Calling Melborne residents!!!

[bobbi]

Hi guys,

To go back to the topic at the top of this thread, how is your interior redesign project progressing T?
Must be quite tricky (fortunately you have the required vivid imagination I think,) doing an interior or two from a distance. Perhaps you should get the client to fly you over for a site inspection - I'm sure Viz and Al would put you up 

Regarding coffee, we Kiwis also take our coffee extremely seriously! The university cafeteria area has three different coffee shops with three different barristas, and the queue at the superior one (named Lime because of the neon chairs,) is always much longer than than at the other two. If the queue is too long, I philosophically forego the coffee and get myself a cup of miso from the Uni sushi bar instead much to the amusement of my fellow classmates. Well, it's supposedly better for me and it's less than half the cost 

I have a cousin who lives in Seattle (he works in middle management for Microsoft and is passionate about snowboarding so he actually likes this arrangement  .) Anyway, on his last visit home, he was startled by the local Auckland reaction to Starbucks. We spit on Starbucks - nasty coffee made by inadequately trained staff (can't possibly call them barristas!), who nine times out of ten burn the coffee. My cousin thought that Starbucks was the epitome of sophisticated coffee connoiseurdom. I suppose that Seattle is the original home of Starbucks. Perhaps their branches are superior to those in New Zealand, Australia  and California?

I've never been to Vietnam, but I wouldn't dream of looking for good coffee in an Asian country. Much better to stick to obscene quantities of green tea.

[technomc]

Hi bobbi,
It is going very well thanks.
I am on the finishing touches before i send off my plans for inspection. A tweak here and there and some colour rendering is all that's left at this stage.
A site visit would be fab, but unlikely, unfortunately. Maybe if my plans for this job are accepted the next project might be bigger and warrant a visit. This is just bread-and-butter stuff really. Fun though.
Have a good one mate.

[Viz]

it is strange that so many americans seem to like Starbucks coffee (actually can hardly cal it coffee - i agree Bobbi - too weak and nasty tasting) and i dont think it's different in the US - although I've never been to Seattle so cant comment - but in other places fairly disgusting - we are quite lucky in Melbourne due to the large Italian post ww2 migration. but you would think that Vietnam with it's big french influence could lift their coffee game - their baguettes are quite nice.

[Binkie]

I knew if I waited long enough, that this fascinating piece of trivia would be relevant.  You are utterly wrong about Asian coffee, girls........read on!
Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee is coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The animals gorge on the ripe berries, and excrete the partially-digested beans, which are then harvested for sale. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines (where the product is called Kape Alamid), and the coffee estates of south India. Vietnam has a similar type of coffee, called weasel coffee which also comes from the droppings of weasels after they eat the coffee berries. In actuality the "weasel" is just the local version of the Asian Palm Civet.

Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for up to $600 USD per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and United States, but it is increasingly becoming available elsewhere, though supplies are limited. One small cafe in the hills outside Townsville in Queensland, Australia has Kopi Luwak coffee on the menu at A$50.00 per cup. The locals line up for it, and it has gained nationwide press. This, however, is the only place it is available in Australia.

[biggerbirdbrain]

$50 a cup for COFFEE???

ARE PEOPLE CRAZY?? Got more money than sense?

I'm sorry, but even if it were gilded, that's plain ridiculous! What are people thinking? Oh, yeah, of course, I know it's "whatever the market will bear,"... blah, blah, blah .... Give it to a charity ... give it to your poor mother .... give it to care for a homeless dog, even.

The world is going nuts! 

(PS - Binks, that's such a hilarious description, I nearly fell out of my chair and spilled my $1.50/pound coffee!)

[anonsi]

I also loathe Starbucks coffee.  It's always better to get a coffee from a small cafe instead of a chain store.  Just as it's usually better to get food from a cafe or a restaurant instead of at a fast food place.  Starbucks is all about getting you through the line and out the door as fast as possible.  I'd rather enjoy my coffee and take my time.  Supposedly the original Starbucks was much better...but I've never been there to see it, so who's to say?

[rogue_mother]

I don't drink Starbucks in the store, but I buy their beans and grind them at home.  My daughter says the problem with Starbucks coffee is that they overroast their beans.

[bobbi]

R-M,
Your daughter must be right! I just call it burned. We had to do a group presentation on taste (neural pathways in the brain etc.) last week in a tutorial. I put together a little activity for the class to lighten things up a bit. Put food colouring in four of the five basic tastes, and then got them to match colour with taste. We had pink tartaric acid (sour), green salt (salty), blue MSG (umami), and black sugar (sweet.) Couldn't find a bitter white powder to colour, so I ground some coffee for bitter. It wasn't that bitter - should have burned those beans first 

Binkie, i knew that stuff about the Palm Civet!  There was an item in the weekend paper's travel section about the cafe near Townsville a few months back. My husband pointed it out to me and told me not to get any ideas. I love trying out new stuff! 

Glad your long-distance project's working out for you T.

Oh well, back to today's grind for me. Apart from lectures and the good old gym workout, I have a meeting with the lecturer who asked me to write a piece for the OT journal later today. Hope he likes what I've got for him. Then my daughter's coming up to Auckland for a visit later today. She's expecting to be taken out for a curry, so no domestic duties tonight, yay!

Cheers,

[technomc]

What a clever lass you are bobbi, and what a lot of things you are doing. How do you find the time?
I think you are...

[biggerbirdbrain]

Ditto from me -- although you'll probably never get to see it I'm going to post it anyway. Good ole' T beat me to using mine first, so I might just as well ! 

[technomc]

Sorry threeb me 'ole mate....
It sounds like you had a fair day...me too...

[biggerbirdbrain]

I'm good, thanks! Sorry we couldn't chat more -- rest well!

[bobbi]

Girls, I love the pictures, but I'm afraid I'm nowhere near being wonder-anything, just over-enthusiastic-girl I think.

I'm currently struggling mental demons that are begging me to learn to play the oboe. Don't want to be able to play it professionally or anything, just about grade 3 or 4 level would do me fine.

My husband who knows me so well, listened to me rant on about how I wish I could fit this in, did some basic research and has found me a teacher who's prepared to give me lessons on a Saturday morning. And my hubby says he's happy to take over the week's ritual of tackling the entire clothes washing function on Saturday mornings, so I can toddle off to Murray's Bay music centre. Now I need to figure out when I'm going to practice. Can't be late at night or early in the morning - we're a bit close to our neighbours and an oboe isn't the sort of thing that can be muted.

Ran for 11 minutes on the treadmill today, yeah!  Think that I'm beginning to feel the effects of those runners endorphins I've heard people banging on about for years. It does feel pretty good.

Meeting with the lecturer was sobering. My piece is too descriptive and not reflective enough. He did like three or four sentences though, so I have something to build on and he's scheduled another meeting for Wednesday, so he's obviously confident I can manage something to fit the requirements.  Back to the drawing board. But first I think I'll read a few chapters on reflective practice in healthcare for inspiration. This is great actually, because one of the key things they're looking for in the next big essay is reflective ability, and I don't think they've explained this well enough, so a bit of one-on-one with the lecturer has been extremely helpful.

[biggerbirdbrain]

Yet another skill you are willing to take on ... and a hubby who encourages and is willing to do mundane chores for the benefit of all! You are a lucky woman, indeed -- although, you do make your own as well, it seems. And have such an optimistic outlook! We didn't post ENOUGH superwoman images to do you justice, Bobbi!

GREAT JOB! We tip our hats to you (if we wore any) in your multitude of endeavours!

[technomc]

Hey bobbi...[you get my vote for the 'CHI  Woman of the Year' award]

If my old man [i wish] offered to do the chores i would be down the music centre like a shot, sitting around chatting and drinking coffee....then if he asked how it was going, i would tell him 'slowly' and it was going to take me years...then when you 'practiced' at home, he would hear the music, and agree ...

You are an inspiration to all women bobbi....