Today, December 1st, is Worlds Aids Day, a day of both remembrance and efforts to raise money to end this disease. The Red Organization (Go Red and (Red) products) teams up with companies to allow a portion of purchases to go to the Global Fund which helps fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa.
Today Starbucks is giving 5 cents for every coffee purchased to Red. While I agree with many people who say Starbucks could and should easily give 50 cents a cup to this, I also think every cent helps. So even if you prefer mom and pop coffee shops, which I generally do, please consider going to Starbucks just today and helping the cause.
The photo above and the others in today’s Topical Tuesday are all from my iPhone.
This morning when I went to Starbucks, I tried their Creme Brulee Latte. Anyone who knows me well knows that Creme Brulee is one of my favorite desserts, so I almost always order it when its an option.
A few years ago my friend Veronica introduced me to Barefoot Coffee Roasters in Santa Clara. My favorite drink there is the Cafe Brulee which is even fun to see made. To finish it sugar granules are heated up on top with a mini propane torch (which reminds me of my lampworking class in collge). Another reason I like that cafe is that all sorts of people go there to hang out. When I went their last Friday I ran into a gentleman named John who shared his pet birds Alex, a parrot, and Rio, a green cheeked curro, with me as well.
The main reason I was out on Friday was that I had never experienced Black Friday at a mall before. Colleen and I went to Westfield Valley Fair Mall to buy gifts and people watch. The traffic in the mall was as intense as I’d thought it would be even though we weren’t there that early for the super discount sales. There were police officers directing traffic, at one point an officer tried to direct us back into a parking structure even though we were trying to leave, luckily, we were able to get out when we wanted to.
It was at the mall, at Crate and Barrel (where Colleen got a nice present for someone though I won’t be specific on the off chance they are reading this) where I saw one of the best coordinated trees I have all season.
When I returned from the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving , I passed by a place I always meant to go to, yet have never had the time, The Vault Ultra Lounge. Although, it was closed then as it was early in the day, not to mention a holiday, I thought it was ironic that I would not have been let in even if they had been as they have a strict dress code which prohibits: “ hats (baseball caps), tennis shoes (white), work boots (yellow, brown, black, or any style of boot), white T-shirts, sports wear, baggy attire (baggy jeans, baggy shirts) or flannels (short or long sleeved).”
I’m not sure how business has been lately, as a sign on the window said they had recently had their liquor license suspended for five weeks. I will have to go back downtown sometime soon and check it out. In the meantime, closed or open, I can appreciate the beautiful architecture of the former bank turned club.
My friend Chris’s family breeds Pomeranians. One of their dogs, Sunni, goes with him on his trips across the country as a long distance truck driver. As Chris had a cargo to haul not to far from where I live, I was able to hang out with him at a truck stop for a few hours. I told Chris that he had one job I would never want to have as I’d get bored with all the driving. However, he told me music, books on tape, and Sunni’s company help make the drive enjoyable.
I wanted to get a nice photo of Sunni, however, he had a lot of energy after spending most of the morning inside the truck. With some effort and waiting I got this photo which really shows off the color in his fur.
Even though I like that photo a lot, my favorite is actually one that is more of an outtake. My first idea was to have Sunni jump up on my leg and look up at me. Chris told me Sunni would do this and pose for me, after all he is bred to be a show dog and can do commands, however, Sunni didn’t like the idea at all. In fact, in this shot, one of the only split seconds in which he would be on my leg at all, he appears to be giving a rather human reaction to having his portrait taken.
Since I have my next marathon, The Walt Disney World Marathon coming up on January 10th, I needed to get in at least one, preferably several very long runs before then. On Saturday, even though I’d already walked for 5 miles and ran for 6 in the turkey trot, I decided to run 26 and get the longest run over with.
While I know it’s smarter to run with a group or at least a running buddy, I was running in an area where I could find all the necessities including water, bathrooms and access to people in case of an emergency, the Cisco campus and the Guadalupe Park levee. I must have run the levee loop at least a dozen times.
Running alone is a great time to think and listen to music (perhaps I get in a similar zone as Chris does when he’s driving), and gave me a chance to really notice nature including some of the beautiful colored foliage. This photo is SOCC: straight out of (iPhone) camera for color (some minimal sharpening and resizing0, and was framed to show our more typical green trees contrasting with the amazing oranges and yellows.
Lastly, this final photo is about natural beauty mixing with manmade structures. While rainbows can be found outside, when sunlight hits glass you can sometimes find them inside as well for a fleeting moment in time. Yesterday I noticed glass doors letting in enough sun to make this beautiful rainbow inside. This is SOOC for color (minimal sharpening and resizing).
by Danielle Stolman
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