Crosstraining?

Mercy Magic

My time in Ardmore is winding down and, frankly, I'm looking forward to new challenges and a new environment, but I'd be amiss to not appreciate the awesomeness I've been privileged to be a part of here.

I've worked lots of places in my fifty years and mostly with some wonderful colleagues and supervisors. In retrospect, I can't think of any really bad work experiences I've had.

But this group in Ardmore...man, they're something special.

Magic.

Please indulge me and let me introduce them...

Leader of the pack is the Skipper, Harvey. He's a guy that dots the "i"s and crosses the "t"s. He knows a lot. A whole lot. He's taught me more than he will ever know. And he's a biker - extra kudos to Harvey for that. He knows more than any of us, yet is the epitome of humbleness.

Wayne, who I think of as Thurston, is someone I strive to be like. He didn't need to be here, yet he joined the group under an uncommonly difficult situation. He was a late addition, he played catch-up. His work ethic and adaptability are amazing. So is his ability to save Brent's a**.

Deb or Ginger, and I use that nickname in it's most admiring form, has been a savior. She's taken on roles none of us could have played. She faced audiences that would have cowered the strongest of us. She performed with determination, perseverance, professionalism and heart. A true artist, she is.

Lori can only be Mary Ann. She's to the point, organized, dependable and anything else one would want in a sister, mother, daughter or best friend. Quick story...Lori was once in a confrontation situation with an overly demanding student. During a "cooling-down" break another stake-holder mentioned to Lori "watch out, that woman just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq". Lori's reply was, "I've raised three kids, let her bring it on." That moment in time will forever let me remember Lori.

And finally, my co-host in crime, DeWayne "dynamite" Knight, who I think of as the Professor, has taught me so much about teaching. If it wouldn't make me a middle child, I'd want him for a younger brother.

Me? I'm just happy to be Gilligan in this three month tour.

Thanks to all of you who have made this past experience a remarkable time in my life...and curse you for setting the bar so high for the future!

My Favorite...paragraph

The setup: it's about a lost Mexican tribe, the Tarahumaras. The book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

Distance running was revered because it was indispensable; it was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet. You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and to impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn't live to love anything else. And like everything else we love--everything we sentimentally call our "passions" and "desires"--it's really an encoded ancestral necessity. We were born to run; we were born because we run. We're all Running People, and the Tarahumara have always known.

The three funniest things I've seen in the back of a pickup...lately

$30,000 motorcycle, $700 pickup. Isn't that like substituting a shopping cart for a baby jogger?

The multi-tasker

Whiskey, tango, foxtrot?

Coffee Shop Cash Cow - Exposed

I almost had the coffee drinking thing eliminated. Almost.

The past winter I went totally tea, herbal, hot and fresh. And then the 3:00am runs took their toll, I found myself a repeat customer at the coffee bar.

Thankfully, sunny, 80 degree days thwart my coffee craving...until I remembered the crack of a coffee shop's menu...Iced Coffee.
A quick hop to the locally owned, downtown coffee shop proved they have a decent white chocolate iced coffee drink. But I had a few problems with it.

1. a medium size was $4.85 before tipping the barista
2. the coffee base was refrigerated in an old milk jug.
3. being the food service industry hardened individual I am, I'll guarantee the base was leftover coffee
4. a squirt of white chocolate flavored syrup and cream were the only other ingredients (besides left over coffee)
5. did I mention I paid $4.85 (before tip, and tip your barista, folks) for a 12 oz drink?
6. ...a 12 oz drink that was at least 8 oz ice (I.e., water) with 3 oz leftover coffee, a fl. oz of heavy cream and a splash of simple syrup.

What a cash cow! Food cost < 3% (A point of reference...successful mid-level to white tablecloth restaurants have a goal food cost of 30% and 20%, respectively. Fast foods run about a 50% food cost. IJS)

Soooooo...can one make a decent Iced Coffee at home. Ubetcha! Here's how....and bonus points to me for making it lower calorie with less sugar.

First of all brew however many pots your coffee maker needs to make a half gallon of STRONG coffee. I brewed my double strength. It took about a buck.20 worth of coffee. For authenticity poor in a used gallon milk jug. While it's hot add about 1/3 cup of sugar (or to taste) and mix to dissolve.

Cool in an ice bath. Store in the fridge.

For my taste preference I've found 3 parts coffee to one part dairy is perfect. I use 2% milk. You'll need about 3 cups total of milk for this amount of coffee...about $0.60 worth of milk. But don't add the milk until you're ready to mix and drink.

I also like a drop or two of high quality vanilla such as Watkins.

Fill a glass, or tumbler about 3/4 full with ice, pour in the chilled coffee to about an inch from the top. Splash in the dairy and add your flavoring of choice. Mix and sip. Thank me later.

Let's recap: Purchased iced coffee = $4.85 for about 6 fl.oz of product = or $0.80/fl.oz. Homemade = $1.90 for about 85 fl.oz. of product = or $0.03/fl.oz

You decide. This has been a public service announcement.

To My Fellow(ette) Clindocians

Us Bus People made the front page of the Ardmoreite today. See it here. Can you OKC people top that?

To celebrate how all of us Clindocians rock, here's a really cool song that depicts our role (in my mind*).


*this job ABSOLUTELY doesn't suck.

Rainy Day Racin' and Bakin'

The sound of rain woke me this morning. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

A smiling sleep I had. Then I ran...in the rain. Running in the rain for me is like Singing in the Rain is for Gene Kelly...not that a manly-man like me would know anything about musicals...or anything like that, you know what I'm sayin', right?

Now I bake (in my hotel kitchenette), and watch NASCAR.

I think I'm an oxymoron.

A cool, gray, rainy day and the smell of banana bread seem to be a great marriage. Not that I'm an authority on great marriages.

But I am (humbly) an authority on banana bread. Here's my, self-acclaimed, world renown recipe for Banana Bread with Ghirardelli chocolate chips:

Ingreds:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (don't even try a substitute), at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
3 large bananas (proper bananas are the key to this recipe, here's the scoop:)

• use over ripe bananas
• they should have brown skins, you know the kind you usually throw away
• peel'em and put'em in a zip top bag, the bananas should have a few brown spots
• freeze them over night
• thaw the next day, they should be really brown and slimy. This is a good thing. Do it. You will be rewarded with banana flavored exponential-ness.
  

1 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 C. AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp good quality vanilla (I use Watkins)
6 oz (by weight) of Ghirardelli chocolate chunks
2 oz thin sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 325 and butter a 9x5 loaf pan. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and beat well after each addition.
In a small bowl mash the bananas, including their banana-y goodness juice with the milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Add to the light, fluffy, creamed butter and sugar mixture.
Mix the remaining dry ingredients together and slowly fold into the wet mixture. When the dry ingredients are almost incorporated add the chocolate and almonds. Fold lightly until distributed.

It's important to not over mix. This mix should not be over mixed. Don't over mix this mixture. A few small lumps are okay.

Did I mention to not over mix the recipe?

Put in previously buttered loaf pan and bake until the room smells so good your tummy rebels (about an hour). Use your tried-and-true method for checking done'd-ness (that's actually a word, IJS). I use the touch method, others use a toothpick or knife.

Remove from oven, invert on a rack to cool, resist for 15 (or 2) minutes. Slice. Chew. Swallow. Repeat as needed.

I think tomorrow I might have some happy co-workers.