Signature Select Breakfast Blend: A departure from some of the more specialized mail-order coffees that I usually review. This one is straight off the shelf at Safeway. I’m looking for a good fallback that I can find anywhere, anytime. It’s definitely a blend. The color of the beans is not uniform; there are a few rogue dark beans in the mix. Why?
Digression: There is no universal standard for roast color designation; it seems to be relative within a brand. In my experience, the wider distribution brands’ light roasts tend to be darker than the specialty brands (exception: Starbucks Blonde Roast is truly a light roast). That’s why if you want a no-kidding light roast, you may have to venture beyond the local Food Lion or Safeway.
Back to the Signature Select Breakfast Blend: There is no big flavor profile to highlight, it comes across as a bit watery. I brew my cups with a lot of grind per cup and I’m pretty consistent day to day, so I don’t think this is due to operator error or method. On the positive side: while it definitely lacks that citrus/sweet/tang flavor that defines a true light roast, it manages to avoid the burnt rubber flavor that many med or dark roasts have when drunk black. There are some subtle flavors in there that have potential, but they are subdued, lost in the blend. However, it’s easy drinking and definitely not unpleasant. While it won’t be my go-to anytime soon, it’s ok and would work in a pinch.
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Telework is interesting. It highlights a few things for me:
- The value of face too face interaction: When I’m at work, much of what I do during the day is on the computer. This had led me to a perception that I could be almost as effective from anywhere that had connectivity. False! Working from home, with email and chat windows as my only form of communication, is very limiting, and teleworking exposes this. No longer can I walk around the corner and get quick answers to simple questions, which really increases email volume and cuts down efficiency during the day. Additionally – and probably more importantly – telework takes away the critical element of human interaction that makes our jobs enjoyable and worthwhile. The work without the community isn’t the same.
- The value of the geographical home/work transition: I used to have a little board that I kept in my workshop with a list of rules that I copied from a jiu-jitsu gym in the Bronx (I think it was the “Jungle Gym”) back in 2015. It was called the MANual, and it had 5 or six rules to live by. One of them was “get up and go to work every day.” In other words, get out of your comfort wubby – the cocoon of hearth and home – and do what needs to be done. It’s not always easy or convenient, but do the work. That work may be going to your job, working fields on your farm, sitting down to write, or getting off the couch to spend time with your kids. It requires a small act of willpower to transition from ‘me time’ to one of servitude. But as the MANual says – go to work every day. // Physically leaving the home and driving to a worksite makes this transition happen naturally. As you transition geographically to work, you also transition mentally. While we all have days when we don’t want to go to work, it is easy to go get in your car, head out the driveway, and turn right. With telework, you don’t have this convenient transition….your in home mode, and then you sit down and are in work mode.
- The challenge of no-break parenting: Finley is out of school and apparently staunchly anti-nap. Collin still naps, but when he’s awake he enjoys playing with things that are either fragile, dangerous, valuable/important, or alive. So there is no break in the day until about 8pm. It’s exhausting.
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On the running front training has been going well. I’ve had good consistency for over three months now, and over the last month have increased training load. Last week I broke 30 for weekly mileage, which is a first in a long while. And I’ve been working in some intensity, at various interval lengths. This week I’m backing off on volume a little bit and then next week I’ll look to get 33-35 miles. I’m also incorporating 1-2 leg strength workouts per week as well, which I think is key to keeping my hip in line. It still has bad days every now and then, but it seems to be handling things well.
For trail running in Hawaii, mileage is not a great metric for training load. Time is a better one. The trails here have a lot of climbing and technical sections that moderate pace. Some of my hardest workouts don’t look impressive on paper. And I think overall I average in the 12min/mile range for pace. There is a different time-distance-effort algorithm on this terrain.
But at the end of the day, most races are gauged in miles, not time, so you have to understand how your body holds up over distance. I’m still targeting two races this summer, but I’m thinking that only one of them will happen.
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I’ve been writing down extracts from Ram Dass’ lectures, ones that I think hold important messages and are worth coming back to. I’ll share some of them on here. Many are from the Ram Dass ‘Here and Now’ podcast, and some are from his full lectures which can be found on youtube. This first one is from Here and Now, episode 125, beginning approximately at the 22 min mark (it’s not continuous; I pulled some segments from across about 5 minutes of the talk).
Here he talks about embracing the mystery behind our experiences, rather than trying to always impart meaning or a purpose to them. While we try to understand our experiences in ways that add richness to our lives, we should also be humble enough to to acknowledge and honor the undeniable mystery behind it all. It challenges us to let go of our desire to make sense of all things.
I like this quote because it goes against the grain a bit. Ram Dass, whose role on earth for 50+ years was as a spiritual guide and speaker, still says of it all: “I don’t know…I don’t know.”
“I invite you to really embrace the question, the issue, of the mystery of the universe, and the mystery is most manifested in suffering and in death.
….[addressing a mother who’s just lost her son to illness] You’ve looked at the universe as it is, without the filter of your beliefs, or your dreams of how it could be, or your judgements about how it should be. You just look at it how it is, and you bear the unbearable. And you go through the death of everything you held onto to protect yourself from it. ‘Well there’s afterbirth, there’s reincarnation, there’s God, there’s something’… it all is ripped off you. There’s nothing to hold on to, and here we still are, now what?…
I can’t justify why that boy died the way he died. I can give you cute answers about reincarnation and Karma, but I don’t know…I don’t know. But the place in which you and I have played with planes of consciousness and we’ve been privy through the edge of our eyes to sense the wisdom, the incredible awesome nature of the way phenomena are at play, leads us to just sit with the mystery, as the Bible says, ‘with awe.’ …. You can see that the mind’s desire for control makes the mystery seem as something that has to be solved. I invite you not to solve the mystery, but to become friends with it, to become friends with it, so you can just look at what is.”
bradswebblog.com 
Great post, especially when you write about work from home versus going to a place of work. The coffee thing is not something I can really get into, especially since I haven’t been drinking it for a few months. Prefer tea, like my ancestors! Love that you are going to some of Ram Dass talks…..I had a whole series of LP’s where he gave his talks….loved him in college and onward. BTW, listen to Pat’s singing under the name of donkeywisdom….also on facebook. I’m blown away.
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Maybe one of these weeks I’ll mix it up and do a tea review…I brought some pretty good Darjeeling back from India. I prefer to take it with sweetned condensed milk.
I think I know which LPs you are referring to. I think you can download those now, but the LPs are hard to find.
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Great post Brad – I just led a session at work (on-line of course) about dealing with the challenges of working at home. I watched about 10 youtube videos on it and found these two to be the best. (this one about 3 mins long)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqZiBugq4ts&t=2s and this one about 18 mins long:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLBYYdg0sfs A lot of them have the same points you make – get up, get dressed and try to pretend like you’re not at home. Set and try to stay with a schedule. Try not to do stuff at home that you wouldn’t do if you were at work. Get buy in from momma and the kids (easier said than done). Anyway – good stuff. Thanks
Your running program is impressive. I’m back up to 6 miles a week. May try to work some fartlek training into those meager miles. currently following Laird Hamilton’s advice, I’m trying to run not quite half the run breathing thru my nose. THAT’s an interesting challenge.
Right now i’m engaged in writing my reviews of Crime and Punishment and Gates of Fire. Can hardly imagine two more different books. Gates of Fire was very much worth reading again – a completely different book (it seems!) from when I read it first 20 years ago!
Ram Dass – You’ve told me you are listening to his stuff – and I hope to do that. Right now, still listening primarily to podcasts, but now am listening to a book on the power of the subconscious – inspired by Pete Naschak’s comments a couple of weeks ago. There’s a whole lot there – with visualizations, affirmations, auto-suggestions. A powerful tool if we can learn to use it. Ram Dass is on the docket! Thanks again for your thoughts.
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I watched the 3 minute youtube video you linked to (ironically, during my at home ‘working’ hours). Yep, everything she says is true in my experience…basically the more disciplined and structured you can be, the more it works.
On nose breathing while running – that’s a great method to maintain an aerobic level of effort. HR is probably more precise, but nose breathing is a good low-tech option to keep you honest.
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Hi Brad, thanks for the reminder of your blog! Interesting perspectives on work, home, and life in general! It can be a challenge having work at home or like us, at the ranch. Glad you are running and enjoying it! Looking forward to more of your thoughts! Sue
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Thanks for the note Sue! Hope all’s well at the ranch…and hope to make it back out there again sooner than later!
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So good to hear your review on coffee and your thoughts on work and spirituality. They all are important topics now more than ever. If there is a coffee shortage like the toiletpaper one I will go insane!!
I drink Kauai Coffee that I discovered in Safeway! I do not know why I like it so…think it has something to do with connection to Hawaii. Could be I love the illustration on the package of the etherial hula girl steaming out of a cup. As long as I breathe, I will always be in search of the perfect cup! lol
Work has taken on a different meaning here in Florida. My main job is to exercise Buddy. We walk 3 to 4 miles everyday at various parks and preseves to satisfy his need to mark his turf. Once that job is done, it is ‘pick a project’ time for the new home. Landscaping, decorating, cleaning,painting, getting estimates are just a few categories to choose from. So, I do get up, go sone place and tackle some problem…I just do not get paid!! lol
Glad to hear your hip is better and you are still running. Run a few miles for me😉.
Being mindful is a n important aspect in Buddhism as well. Mindfilness gives us time; time gives us choices. And hopefully we respond with wisdom.
Long nay you run, love Lol
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Hi lol thanks for the note. Coffee, then walking Buddy and then home projects sounds like a pretty good day to me! I don’t know if I’ve had the Kauai coffee, but I’ll pick some up and try it one of these weeks. All is well here, each day offers new opportunities.
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Brad! Thanks for the email notice on the new postings. Now if I could be more prompt in reading them. Good notes on the telework front. My work is very conducive to telework since I really don’t work directly with anyone in my office, but actually going to work does provide a different dynamic. I’ve tried to keep a strict schedule and act like I’m going to work everyday. Get up, shower, coffee, … go upstairs and start working.
Sticking with my philosophy of continuing to learn and stretch myself I’ve started learning to play guitar. Even though I’m 50 years old I figure I can milk a good 20 or more years out of it. Thoroughly enjoying it and trying to stay on the right side of obsession with it. My reading has taken a hit with the new hobby, balance, balance, balance, ha.
Glad to hear you are running and sounds like you are relatively healthy being able to run that much. Not sure how your hip is holding up or if you had anything done with it? Curious about any of your running plans. I know races are up in the air. My running has been pretty sparse, but I really focused on strength training after knee surgery and I think it will help my running. Although I need to reset the running expectations as father time catches up.
Tell Allie hey and glad the family is doing well, best wishes and hopefully catch up in the not to distant future.
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Hey Stacin good to hear from you. Yeah I’ve also found that keeping a strict schedule is the best way to stay effective with telework, I just have to fend off the temptation to do home things during work hours.
Awesome that your learning guitar. You know, I’ve played several different instruments over the years and they each have their own appeal, but guitar is one of the most versatile and probably what I’d pick if I had to go down to one. While it’s pretty easy and fast to learn basic chords and a few tunes/songs…from there you can branch out into all sorts of styles and disciplines. I’d recommend that once you get past the initial learning hump (maybe you already have), that you look into exploring classical. It’s more complex and engaging than what most people play, but it’s interesting, sounds good, and the skills translate.
On running, yeah I’m glad that I’m able to keep some semblance of a program up, even if it isn’t what it was several years ago. WRT the hip, I considered surgery again this year and then decided against it. I wrote a little about that decision in my 15 Mar SMLR, so you can check out a bit more on that there. I think surgery is inevitable (likely resurfacing and then eventually replacement), I just think i can milk a few more decent years out of my natural hip. I think I was probably pre-disposed to hip issues, but jumping quick and heavy into ultrarunning in 2016 – and then sustaining it for 3 years without enough stretching and mobility work – probably accelerated it quite a bit. All good – now I have more incentive to take care of the body and not just beat it up.
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