Coffee in Albuquerque Pt. 1

There's this coffee shop.

It has no name, it's called coffee I think. Yep just "Coffee."

On the corner of Mountain and something (8th St.) it sneaks up on you.  I discovered it a while driving from Albuquerque's old town back home I think.  A midst all these old style Albuquerque homes it pops out suddenly and you just keep bottle-necking as you drive by--your eyes fixed on the blue and red trim and the promise of it being the best cup of coffee you'll ever discover.  That's the hope you have with every coffee shop isn't it though?  Maybe this time, it will be the best coffee you've had so far.

That's what the sign says on it in the front anyway--"Coffee." No clever names, nothing complicated, nothing extraterrestrial like our very own Satellite, neither does it attempt to be godlike similar to the other S word. (It's a word I'm careful not to bring up so that I don't offend.) Just straight to the punch, as if to say "this is what we sell, this is all we sell, we are good at it, and you will love it."  That's the bait, the appeal.  It's what drew me in and it's the kind of thing that gets you hooked--that and the red and blue trim.

At first, it seems like it used to be a house, but it used to be a gas station really.  There is an old postcard on the front of the espresso machine inside with a picture of the place when long ago it used to advertise 7 up big and proud on its fuel pumps. Who drinks 7 up anymore anyway?

I had to take someone else there just to make sure it was real.  Yes, it seems too far away and magical to be a real place. It seemed to only exist in a romanticized Albuquerque. Me and my buddy Sam are fans of coffee and conversations and I had a reason to go there one friday.  (Long story short: The guy that owns the place hired me to paint a house next door and he owed me money--I make friends easily.)  Sam and drove there and walked in.

It's weird to see one of your friends in a different context that your not used to being in together.  I had been going there to paint a house for a couple of days--for the owner who also owns a tile-making company--you see.  I knew I was still sane and in the same city because I could see the one building closest to a skyscraper we boast about here in the biggest city in NM.  But the day I took Sam there was different.  It was slightly rainy though not cold.  It was a perfect day to sit outside and drink a cup of Joe and have a conversation.  There was a literal rainbow across the way from us.  We were facing West sitting outside the quaint little establishment.  We were surrounded by beautiful New Mexico-style homes with flowers all over the front yards.  A man walked up to me and handed me a hundred dollars.  Looking over to Sam I asked "Are we in the same city? Did we go to some far away land and end up here somehow? Is this Narnia?"

Ok I didn't ask if this was Narnia.  But a man did walk up to me and give me a hundred dollars.  He owed me money for painting the house across the way.  It was one of those times where for some reason it becomes more real when another person in your life takes in the experience with you.  It's like when I went to the grand canyon, I had to take a double take and look over to make sure my sister and dad were seeing the same thing I was.

The coffee is quite good.  The espresso drinks are amazing.  There are bagels.  And of course there are free refills.  I asked the barista if there were and he replied with, "What do you think this is, a Nazi concentration camp? Of course they're free."  He used more colorful language.  So there you go.  It's a place where they consider other places inferior for not offering free coffee refills.  Take note Satellite and Starbucks.

It's open 7 to noon everyday.  There is live music on Sundays.  There are some great people that work there and frequent the place.  Many of them are artists looking to talk about anything and everything.  It has a warm neighborhood atmosphere where people are happy to meet you and talk to you.  People are pretty genuine here. I like it.

Fellowship of the Ring AGAIN?!

Forget Netflix. The Movie Theater Still Matters

That's right, I prefer the babies crying, people telling you to shut up because of your geeky giddiness, people reading subtitles for their children. I would rather sit in a room full of respectable film appreciators who enjoy the cinema-going experience. I prefer that over sitting in a room by myself wondering which instant netflix movie I'm gonna let buffer while I wait for my tea kettle to boil. Going to the movies never felt so good.



I don't prefer the occasional drunks that wonder into Century 14 downtown Albuquerque multiplex, but that's beside the point.

Earlier this spring I discovered that The Lord of the Rings film series would be released to movie theaters again this year. My personal nerdometer rose to an all-time high. My friend Marcus said, "We'll be going to that one, right Andres?" I agreed, and--I don't know why I am surprised--but it has been the best experience I've had at the movies all year--Aside from making fun of the poor choices in Thor with my friend Jessie and witnessing the remains of a popcorn-induced vomit in the little boys room at Anchorage's multiplex.


Me Disappearing as a result of the ONE RING.

At least with Fellowship of the Ring you know that you aren't going to want your money back at the end of the night. Other movies like Thor, X-Men, Pirates, etc. They're pretty decent and they are fun and feel-goody and all that summer movie nonsense. They've got the explosions and pretty people. Fellowship has the pretty people (basically all of them) and great special effects of course, but the film is about much more than that. With the re-release of Lord of the Rings, or LOTR as we geeks like to abbreviate it, at least you know that your movie going experience will be worthwhile.

This was my second favorite viewing of Fellowship. The first time I saw it was obviously my favorite experience. It was great to be in a theater full of appreciating fans who are there to see it for maybe the 50th time. There is this positive energy you feel when everyone is enjoying the same thing you are--a great community experience. The film never looked and sounded better than this as far as I can remember. Peter Jackson isn't so much like George Lucas--that is he doesn't try to sell his movie anyway he can find a way to and in every format. (Lucas now wants to make his Star Wars into 3D, really Lucas?) Jackson is reasonable, a great artist and businessman when it comes down to it. This was a "rare" event as he called it.

Though the girl next to me told me to shut up, I knew it was because she was wanting to enjoy the film and I wasn't too offended because I knew we were being obnoxious with our giddiness. When the child was having the subtitles read aloud to her, I thought she was probably seeing it for the first time and I was glad that she was! What a special moment. I just wish her mother wouldn't have read the poetic lines so monotone and matter-of-factly. Imagine: "I love you Aragorn" (or whatever the line is) spoken by your least favorite college professor behind you.

I teared up at least three times in this viewing. The obvious ones:

• When Gandalf dies.
• When Borimir dies.
• When Sam and Frodo share that moment at the end. (Sam nearly dies.)
• That's right, 'dies' is in red. Perhaps a reference to Legolas' line in The Two Towers?
  

The Not-So Obvious reason I teared up:

• When the movie began and all of that amazing cinematography came and went in montage, it's enough to make a grown up fan-boy throw a slumber party even at 23. (Am I really getting to re-experience this masterpiece?)

Stuff I was surprised by this time around:

• The amount of times frodo falls. (When stabbed, in Moria (at least 2 or three times), when being chased by wraiths and he jumps onto raft, when Borimir tries to take the ring, off the historic platform at the climax of film when he takes ring off.
• How many close-ups Peter Jackson chooses to use and how far in he goes. I forgot how intimate the scenes between Arwen and Aragorn are, that is how close the camera gets to them. I'm not uncomfortable by this, it works great! Jackson likes to get in really close to his characters eyes.
• All of the helicopter shots. I am always surprised by it every time I see this film. Fellowship has the most and the most beautiful of the three. It's a regular tour of New Zealand's country side--the country has to give Jackson and crew credit for bringing in so many tourists looking for things like Gollum and cave trolls. It's beautiful cinematography.
  

I never appreciated the extended edition of this film probably because I have never seen it in theaters before or in its full context. (I would often go through the films and watch the added footage.) I had some doubts about spending this money to go see a film I had already seen before. But truthfully I have never seen this film in theaters. I've seen its shorter version before. This one is better and I am glad I am going to all three parts of it.

How to Move forward

I have been thinking a lot about how to move forward from a period of complete "stuckness." I am currently in a place where I feel alone, trapped, stuck, isolated, without help. The list goes on. When people experience this degree of "staticity." They either find ways for themselves to stay there through complete negative thinking or they work very hard to get out of their static state. I am static. I am not moving forward. I feel stuck. I know how to move forward, I just feel like I deserve to stay exactly were I am. That is why I am writing on how to move on.

1) Realize that you are a sinner and that you can do nothing about it, only God can.
2) God forgives sin. Again, and again, and again.
3) Realize that the world is unfair though there is good in it.
4) Make conscious and actual decisions to let go. (I.E. I am going to eat healthier starting TODAY!)
5) Have healthy expectations. People are broken, I am broken, no one is perfect. Only God knows how to fully love.
6) Do not blow things out of proportion. Things are what they are, and no more.
7) Live a life as if you are free, because you are--through Christ. Knowing this should bring you joy.
8) Think positively. Be thankful for what you DO have instead of what you DO NOT have. You have amazing friends, family, and things (more than likely.)
9) Allow God to bring perspective to your life. When you see things through your own eyes and with your own selfish ambitions, you do not completely understand anything. Your pride skews your understanding of the world.
10) God is love.