You're only lost if you don't know where you are

Back in November, I took a navigation course with the Seattle-based Mountaineers, which seems like a pretty cool organization, other than the fact that when I arrived 15 minutes early to the evening portion of the course on a school night, the room was already half full of eager beavers gathered around tables, marking things off on their USGS quads, and not talking to each other.  And I thought I was early.  Jeez.  It got worse - on the day of the practical portion (which I opted to do on the day that Daylight Savings ended so that my 4:30am wake-up call would really feel like 5:30am), I inadvertently arrived a blistering 45 minutes early to the trailhead....and several participants -- not instructors -- were already there.  Wow.

After all that, though, I think you all should know that while I may not be able to figure out where I am in the backcountry, the course taught me how to be wicked good at following a bearing.  I think that still leaves me lost.  :)

Short drip, no room.

Simply, one of the best things about being in Seattle is the coffee know-how of those who work in coffee shops.  Back home, the closest coffee shop to my office is conveniently across the street.  Inconveniently, I dislike Starbucks drip coffee, and this particular store's baristas are among the more incompetent that I've experienced.

Here, I've been thrilled that every barista not only knows what a "short" is but also is in stock of short disposable cups.  I know, I know...what was I doing without a reusable travel mug?  Well, I'd been looking for the right one: a mix of utilitarian and individualism.  Something that said me.

Last week, I found my travel mug in Herkimer Coffee.  It's a short size!  They really exist!  Okay, you can stop with the short jokes now.