What One Semester of Spanish Can Do for You!

This video brings back fond (?) memories of senior year of high school, when I decided it would be a good idea to take first-year Spanish. (Hint: it pretty much was a drag because I was the oldest student in there . . . but it was easy.)




I'd like to dedicate this post to my friends Carlos and Jenny, who are getting married December 15 -- can't wait to see you guys!

Quote of the Day

This from Bernd Brunner, who has written a book about bears entitled. . . . Bears. I heard him on NPR on the Diane "Lady Death" Rehm show during the five minutes it took to get to work today. He was talking about how people need to be better educated when bears start repopulating into their communities, citing an example in Germany of a bear who was being harassed by the community through which it was traveling. Of the incident, he said (a scholar, mind you):

"It was a classic case of Bearanoia."

A new word that will be forever fixed in my memory.

the Starbucks challenge

As of Friday, I have officially worked at Starbucks for a month. I have the official "green apron" and everything.
Look at me -- I am just as sickeningly upbeat at 4am as I am when you stop by for your late-night caffeine buzz! (Ok, well, maybe not upbeat . . . but I am amazed at what I am able to chirrup out when I work opening shifts. . . barista got to get paid, son.)

Anyway, as much as Starbucks is, really, a good place to work, I don't think I would ever take on this guy's challenge -- he figured out how many Starbucks are in Manhattan (171) and decided to visit all of them in one day. He also consumed at least part of a purchase at each store.

Mark Malkoff Takes the Starbucks Challenge

It made me start twitching just thinking about it. . . .