Mattie's Mountain Mud at East County Cafe

View from East County Cafe in Vinton Library

      Before I get into the caffeine, I want to tell everyone that I had an excellent weekend at the Roanoke Regional Writer's Conference. The conference opened on Friday night with the energetic speaker, John Koehler, who is also a boomerang world champion. After his speech, we participated in a forum about blogging. In other words...

I'm Back!

   Thanks for hanging in there! Anyways, I have a new coffee roaster to talk about, Mattie's Mountain Mud. They are available at East County Cafe in the Vinton Library and Our Daily Bread at both locations. 

       The flavor I am drinking is called Appalachian Smoke. It is a dark roast and I am not normally found of dark roast. However, this blend is what I call bitter-smooth. It's not so harsh that I can't wait to chuck it out the window. I think I have had it at Our Daily Bread before and the variation between trials is not significant. 

      The reason why I mention this is that I have had the same brew at two different locations, same company, have completely different results. The baristas matter! The barista at East County Cafe allowed me to try the different blends. To me, this act signifies the care and enjoyment of the coffee they serve comes first. CUPS does this too but they use different roasters.

       Roanoke is a coffee mecca. If you don't believe me, hop on down here and I'll take you on my own coffee tour!

Book Review: You Are a Badass

   Since graduating in May from Roanoke College, one of my summer goals was to read 5 books. I have finally finished one of them only to realize that I better log in more reading time if I am going to meet my goal. My mom eats murder mysteries for breakfast. I read a lot of nonfiction and tend to slog through several tomes over the course of a year.
   "You are a Badass" by Jen Sincero can be found under the self-help section of your bookstore. She's a straight-talking coach who guides us through her pitfalls as well as our own. She knows the traps of negative self-talk and not being connected to our "source energy."
    The greatest impact in this book for me came towards the end when she talks about our relationship with money. My family has had several rocky relationships with money and finances. We were taught that you had to work your ass off to make good money and if you asked for a raise, forget it, you kept working until you had a better job. I did not realize that I was carrying negative feelings about money. It is the reason why I feel like I always had just enough to get by and it was in my voice.
   So what is this book helping me accomplish? I am working on my own Manifest Destiny; my personal mission statement and what I want my life to look like from this point forward. I'm making a dream board so that I can visually connect goals. It will give me a sense of concreteness. I think that is important when reaching your goals.
   Buy the book or borrow it. You won't regret the honesty and second glance at your life! And great news! She is coming out with a follow-up in April 2017, "You Are a Badass at Making Money!

Coffee at Home: Starbucks Bright Sky Blend

   Review time! The man noticed we were running low on K-Cups and picked up new blends. He knows that I have an affinity for light brews (higher caffeine content! less bitter!) and snagged the Bright Sky Blend off the store shelf. The blend is mild with nut overtones. I am not sure what they did to create this blend but it has replaced my Starbucks Veranda favorite, Willow.

What's your favorite blend?

Hot Chocolate, Reflections, Summer Reading List

   The man is asleep and I am plotting my course for the week while sipping hot chocolate that I made in the Keurig. It's an off-brand called Cafe Escapes and at least it did not let all the chocolate flavor escape by being drowned in water. I have had worse, that's for sure.
   Today was my Sunday since I worked yesterday. My workplace's schedule runs Monday through Sundays anyways so I may as well get used to that until I decide to do something else. It has been a little over a week since a graduated from Roanoke College. So far, I have applied to several job prospects outside of what I am currently doing as a part-time gig and I am starting a home-based business. I have been spending half of my time in Goodview and the other half in Roanoke. I kind of like it like that. I plot and plan in the woods with access to a hot tub and when I get into the city, I do what I have planned. Besides, my bestie is back at Roanoke College for a three week intensive learning class.
   I had planned to get a lot of things done last week but I think I was on post-graduation high and several hundred hours of sleep. I went to bed when I wanted. I napped when the spirit moved me. Nothing was really pressing except some cleaning that had to be done before my sister's came in to celebrate my graduation and Mother's Day.

From left to right: My sister Victoria, me, my sister Alex behind me, and sistah from anudda mudda Dominique

   This week, I get a better idea of what my free time looks like and how to allocate it to more appropriate activities. My work hours are increasing slightly until the dreaded 40 hours are a necessary evil. There may be times when it appears that I am working more than that since I will be writing every day and... I get to read for pleasure! Finally! I am behind schedule in the Goodreads challenge. I set a goal of 25 books for this year knowing how much last semester would impact what I could do. My mom has already read 52 books this year according to Goodreads but she also runs a Mystery Book Club on the second Tuesdays of each month at Glenvar Library. I tend to read a lot of nonfiction books and a greater amount of science articles. 

   Speaking of which, I better put a dent in one of these books tonight before I fall asleep. Computer screens do not allow for good sleep hygiene. 

From Top to Bottom: Animal-Wise (I met Virginia Morell last semester!), You Are a Badass, Fire Up Your Writing Brain, Poet's Choice, The Jazz of Physics

My final jazz band performance for Roanoke College

   I will be graduating on May 7th, 2016, which means that this will be my final performance with the Roanoke College Jazz Ensemble. I was going to write some sentimental stuff here but I figure that I would save it until after graduation. Here is the line-up for the concert on Thursday, April 21st, beginning at 7:30 PM.

 Relentless

Ryan Hunt (keyboards)

Matthew Spano (guitar)

Andre Schneider (keyboards/piano)

Cobbletone

Matthew Spano (guitar)

Shane Clark (bari sax)

Amanda Wright (alto sax)

Lost One

Premiere Performance of an original piece by student Brent Bailey

It is a rock piece that sounds like a cross between Pink Floyd, Yes, and Rush

Chris Neikirk (vocals)

Brent Bailey (guitar and vocals)

Manteca

Ryan Hunt (keyboards)

Jonathan Cribb (trumpet)

Nathan Price (trumpet)

Amanda Wright (alto sax)

Shane Clark (bari sax)

Don Wimmer (tenor sax)

Boogie Stop Shuffle

Matthew Hunt (keyboards)

Matthew Spano (guitar)

Tripper Coyner (trombone)

Shane Clark (bari sax)

Andre Schneider (keyboard/piano)

Chris Neikirk (drums)

Persian Tea and a Blog Tour

   Sipping Persian Tea at Mill Mountain in Salem is a wonderful way to relax the mind. In this case it relaxed me enough to remember that my friend, Janeson Keeley, challenged me to continue the Virtual Blog Tour. Janeson and I have been following each other around on the interwebs for a few years now. We officially met during an intermission at a play put on by Showtimers Theater last June. Her and Dan Smith pal around the Roanoke Valley so it was a pleasure to see these two friends together in what I consider a rare spot to run into people, kind of like finding that magical unicorn, considering their stomping grounds are usually in the woods or one of the many mountaintops surrounding the Roanoke Valley. Check the links in today's blog to discover more to add to your growing reading list!

The Four Questions

1. What am I working on?

      Currently, I am working on an outline for two e-books which will serve as guides for parents and students. The first e-book I am working on is about Math Anxiety and coping mechanisms. It will also include a chapter about a little known executive functioning disorder called Dyscalculia. The second e-book I plan on writing is a resource for students, parents, and teachers about science fairs. I have extensive experience in running science fairs behind the scenes as well as judging projects. I will reveal a few secrets on what award-winning projects tend to do that separates them from the crowd. 

      Until those are released, I am working on rebooting several blogs that are attached to community or business pages. In less than a month, I will be freed from the shackles of college student life and entering the real world. Since I am an introvert by nature, as real as my brain will allow me to go. 

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

  

       I consider the work that I do to fall in the category of creative nonfiction. Some of the blog posts are based on personal experiences while others are highly technical. It depends on several factors: my audience, the topic, and how far I want that message to reach. Some messages I want read by other people with a similar technical background. This is the case with my Meteorology and Oceanography blog. For my education blog, Learning Connections,  I tend to mix personal stories and experience with relevant information for parents and students. For this blog, I keep my tone a bit on the light-hearted side as a break from the serious adult. 

       As I am writing this, I realize that when I write there is a cup of coffee or tea at hand. Therefore, I am pulling the personal blog, Exponential Ramblings, offline as it no longer serves a purpose and continuing to cull down Entrepreneurial Spirit by placing the green posts (ones that have no time limit or expiration) on my profile on LinkedIn. Exponential Ramblings will be turned into a memoir or poetry book at some point in the future. 

       I feel that by limiting how far my voice is spread through blogs that I may be able to devote more time and attention to shaping my voice while I learn how to convey high scientific language to a format that is accessible to the general public. Science literacy and accessibility is a top priority for me. 

3. Why do I write what I do?

       

      I think I explained this question above. But allow me to be more specific and simplistic...

My greatest pet peeve is happy ignorance. I think we perform a disservice to humanity when we ignore and allow injustice to occur. The only way to combat ignorance is through communication and increased access to education. 

4. How does my writing process work?

       It's sporadic at the moment. I lay the blame squarely on Roanoke College. Truly. What happened to read this section, attend lecture, you will see it on the midterm and final exams? Everything we turn in is graded. I am not sure if the busy work actually helps one learn something or if it is to make sure we don't get blindingly obliterated by alcoholic beverages on a nightly basis. The jury is out on that. 

      Before Roanoke College there was Virginia Western Community College. Most of my classes were online and I had far more free time than I expected. My GPA in my liberal arts classes was a 3.9. My math classes dropped that to a 3.2. I love online classes. I am a self-starter. I don't need poking and prodding and would often have all the coursework done except for major papers by midterm. 

      What I learned is that I have the same tenacity when it comes to writing. My perfect process is having blocks of time devoted to writing daily as well as publishing at least one blog post per day. Here is an example of what my perfect writing day looks like:

6 AM: Wake up, make coffee and breakfast, scour research articles in science and education

8 AM: Write, write, write

Noon: LUNCH!

1 PM: Write, write, write

3 PM: Walk the dog, go to the beach, paint... do something that is not writing!

4 PM: Check science articles that posted during the day

5 PM: Dinner!

6 PM: Spend time with family and loved ones or attend networking events 

9 PM: Plan for the next day. 

Keep in mind that this is what I look forward to when I can on a typical Saturday. It may even look like my Saturday coming up as I prepare for end of term. 

Confessions of a Caffeine Addict V: New Mugs!

   I have procured a few new mugs as gifts in the past year that I should show off to you. The first was a Christmas present. The rest are birthday presents from my main squeeze who planned a little adventure with my best friend who wrote the limericks to where each mug was located. I will include the limericks as soon as I get my hands on them and put it in the caption.
   Which reminds me, I have to go pick up my mug and my mom's from CUPS on Grandin before they close at the end of this week. The store is taking on new ownership from Rockfish. I will miss them but I will see them around until CUPS on Campus changes over when the contract is renewed.

My youngest sister gave me this for Christmas

Olin Hall mug

Physics Lounge Mug

CUPS on Campus - Fintel Mug

Confessions of a Caffeine Addict V: Naked Coffee

Coffee cupping chart: From Rogers Family Coffee

  Obviously, I have several friends that are coffee/caffeine addicts. One friend is a veteran who returned to college. Every cup of coffee that he drinks is Mill Mountain Blend, black. While the fact that a former serviceman takes his coffee black is not unusual, I have decided to try an experiment based off the idea of taking the flavor coffees that I drink naked, better known as black. And it's not going very well. First, I need to bone up on the coffee making skills because it has been awhile and I have been lazy. Second, just say no... sometimes... drinking some of the flavors has tuned me off to them.

  But naked coffee sounds better, doesn't it? And it caught your attention pretty quickly, did it not?

  What I am really talking about is the proper way to cup your coffee, naked. Sounds kinky, right?

Actually, it's not that much different than wine tasting. If any of my followers have hosted a cupping, drop a line and tell me how it went! Until then, here is this two minute beginner's guide to cupping your coffee.

Coffee Conversations

  Something that I love about being back in Southwest Virginia, the several small coffee shops that dominate the area. I have several coffee addicted friends which makes that addiction easier to feed. Muahahahahaha!
  So when I had coffee with my friend, Frank, yesterday, this conversation may have happened.

(Frank reaches to the top of the sugar basket to get a couple of packets of Splenda)

Me: Why are you using that? That stuff is crap. Use real sugar if you have to sweeten it.

So I was a little surprised this morning when I received this text and the convo that followed:

Reminder: Stick with the real stuff.

about an hour ago

I owe you BIG TIME

For what?

*confuzzled*

Mill Mountain tastes delicious with real sugar lol

LOL... is that all?

Yeah

Good because I was trying to think of what the fuck I did

Confessions of a Caffeine Addict IV

  This has been a weird week for coffee. At least Mark and AJ, two of the other three members in our research group, drink coffee almost as heavily as I do. Corinne is a tea drinker. The cool thing about her particular habit is her chosen cup.

You can find these at creaturecups.com

  We do take turns making coffee for each other and there are three coffee pots to choose from in the galley of the Burroughs and Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies. The kitchenette is really a galley kitchen so the naming is definitively appropriate. I am always afraid of bumping into people in there. Close quarters comes to mind. 

  But a very curious thing happened this past week. I have noticed that nobody touched anything in the fridge but their own food which is good because I have worked in places where kitchen gnomes and thieves were common. 

  Remember that review I posted on the Coffee-mate Thin Mints creamer? I left it in the fridge of the galley overnight. I have told Mark and AJ that they are more than welcome to it since I work with them. As a matter of fact, anyone outside the group is welcome to it as long as they ask first. Honestly, I just want to keep track of the usage so I can get more when necessary and not walk in one morning and be disappointed that it's all gone and should have picked more up on the way in. I do it for the Keurig in the Physics Student Lounge all the time. No biggie. 

  Well, I walked in the next morning and it was GONE. I was baffled, surprised, and shocked. I talked to the department secretary about it. By the way, always be polite and get to know department secretaries they are the key to the workings of every department I have ever worked with. They usually know a bunch of things you don't. Janitors too. Never forget that no matter how small you think someone's job is that they make things happen. 

  Happily, by lunchtime, the creamer was back in the fridge. By some oddball power of observation, I noticed a graduate student walking down the hallway with three plates and a circular shaped object between the two plates. I didn't want to embarrass the young man so I let it go. I figured he had made a mistake and I don't think he meant to do it maliciously. 

  There are some things that are worth letting go, such as anger and disappointment from misjudging people.

Review: Coffee-mate Thin Mint Creamer

  Do you like Girl Scout cookies? Yes, I know, what a silly question! Honestly, I thought this was going to be super sweet but a little bit goes a long way. So, don't overdo it! If you catch this on sale, like I did, don't think twice. Just get it!

Gevalia K Cups: Mocha Latte

  First of all, let me start by expressing my disappointment that this wasn't flavored coffee but a true specialty drink. While there are only 6 cups and flavor packets per pack, the actual cost per serving came out to be only $1.25. A far cry from the $3-$4 a mocha latte would cost at Starbucks or made by your favorite barista. I think I will take the $1.75 in savings and run with this for a bit. When you do the math, 6 * $3 = $18 versus the 6 * $1.25 = $7.50. 

  Yeah, I know... nothing beats the atmosphere of a good coffee shop. However, aside from Starbucks here in Myrtle Beach area, I would rather save my money over the summer and get work done by poolside instead. 

  Six sips into the drink and I am not tossing it out. It's not bad but it is not the best I have ever had. Will it suffice? Yes. I can live off it. Even my dog thinks it's ok (she just licked the side of the cup). Now, if I can get my hands on a can of whipped cream, I think that would add to the mocha latte experience that I am used to. 

Coffee Lover's Will Be the Winners in the Coffee War this April

So much coffee news has come my way in the past few days! Let me know if there is anything that I miss in this post and I will do a quick blog on it!

Sheetz is wrapping up their campaign for their Specialty Drinks. If you are still getting the $1 off sleeve, more than likely they will honor the coupon still. They have never turned me away yet, knowing that return business is good business. I bought an extra bottle of water while I was there. Businesses count on that save-a-dollar-the-customer-usually-spends-more.

Dunkin Donuts is beginning a campaign on April 7th. Free coffee Mondays! Look in your mailbox for this punch card with a $0.99 hot coffee coupon you can use until then!

McDonald's due to lagging sales for the past few months, the king of processed palaces will be offering two weeks of free small, 12 oz. coffees to it's breakfast diners. They will also be giving out free coffee once a day to a randomly chosen Twitter follower! This is in response to Taco Bell expanding and offering a breakfast menu! Yeah, I know! *GASP*

You know... the only place we haven't heard from yet is Starbucks! But I don't think we have long to wait!

K-cup Recommendation

  A couple of weeks ago, one of the Physics majors at school brought her Keurig into the student lounge since she lives more in the lounge than her room. I have never bothered with Keurig because I am that much of a coffee snob. However, they aren't all that bad. What I did find is that some of the K-cups are downright disgusting. Yep, still a coffee snob. I am not a fan of the plastic cup.
  I have found that the Kroger Private Selection brand uses a soft filter and tastes so much better! Of course, I have stocked it with the Breakfast Blend. Happy pro-caffeinating!

Chocolate Espresso Bars

 Mmmm. Can't get enough of the bean? I am fortunate enough to have picked up an espresso bar made by Gearharts Fine Chocolates of Charlottesville, VA. They are part of a line of Venezuelan dark chocolate bars. This particular chocolate tastes a lot like the chocolate chunks in the Espresso Brownie found in Barnes and Nobles confections. The taste is bittersweet without crunching into any beans. My new nighttime chocolate bar with my tea? I think so.

Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte

  Looking for a post food coma drink on Thanksgiving? After all, it is probably one of the last few days that you can order pumpkin spice anything. However, this recipe I found on allrecipes.com that will let you enjoy the flavor year round. Do you know what's even better about the recipe? All you need is a blender!

Blonde Christmas Blend

  If you can't tell, I have been hanging out at Starbucks a lot lately. Something about gift cards burning a hole in my pocket maybe. At any rate, I had to try the new Blonde Christmas Blend when I spotted it. Starbucks describes the flavor as having "warm spices and notes." You know what it has? A somewhat nutty flavor. I can taste the addition of Sumatra which adds to the slightly bolder flavor than the regular Blonde normally has. Enjoy the flavor while it lasts for the next month!

More Starbucks Secret Drinks

  I just came across a site that has the most complete list with pictures! I could not have written a better blog post myself. Instead, I am going to suggest you head over to Tay's account on myfatpocket.com. Read through some of the drinks carefully, as some are only available during certain times of the year due to availability of ingredients! Enjoy!

Recent flavor discoveries

  My readers know that I jump back and forth between local coffeehouses in the search for new flavors. Here are two more that I am introducing to you this week.
CUPS : Nutella flavor has been on the menu for awhile and everytime I come back. I can't fall out of love with it! Nutella is a hazelnut chocolate spread that is addictive and used as a substitute for peanut butter. Give it a shot!
Mill Mountain : Apple Pie  flavor is just as addictive as pumpkin anything. If you need a flavor switch from pumpkin EVERYTHING, this is your cup! The apple is not as overwhelming as one would expect and is blended with vanilla and cinnamon.
  While these are local businesses to me, don't be afraid to try your own local coffeehouse flavors. It's ok to ask for a thimble of it just so you can taste it. Why not be adventurous?

Confessions of a Caffeine Addict III

  Simple reason why I hit the coffeehouses often, besides the elixir of the gods, is that most of the ones I visit give off this air of productivity. Social productivity. I find that I am just productive enough to make the trip worthwhile because it gives me time away to think and you get to watch people. I love watching people. Most of you love watching people. Don't be shy. You can sit there and pretend to read the paper all you want just as I am pretending that I am working tirelessly on my blogs or homework. There is no shame in it. 

  And then there is the occasional random conversation. I love these most of all. Always small talk but for a moment, it is a connection to another human that has a similar passion for coffee, atmosphere, and the company of strangers. 

  Yes, I know, stop romanticizing coffeehouses. *sigh* You never know, the love of my life may be hiding behind a good pumpkin mocha. 

  By the way, there is a new artist up at CUPS Coffee and Tea on Grandin in Roanoke! It is a wonderful mixed media artist with the last name Fuller. Love how bright and cheerful it is!

Cheers!