To top it all off, mark of #49, #62, and #96 from my 101 in 1001!

This post is being re-posted on 7/7/09 – I had a backup malfunction and lost 3 months of posts, and so I am re-posting them through my findings with Google Cache. I did NOT delete the comments, I just have no way of restoring them. I am sorry if you commented and it is lost!

• 9/15/2008 -- 101 in 1001 #2 – 47.52% Complete
• 7/19/2006 -- About
• 7/26/2008 -- Recycled Reading Meme (Day of Blogs ’08 #17)

#33 is host a formal dinner party.  I don’t know if you’d consider the dinner party that AJ and I had as formal, but it involved lots of awesome homecooked food, people we hadn’t seen in a while, and showing off all of AJ’s brand new dishes.  There was a theme, the house was spotless . . . in my mind the goal was a grown-up dinner party, and that’s what we had.

I had wanted to get Mama’s beads inventoried and make the inventory something she can easily work with daily (#61).  I got the system in place, but her interests have shifted somewhat, so this isn’t 100% complete.  I did my piece of it, even if she didn’t follow-through with actually utilizing the inventory system I set up.  Same goes for #72 – getting all of Mama’s email switched from Yahoo to her ISP account.  I got a great deal of it switched, but there are still a few things that she is choosing to keep on Yahoo.  I can’t force her to change that, but I did help her get set up better.

#70 – search for organic and free trade coffee and tea that I like, and make the switch.  I’m not going to do this with coffee right now because I get a free pound of coffee every week from Starbucks since I work there, and I’m not a particularly big fan of the fair trade or organic coffees that we have.  I can’t pass up the free coffee (I’m a poor grad student).  On the teas – I’m not really seeing a classification for fair trade tea, so perhaps that is yet to come.  However, i have found some awesome organic teas, and I have made the switch there.  Check!

The iTunes is sooo much happier now that #73 (reformat artists’ names on my iPod so that each one isn’t listed more than once) is finished.  However, I can tell that this might be something that I may have to constantly monitor and maintain.

When we went to Napa, we drank so many different wines.  I can’t really get a solid definition on what a “vintage wine” is, because they all have vintages, but we did some really cool barrell tasting, and I’m sure that somewhere in there I completed #90.

Only . . . 40 to go!  Sigh.

• 6/26/2008 -- Trip to California!
• 8/23/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #24
• 1/26/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #23

From I Can Has Cheezburger?

• No Related Post

Hat Tip: Pragmatic Compendium

• 9/5/2007 -- 171 Starbucks
• 7/26/2008 -- Reading on YouTube (Day of Blogs ’08 #26)
• 11/18/2007 -- What does it have to do with juice?

I am super excited about this. I love my job. Every good thing that you’ve heard about Starbucks as an employer is true. I get warm fuzzies when I think about my Starbucks family. And yes, this is cheesy and cliche, but I don’t care. I truly do love working for this company.

So yeah, that’s my big news for the day! Now off to go and enjoy a tasty beverage !

• 7/22/2008 -- Are you ready to stay awake?
• 1/23/2008 -- Holidays, Hospitals, and Higher Learning
• 7/28/2007 -- Take Two

A co-worker of mine was diagnosed with lung cancer this past spring. She has had a very difficult treatment period, and I (along with 3 or 4 others) have been coordinating meals for the family, getting the word out about her progress, etc.

On October 12 Charmaine was taken to hospice, and she passed away around 10:30 Saturday morning. This has been a difficult week because she was very cautious about letting people see her during her treatment, so there were a lot of people who were unable to say good bye to her before she moved on. I have been working with a few others to facilitate funeral arrangements (flowers, getting the info out, financials, etc.), and her funeral was this past Thursday.

It has been an emotionally exhausting week, though I can’t be thankful enough that she is no longer in pain. Now I pray for her husband (who has MS) and her daughter (who is my age), that they may be able to find some kind of normalcy and be able to eased of their pain.

Hopefully I will resume a bit more regular posting this week – things have just been too hectic this week.

On a bit more of a positive note, I have an interview in an hour with our district manager – hopefully I will soon be a shift supervisor at my store! Yay Starbucks!

• 7/19/2006 -- About
• 1/23/2008 -- Holidays, Hospitals, and Higher Learning
• 9/7/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #26

But how on earth can you tell what the country of origin is gonna do for your coffee? Over at Green Apron Stories I saw a post that explains a little basic coffee geography. It features the coffees that we sell at Starbucks, but the knowledge is the same for ALL coffee. Go take a look!

• 7/27/2008 -- WordPress Theme Directory (Day of Blogs ’08 #33)
• 7/27/2008 -- Longest Meme Ever (Day of Blogs ’08 #32)
• 7/26/2008 -- Literary Quotes (Day of Blogs ’08 #23)

Wow, it really has been a while since I did a WFMW! I thought I’d jump back in with this week’s theme – the “Brand Loyal Edition.” We’re supposed to post about what brands/products we can’t live without. So, here are a few of my favorites!

Starbucks – there’s a reason I love my job. Not only do they make quality products, but they are becoming more socially responsible and they are an AWESOME company to work for (that is not marketing hype – all the rumors you hear about them being a great employer are true).

E. Webscapes – there’s a reason I love my other job too, LOL! I was a very loyal customer for E. Webscapes before I joined them this past spring, and now that I get to work for them every day I see just how much hard work and personal care goes into each design project. Most definitely worth the money!!!

WordPress – it is so freakin’ versatile! If you haven’t experimented with WordPress as a blogging platform (or just a site management too) I SERIOUSLY recommend that you do so. I’ve tried many different platforms, and WP by far outshines them all. You can do so many things with it, and it is super crazy user-friendly. I have 2 blogs run on it, plus I’ve set up blogs for 4 or 5 friends on WP as well. And they are people who don’t know HTML from PHP from voodoo . . . and they love using WP.

Bookcrossing – this site has revolutionized the way that I think about books. I was always taught to hold on to your books since they are such a precious item. I still have great respect from books, and if a book holds special meaning for me or if I REALLY enjoyed it, I will still hold onto it. However, I’ve also learned the joy of sharing books. It’s so awesome to read journal entries as your books travel around and are enjoyed by countless others. And, if that’s not enough incentive, think about how many trees you could save by not printing new books!

Amazon.com – speaking of books, LOL! Amazon is almost ALWAYS my first stop when I’m buying something new. The prices are almost always the cheapest (plus, within 30 days if the price changes you can get back the money you would have saved by using Price Protectr), the reviews are EXTREMELY helpful, and if you join Amazon Prime you get EVERYTHING with free 2 day shipping (yes, there is an upfront fee, but I’ve found that I save way more than that by not paying for shipping or having to bump my order up to $25 for free shipping, and there is the benefit of not waiting a week). I even applied for the Amazon.com credit card, and I use that as my primary card. I get 1 point for every dollar I spend, and once I get to 2,500 points, I get a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com! Since I keep track of my spending like a debit card, it’s not rare for me to see one of these almost every month. AWESOME. Books? Check! DVDs? Check! Canvas grocery bags? Check! New external hard drive? Check! All things I’ve bought (for less) on Amazon.com!

Finding awesome brands that I trust and have proven themselves to me time and again? Works for me!

• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete
• 8/10/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #23
• 9/14/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #27

Mark Malkoff Takes the Starbucks Challenge

• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete
• 9/15/2008 -- 101 in 1001 #2 – 47.52% Complete
• 11/18/2007 -- What does it have to do with juice?

I’m also nervous because I’m going to keep working at Starbucks. Class is about 12 hours a week plus 20 hours a week of working on campus for academic credit . . . and then 30-35 hours a week at Starbucks. I hope that I don’t kill myself. Organization and motivation will have to be key.

I’m really liking my new apartment. For the first time I’m living somewhere that feels like it could be home. I haven’t felt that outside of my parents’ home before, I’ve always felt like I was just at the current stopping point. It’s a little strange living by myself though (I really really want kittens, but so far my parents say no . . .)

How are you doing? I feel like I haven’t heard from my (few) readers in forever . . . I don’t even know who still pays attention to my blog anymore, I’ve been so sporadic lately . . .

• 7/28/2007 -- Take Two
• 1/23/2008 -- Holidays, Hospitals, and Higher Learning
• 7/19/2006 -- About