an independent coffee shop in towson, really? really!

For those unfamiliar with baltimore, Towson Maryland is on top of Baltimore. In theory it should be a university town, with towson university and all. But when I think university town I think independent coffee shops full of students and books and brooding. Instead Towson has starbucks and a fancy pants mall with a "luxery wing" (literally.) So Towson in my book is remarkably less cool than any other part of baltimore, basically all neighborhoods of which are really full of wonderful independent shops. When I need to exit my office to get work done (i do try to stay where there is nothing to spend money on and no cookies to tempt me but sometimes that just wont do) and i need a coffee shop I always head back to the lauraville spots. but on mondays red canoe is closed. and i come to my point: today I found a coffee shop in towson! apparently it has been here a whole year. Its cute. good soup. friendly barrista lady. books. art. outdoor seating. so far so good.

now to that work i came to do...

oh, its called the french press

cold brew and coffee perfection

its summer and time to break out the toddy maker. cold brew coffee is the best thing ever and if you havent tried it here is why you should:

1. more caffeine

2. less acid

3. powerful concentrate of coffee deliciousness + milk = perfect perfection

4. no plugging in

with a cold brew drip bucket system deal you let a pound of ground coffee sit in water for 10-12 hours, pull the plug and let it filter into a decanter, and you have coffee that can be made hot or iced, depending on the temp of the water you dilute it with of course. its damn sweet in a glass of cold milk and a bazillion cheaper than what you pay to have iced coffee drinks made for you. and if you find coffee is bad on your tummy, cold brew probably wont be. see, it is heaven's elixir. and its green: no electricity needed.

hot chocolate for coffee

im in a coffee shop cafe and i only just realized that the music im listening to is live, a man in the corner with a guitar, so classic, along with my hot cocoa which has replaced coffee as my regular beverage treat, that and rooibos tea (always a winner) but today is a seattle day in baltimore rainy and chilly and made for hot cocoa, no whip, and sitting on this couch at the evergreen (fitting into my seattle in baltimore day theme) i have finally put a literature review in a conference paper to be finished soon ugh drudgery but i did it and now ill go eat fajitas and play board games with friends for the night
i hope you are all having a nice hot cocoa style day

will work for coffee and mortgage payment

yesterday in church we sang "coffee coffee coffee" to the tune of "holy holy holy," and let me tell you, that shit cracked me up. unitarian universalists know how to make fun of themselves, especially on april fools day. this morning im singing the praises of ethiopian yrgacheffe. amen, blessed be, ohyeah.
its roasted by this fairly new local roaster, only a mile or so away. i wrote them an email praising their talents and letting them know we drink it every morning and, oh by the way, can i work for you this summer? they didnt write back. for the first time in three years i do not have a summer class to teach at Temple. my own fault, i was waffling and groaning about the commute and missed the deadline to bid for teaching spots. now i feel like a highschool kid looking for a summer gig, only i have a mortgage to pay and buy my own groceries. well, with help of course, but my help is also a student whose income source is debt debt debt.
oh we love loans in this house.
so im shopping my skills, sent out letters to local colleges (baltimore has quite a few) in hopes they may need summer adjuncts.
apparently not.
sent emails to coffee roasters lauding my knowledge of beans and tea and love of farmers markets where i would be honored to shop their stuff in the early early morn.
but no.
oh dear.
its a good reminder that although grad students often complain that we are worked too hard for too little money, even an adjunct position pays better than what many a folk can get.