give up coffee or other caffeinated beverages. The whole point of this exercise is not to spend unnecessarily because I am a lazy ass. After I've made it a whole month of making coffee in the morning, I'll have no problem grabbing a $3.58 latte on the occasional, messed up morning. "Why a month?" I hear you asking yourselves. Well. I chose this amount of time because I learned once that it takes 30 days to make a new habit.

In other news, I'm quite proud of an accomplishment of a different kind today. By 8 a.m. I was on my bike, and I not only made it all the way downtown, but according to the Official Chicago Bike Map, I managed an 18 mile ride today. My trip from home to my office took me 65 minutes. If I can shave off 5 to-7 off of that time, I can claim to be faster than the Brown Line.

Resolution

Did you know that a Starbucks Grande Latte costs $3.58 ?

I've developed the unfortunate habit of buying one of these every single morning on my way to work.

As I was checking my budget against reality this weekend, I realized that this little "necessity" is costing me $17.90 a week. This adds up to $71.60 a month. That's an awful lot of money! And guess where I was sitting when I was doing this little budget exercise. That's right. I was in Starbucks, drinking $3.58 worth of milk and coffee. I don't usually go to Starbucks on the weekend, but I didn't feel like sitting around in the condo.

Maybe I have a crutch, or maybe I'm just lazy. But at the end of this year, I will have spent at least $900 at the Big Coffee Corporation, and that just doesn't sit well with me.

So I made a resolution: I am going to start making coffee at home. I have my French press and I have a big bag of beans in the freezer. I also have a small collection of commuter mugs. It is only Tuesday, but it is already tough going.

After all, I pass by 4 Starbuckses on the way to work. The temptation is difficult. Very Difficult.

To combat any temptation I might have in the middle of the day (sometimes I need coffee after lunch,) I bought a small bottle of milk to keep in the fridge at work. We get free "pod" coffee you see, but I just can't drink that powdered creamer crap they give us to put in it.

I'm not saying that I'll never have another Starbucks Latte again, because that would be a fat lie. I also don't think that's necessary. As a treat, the occasional latte is ok. But my daily brew is going to have to be at home.