records.coffee.cigarettes

right now i'm trying to enjoy the simple things in life. far too often i find myself getting caught up in 'the future' and projecting about what i want to, or think should happen. when i do this i inevetably find myself feeling out of sorts. frustrated because things aren't going how they 'should', obsessing about things i realistically have absolutely no control over. just generally not feeling good about my life.
so, as i said, i'm trying to enjoy the simple things in life. the things that i can always count on to make me feel content. satisfied with my lot in life.

music. specifically punk. even more specifically, listening to old punk rock vinyl. i don't know why, but there is something about listening to vinyl, as opposed to cd's. part of it, i'm sure, is the romanticized idea that now exists about actually listening to a record, and part, i think, is that vinyl is how most of the albums i listen to regularly were originally heard. minor threat. 7 seconds. black flag. circle jerks. the clash. elvis costello. all were pressed to vinyl originally. before 8-tracks. before cassettes. before cd's.
vinyl has a soul that none of the other formats do. thats my theory anyway, and i'm sticking to it.

coffee. also makes me happy. it feeds my soul. my imagination. my conscience.
today i have two coffee's that i've been meaning to write about; two east african coffee's from johnson brothers, in madison, and from stumptown, in portland.

johnson brothers
organic ethiopian yirgacheffe adado natural processed
the most noticeable things is the crisp clean brightness throughout the cup. there are plenty of lemon and floral tones, with some dark bakers chocolate and caramel stuff going on in the back and in the finish.

stumptown
kenya gaturiri reserve
the thing i love about this coffee is that it makes me think of a christmas pudding, something that i loved as a kid. and still love, although its difficult to find it now. lots of dark dried fruit flavors. raspberries. blackberries. plums. with a super heavy body. stumptown describe it as a stout body, which is perfect, because i've always used guiness in xmas pudds.

now its time to go digging through some crates and buy some new old records