i'm writing today from a coffee shop! i feel very writer-ish here. It's this VERY tiny shop in the Heights, with exposed brick and a little side garden with string bulb lights. I like the sandwiches made at their main shop, another place called Black Hole. So I come here to work on things.
It's pouring down rain here. I saw on the news that there was a hurricane downgraded to a tropical storm. well, there it is.
today was the first day I could wear boots... I think that deserves a mention because FINALLY! I can walk to the mailbox a few blocks down (we don't have an outgoing mailbox at the apartment complex, but there is a sidewalk drop box in the neighborhood) without dying from the humidity! you know, the slightly comical and yet character building thing about my new house in Houston is that we have window AC units......man. nothin builds character like sweating it out in a 9 x 9 room.
I've been training at a new job, at Te House of Tea, the CUTEST little tea shop in Midtown that I loved even before moving here. It's a really great job - partially because it's part time but enough to make up the difference in freelance writing. I really love it so far - making the tea means I get to smell them all (the next best thing to tasting them because it's a good way to distinguish flavors.) All tea is categorized into two kinds: Camelia Seninsis Seninsis and Camelia Assamicus. Seninsis is grown in Asia - china and japan primarily. and Assamicus is from India. the kind it is has to do with how it is harvested and the oxidation of it. but you can usually tell if tea is black or green or herbal or darjeeling, etc. from the way it smells. others, like Puerh, have a very distinct smell because they are made a certain way ( I think plain puerh tastes like the way boxwoods smell. it's a distinct flavor.) and learn which different kinds are which and which ones have what steeping times and boiling points. plus, my favorite thing I learned so far is how to make rooibos perfectly, which is my current favorite. Rooibos is a red tea from the red bush found primarily in South Africa. It reminds me of good friendships - some global! - and it has a nice subtle sweet flavor. it's especially good for brewing if you can set the pitcher in a sunny window!
It's funny though, because after a few shifts at the shop, I have already become ten times more proficient at making tea than I was before ...
there are times it gets pretty hectic there, but for the most part, it is quite quiet. Jimmy Stewart playing on the stereo, the bubble of the hot water machines and the clink of tea cups and soup spoons. It's nestled amidst a really cute neighborhood on Fairview Street. I like the trees around bending over the street.
and.....no one has made any comments about my skirts. (ha ha ha.) (:
