A Moment of Narcissism

I created this blog for the purpose tossing my miscellany of madness all into one location, for the pleasure or pain of those who wish to subject themselves to it. That being said, perhaps you ought to know something about me: I'm a graduating senior from a small Christian college--that's a small college which follows Christian principles, not a college made-up of small Christians, though we have some of those too. Being a graduating senior means I have a lot to do and very little time to do it, including graduating and entering a new stage of life, etc., etc., etc. On top of that, I am also getting married this summer. My life is busy, but it is only getting started. Among all these plans, preparations, and worries rests the whim of hope that a coffee shop may just be an achievable goal. But where did this whim begin? From what thoughts and events does it take its origin? My desire to start a coffee shop is due to many different factors, but can be summed up in a short list of simple, and rather dull, reasons (in relatively chronological order):


Factor One: My Cousin's Craze for Coffee

• My cousin loves coffee.
• I spent a lot of time with my cousin.
• Now I love coffee.

That is not necessarily a logical syllogism, but that's pretty much what it comes down to. Somehow, on every occasion I went to my cousin's house, I managed to drink an exorbitant amount of coffee (far beyond any healthy degree, I'm sure). Before too long, my cousin's coffee-love became my own.


Factor Two: My Fancy Coffeemaker
My dad came home from work one day handing me a coffeemaker. I had no previous knowledge that I would receive such a gift, but it changed something in me that I was not expecting. The coffeemaker itself was a fancy coffeemaker that apparently brewed the coffee in a way different from others, but more importantly than that (which is pretty important), this coffeemaker got me thinking about the process of making coffee itself, what are the superior and inferior methods.


Factor Three: My Whimsical Fantasy
Every now and again, one enjoys fantasizing about life and coming up with ridiculous plans for the future--for example, "What if I became an astronaut?" or "What if I ran for president?"--and it was on such an occasion as this that I realized my fantasy was a little more reasonable than usual. In fact, it was so reasonable that I had the audacity to think it possible. Spurred by this lapse in common sense, I texted one of the fundamental elements of my fantasy, my coffee-loving cousin John. He was enthusiastic about the idea, and I thought to myself, "Why not do it?!" And here we are....


Having laid out that meager explanation of events, there is one particular aspect on the matter of this coffee shop and our process for making it happen that needs discussing: Vision vs. Reality. My cousin and I are no business men, but we do understand the difference between wanting something and making it happen. At this point in time, I would not say we are planning a coffee shop, so much as we are investigating the process of starting and running one; it will be some time before any actual actions are taken to get the ball rolling (e.g., renting property, buying a quality espresso machine, etc.). More will be said on the difficulty of Vision vs. Reality in the next post. I will explain more precisely how our vision began, what it currently is, and what our current reality is to make it happen.

Creating a Coffee Shop

Me: "How do you like the idea of opening our own coffee shop?"
My cousin: "Awww buddy!!! Yes 100% for the COFFEE shop!!!"

These are the exact text messages from a week ago that launched my cousin and I into our efforts to start our own coffee shop. This blog is for the purpose of chronicling those efforts.

From the start, this blog is destined to be either an astonishing triumph or an unfortunate tragedy. As my cousin and I go through the process of discovering what is possible and what is probable, this will be our thinking place. Here I intend to record our contemplations and current plans and update how they are coming along.

Before we truly get started, we immediately recognize that this project will never come to fruition without the blessing of our almighty God, and we pray that he sees our cause as a worthy effort. I am confident that much good may come from this endeavor, so long as we keep God at its center. In addition to his most fundamental aid, we also invite whatever help and advice others are willing or wanting to offer, if they likewise approve of our goal.