Even More Panera Thoughts

Hey, at least someone is taking note of my high-strung comment about the plasticware hybrids at Panera bread. Good to know people are trying to make a difference!

Here is one more thing I have realized about Panera – I only go there for the Spinach and Artichoke souffle. There is in my opinion no better way to break a mild fast than to partake of this divinely incarnated menu item.

Problem: they are always snagged up first, and the Bacon souffle, as well as the newest item, “Turkey Sausage souffle” are inferior substitutes imho. The 4 Cheese souffle is ok I suppose, but the Spinach Artichoke is what motivates me for the 25 minute drive to my local Panera.

Proposed Simple Solution: This calamity could be solved by giving the local shop limited authority to bake extra Artichoke souffles based on consumption metrics from recent history. Perhaps then the resplendent Artichoke souffle would survive beyond 8:30 or 9 am.

Problem: In the event there is both a dearth of Artichoke souffles and a line 3 deep or more, I have even begun wondering what else there is that I want for breakfast aside from the more sugary stuff they have. There are few non-sugary breakfast entrees, and the only one that consistantly appeals to me is the beloved S/A souffle. More than once I have gone to the local COSI instead for an omelet sandwich.

Case in point: right now I am extremely hungry for a Spinach Artichoke souffle, and I have been writing this post instead of hightailing it to my local Panera bread, where I might have had a chance to purchase the last one. But it is now 9:43 am and all hope is lost.

The Cost of Tort

I was able to dispel the rumor of perilously huge increases in my auto insurance upon defecting to NJ.

Currently I live in NE Philly, drive an 18 year old Honda Accord with 300k miles on it, and pay $260/6mo with Geico. Barebones coverage, limited tort.

With comparable coverage in Trenton, said rate would be $311, less than $10 more per month. Coverage in Princeton is less than what I currently pay.

Had I wished to purchase full tort to sue for anything I wish, this would indeed rise to almost $500. The high cost of defending one’s “rights”.

I’d Give $5 for Yesterday’s Commute!

Was drizzling this morning and it took 100 minutes one way.

Worse, my laptop won’t arrive until tomorrow (hopefully). Next time I interview I’m going to ensure that my stuff is ready to go as part of the negotiation. My manager has been great so far, but I took her suggestion to go home a little early since there’s nothing to do today, and as a result I took one for the team… a couple hours’ worth of work. I don’t want to do this again since I expect to earn money by working a 40 hour week!

So a word to the wise. I suggest anyone bring this up before accepting a job. Not expecting this to be a normal thing nor am I concerned about it – this time. I could use some extra break this week after the big trip.

New Job

Great people, professional atmosphere, normal hours. 80 minute commute. Looking to defect to NJ asap. It pays to bless your enemies.

1st Day of Work

Is tomorrow. I’ve got my lunchbox all shined up and ready to go. Less time for blogging but I’ll try to keep the love going. Thanks again to all you KC friends for a great weekend, including the out of town ones, we’ll meet up next time.

Departure

This trip was a wild ride. The apathy leading up to it was pretty hard core – it seems that everytime I go to KC I totally lose interest right before. Without fail this apathetic feeling is a precursor to something huge happening. Sure enough.

I went for my second Joseph Company “Cities of Refuge” conference this year. This was regarding marketplace ministry. So this JoCo was held 3 miles away from the prayer room which made me rather dependent on the shuttle and common charity. It was also 25 hours of content stuffed into 2 long days. On Thursday I treated Isaac and my hosts to some Jack Stack because they won the CBB contest. Turned out we are all from Philly which was an added bonus.

On Saturday I met Emily for the coffee that she also legitimately won as the CBB contest winner last week. I then shuttled down for the final day of the conference.

Well just a little bit into the teaching I began getting an enormous headache as well as some serious fever symptoms. It just kept getting worse as the session progressed to the point of my thinking “I haven’t felt this bad in 2 years!” And I really had not. Was convinced I would have to skip the next session to nap if I could.

So I forgave myself for drinking the soda they gave me on the flight out here and asked Jesus to heal me up anyway and did some silent spiritual warfare techniques. It was miserable.

Then the session was closing and they opened the session for prayer and words for people – I figured why not just pray for a few people. I felt slightly better after doing so. In short after lunch I started feeling much better and was feeling great by the end of the day. Also ended up getting a rather public prophetic word at the last session. I’ve never been called out to that degree and it is a bit awkward since I had to stuff my false humility and just receive this rather glowing affirmation with everybody there watching.

My flight leaves in 5 hours. I’ve got a few hours left to enjoy the prayer room.

Arrival

Well it seems like I was just here… in May.

Met at the airport by the WINNER of the Jack Stack Challenge and met up with friends for dinner. It was quite the BBQ experience I must say.

So any coffee people, please shoot a comment. I am actually sitting in the coffee shop right now without any takers and it’s far more fun with!

Jack Frost on God TV

This is a bittersweet treat – a 1pm Jack Frost sermon rerun on God TV. I really miss this guy, he was the real deal. This clip was from a conference in Croydon, England and must be close to 10 years old perhaps, he looks younger in the clip than when I met him several years ago. Read more about Jack here.

Unprecedented: CBB Congratulates Sports Franchise

CBB has scarcely even acknowledged the existence of the world of sports. That is because I had many inner judgements/vows against sports growing up. That was kind of silly, and from what I understand about inner healing, I need to rid myself of that at all costs! I have been forgiven so I must forgive.

So I said all that to say this –

GO TRIBE

The “tribe” is another name for the Cleveland Indians baseball franchise. Apparently they just beat the Red Sox and have made it into the World Series. I lived in Cleveland for 11 years and they never had a championship team the whole time. I think the Mark Price/Brad Dougherty basketball combination got to the final series but the Cavaliers weren’t able to do it when I showed up in ’93.

So I will be rooting for Cleveland during the World Series. Had the Phillies not been swept/shut out of the playoffs, this so-called loyalty may have been in question.

Auto Theft Week: Day 3

A few more tidbits for you (do these NOW, while you have your car!):

1. Remove your Registration from the glove compartment and put it in your wallet.

It’s kind of silly to think about, but I didn’t do this. If I were to have been pulled over, this would have been pretty awkward. “Honest, officer – they took it.”

2. Be aware of any sensitive information in the car (paperwork, mp3 sd cards, etc.)

Unfortunately this guy got a few SD cards totalling 1-2 GB of mp3s. There probably is more than just mp3s on there… word documents, pdfs, anything else I had used the flash memory for before relegating it to the mp3 player. I’m sure I deleted much of the non-mp3 stuff, but not all.

3. I just got a new mp3 player – with integrated memory so this doesn’t happen again. Besides, the sd cards all got corrupted within 6 months.