Journal : OpenRoadWorks

136 days since the last time that I posted something to this blog. I've been busy, I suppose - all of us are busy living to varying degrees. Figured it was time to check in and leave a note, a reminder of sorts to get on with more public writing.

Our mothers are as varied and complex as espresso According to an interesting article in The Economist , scientists reckon there are over 1,200 various chemical substances that reside inside a single-roasted coffee bean. Espresso, of all coffee preparations, releases more of these chemicals than any other preparation. So, too, does motherhood involve more of the human senses than any other act or bond. For a variety of reasons, we are most attached to our mothers, more so than our fathers, siblings, or relatives. Mothers always seem near, even when they are not physically nearby. Mothers always seem to "know", even when they don't understand what might really be going on. Mothers always seem to care, even when it is hard to do so on our behalf. In some way, these and other factors contribute to the attachment that makes mothers top of the family heap. Thanks to Anna Jarvis , Mother's Day is now a thoroughly recognized holiday in the US and beyond, althoug...

A wonderful birthday surprise included weekend time with UCLA nieces and nephews! The wonders of social media sometimes outweigh the burdens of interconnected living. Birthdays are a good example. Before Facebook, birthdays were an affair requiring planning to gather friends and to share the moment. For those who have lived in different parts of the world and have friends scattered about, this is difficult to accomplish.  Perhaps my reflection is intensified by the fact that my wife is also traveling for business on this day, but I don't feel entirely alone. Starting early in the morning, birthday wishes started to arrive - first from Asia, then Europe, then rolling into the US (east coast, central time, west coast). By noontime here in DC, I had a collection of messages from friends near and far, close and distant, that comprised my own journey through family, school, work, and interests. The wonder comes from reflecting on the fact that all these people and all the memori...

My impulse comes with iPad, espresso, and old-fashioned pen-and-paper Writing is a romantic pursuit - at least, according to the literature and the biographies of the great authors. The idea of a bolt of lightning striking someone with the ability to produce volumes of prose that captures the secrets of the human experience - it's a wonderful dream (and brings to mind Xanadu , which was an aside in work emails last week). Sometimes, that dream comes true, when the impulse to write manifests in a feeling or motivation to capture story ideas, characters, plots, or quotable passages that are worthy of preservation. Most of the time, however, writing is work. So much so that the work, drudgery really, is the the majority of what constitutes writer's journals, notes, and manuscripts. Buried in the pile of hard drives, papers, and words can be the next great American novel - but is mostly proverbial chain-yanks to start the motor of creativity. On a rainy morning, I start th...

Nespresso Trieste - worthy companion to morning emails Another rainy morning makes me happy - it means more sleep and no need to water the new landscaping. I celebrated by trying the other new Nespresso pods that showed up on the doorstep - the Trieste . After a late night, I wanted something that would be a delightful bounce-back to get going for the day. The tasting notes of this beauty included a "round texture" with "fragrant chocolate" and "fresh hazelnut notes". I'm not sure if that full explosion blew up my taste buds, but it was very good and lingered nicely on the palate.  Who knew that a morning break could taste so good?

The cup looks innocent enough. On a quintessential Spring afternoon, I fired up the Nespresso machine to try out a new pod that arrived at my doorstep this morning - the Napoli .  Limited edition cru, it is a Marketing event in a pocket-sized cylinder that screams buy me and try me now. So I did.  I popped the pod into the machine and let the commercial-grade pump do its work to force a bolt of steaming hot water through the tiny pierced opening poked in the pod by the machine; as usual, it created that just-right crema-topped single shot of espresso. Lingering over the cup on an afternoon that would be better spent outside, I reflected on that tiny moment, waiting for transportation to another place. I remembered the Nespresso commercials with Penelope Cruz , which embodied the branding and experience for which Nestle was aiming.  Then I thought of Spinal Tap, and the classic 11 scene . Since this espresso registered 11 on the 10-point intensity scale. Perhaps I wa...

I've never tried it until yesterday's lunch. It's called the Elvis , a fully American concoction consisting of peanut butter, in a sandwich, with bananas. Recently, I read this was a great comfort food, which seemed appropriate since I am trying to finish my recovery from from a cold. So I tried out the sandwich. Turned out it was a creamy sensation more bland than my taste buds appreciated (there is a variation that includes bacon, which I believe would produce better results). I followed up the Elvis with another American classic, peanut butter & jelly - that turned out more satisfying, what with the smooth savory cream of the peanut butter mixing more successfully with the tart sweetness of preserves.  It was a fun study in American comfort food, and I can now cross this particular sandwich, the Elvis, off my bucket list. Not bad, though, for finding another way to get rid of those bananas which somehow always end up in the pantry ( bananas have been a top-selling ...