The holidays were so much fun.  My wife and I got to see her entire family on her mom’s side all together in a big Christmas day gathering.  Then we hung out with relatives on her dad’s side.  Christmas was a packed day!

For New Years my wife and I had friends over who we knew back in college…though we went to different colleges.  We discovered that Bananagram game and played for a couple hours.  That game’s pretty tricky and requires quick, flexible thinking as you try to put all your letters into words (like Scrabble on crack).

Castro Valley is pulling itself out of the holiday mood.  Every where you look there’s Christmas trees laying on their sides.  Residents have two trash days to put out their trees for collection.  Invariably someone forgets and we end up with a rotting dried out fire hazard come July 4th just lying on one of the side streets.  Aren’t you glad no one uses tinsel anymore?  That stuff never came out of the tree…or your carpet or your clothes or your dog’s intestinal system.

So it’s been about 6 years since I did my Santa Fe Cafe show on the radio back in Ventura County.  In doing this show, THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH, I have been trying to resurrect some of the characters I created during the old show’s 11 year run.  This week we hear from one we haven’t heard from yet, plus I introduce a new segment.  Click below to enjoy this half hour show and find out all the surprises!

Early February we’ll have on the show our first musical guest, Tristen!  She’s playing at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 2nd.  You can hear one of the songs off her new album, Charlatans at the Garden Gate, during this effizode!  Thanks for listening!

Mike

MikeTalks.blog.com

Off to the horrible corporate coffee chain I went!  I even took my dog with me!  He enjoys this time of year when people scurry around wearing fuzzy red caps with white balls at the ends.  They look like little cats on people’s heads.  Those hats give me an allergic reaction similar to being around cats.

I went inside and found a huge line almost out the door.  I have now gotten to the point in my life that I’ve resigned myself that there are lines where ever I go.  Because of this I always bring a magazine or newspaper.  Today, however, I noticed how impatient everyone was.  Both the ladies in front and in back of me complained that “this place never has a line.”  That’s not what I’ve noticed having been there earlier this month and seeing almost the same amount of people waiting.

When I finally got to the front I gave my order, remembering the foam part, but I neglected to mention no foam with my drink.  When I got my drink just a few minutes later (I will say they’re fast) I noticed that though my drink was in a bigger cup than my wife’s, my drink felt much lighter.  My wife explained that this corporate giant is skimping everywhere she goes.

To avoid long lines and drinks being over-foamed, maybe it’s time as a culture we really give up on the speed and convenience that this huge chain brings.  So many mom and pop’s have gone out of business, the one’s left explicitly need our help.  Plus, the independent coffee cafe I go to hardly ever has a line!  It’s also worth remembering just cleaning out your coffeemaker once in a while will give you a similar coffee taste to those of the big chains.

I used to like to go to coffeehouses, even the one’s run by big corporations, because it was fun to relax in a big comfy chair and just read a little.  Now, since the big chains seem to be filled with stressed-out patrons, it’s nicer just to avoid them altogether.  Of course, caffeine is what those stressed-out people are demanding thus continuing the circle.  I go decaf.  I know that makes me odd.

My dog will just have to watch people with cats on their heads somewhere else.