mom calls....

mom:  any updates?

benjie: no

mom: can i tell you a special secret?

benjie (already knowing where this is going...): ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......no.

mom: i want to tell you a special secret that i know

benjie:  uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  mmmmmmmmmmmm.  no, it's ok.

mom: if the baby doesn't come out fast enough, he's gonna get too big and it may cause problems....

benjie: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  yeah.

mom:  can i tell you a secret that i learned as a nurse?

benjie (inside my mind):  mother f'n nasty friggin argh #@#$%#2!  dammit.

mom:  if you want the baby to come fast, just have INTERSEX.  it works IMMEDIATELY.  i learned this while i was a nurse and i gave this great advice to many mothers when we were at glkc.  so if you want him to come out in a safe natural way, just have intersex.

benjie: .......

mom:  ok??

benjie:  ........ yes mom.

mom:  ok good luck!  we're praying for y

CLICK.

any day or moment now friends.  i'll do my best to let yall know asap as things progress.  and please don't ask about the intersex.

godspeed

a small preview of our wedding footage. for some reason, anything that i slow mo'd would not export correctly, so please forgive the lost frames.

anyways, happy birthday to my lovely wife!  i love you and appreciate you.  sorry this isn't the full version.  but its what i was able to get finished....

godspeed.

rock band.  mlb 08 the show.  call of duty 4.  guitar hero 3.  these are the amazing playstation 3 games that are sitting on my shelf.  amazing gameplay mixed with awe-inducing graphics....enough to make a grown man...errrr....play video games.  yet, the game i've spent by far the most hours on remains pixel junk monsters...a downloadable title in the tower defense genre.  this game is so darn addicting and fun.  i nearly mastered the original game but they recently released an expansion (15 new levels!) which i purchased for $5.99.  SO FUN.  SO ADDICT.  SO HARD!  (that's what she said)

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anyways, i have to write a 15 page exegetical paper and i don't want to work on it.  so let's talk about COFFEE!

my taste for coffee has been in constant evolution since early college.  the strange thing is that i ALWAYS have an IT drink.  for instance, my IT drink during my freshmen and soph years of undergrad was the Mint Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks.  the taste of chocolate mixed with a hint of fresh mint aftertaste was always refreshing, as well as energizing.  however, it wasn't long before i was introduced to the world of Coffee Bean.  my subsequent junior and senior years of undergrad was mixed with the splendid Vanilla Latte (hot or iced), as well as the Ice Blended Vanilla.  it wasn't long before i discovered the Ultimate, which featured a Vanilla Ice Blended with chocolate covered espresso beans mixed in.  mmmmmm.  so good.....and even MORE caffeine.

somewhere down the road, i also got into a real groove with the venti Iced Vanilla Latte from Starbucks.  these drinks featured quite a bit of tweaking on my part ranging anywhere from an add shot (5 shots total), to less vanilla, to 2 pumps vanilla & 2 pumps mint (hearkening back to my original love of the mint mocha).  in hindsight, i believe that it was the vanilla latte from starbucks that made the biggest hit on my wallet.  i would daily have my venti vanilla latte (sometimes twice!) for 3.75 a pop. 

it was during my years at KYCC where my coffee evolution would reach a new stratosphere...a new paradigm if you will.  one day while taking orders for a coffee run in the office, my coworker lisa asked for a iced americano (from starbucks) with classic syrup (basic sweetener).  for some reason, this drink combination piqued my curiosity...although i wasn't ready for the hardcore hit of pure espresso, the lessening effect of Classic Syrup grabbed my attention. 

my love affair with the Americano had been born.  for the next year or so, i endlessly tinkered with the Americano from Starbucks (5 pumps classic, 2 pumps classic, 1 pump classic + 2 pump mint, etc), until i awoke one day completely content with a straight Americano (no syrup).  needless to say, i felt like i was officially an adult.  turning 18 had nothing on this momentous occasion!

from here, i found a true IT drink which was 5 shots of espresso over ice in a venti cup.  the melted ice was the perfect amount of water to bring out the true clarity of the espresso flavor.  adding water to the mix was simply superfluous. 

HOWEVER, it was not long after this where i shifted over to the Iced Coffee at Coffee Bean (which is what they call their americano's).  i've gotta give credit to my cousin ndg for this one.  he's always been ahead of the curve when it comes to coffee.  the espresso at Coffee Bean is definitely of higher quality and you certainly get a more profound flavor with their espresso shots.  nonetheless, although i still occasionally enjoy this drink, i for some reason prefer the Americano from Starbucks.  this isn't a very rational conclusion....but i suppose it is what it is.

ALAS, the journey does not end here.  in recent months i've discovered the FRANCH PRASS (French Press for those of you with rudimentary dialect).  i won't go too much into why i love franch prass so much, but basically, the prass creates a restaraunt quality cup of coffee.  strong and flavorful, the prass truly creates an authentic cup of joe.  to top it off, the prass has probably saved me $100's of dollars since i've incorporated it as my daily brew.  a $6 pound of coarse grind from Trader Joe's lasts me a solid 2 weeks.  compared to $3 to $4 a day buying coffee, the prass is a no-brainer for a coffee-lover like me.

beautiful!

which leads me to my current IT combination.  Starbucks and Coffee Bean have fallen by the wayside to the depth and quality of PEET'S coffee.  simply put, the iced americano from Peet's EASILY thwarts the very average tasting espresso beans from 'Bucks and CBTL.  i'm not sure where my next step in coffee evolution lies, but i must say that i'm VERY content with where i am now. 

as for this exegetical paper?......

godspeed