Coffee

I’ve been visiting my grandparents in Arkansas for the last 4 days.
My Grandfather is 74. He says he’s been drinking coffee for the last 65 years. That’s 47,450 cups of coffee, at an average of two 8 oz. cups a day. That’s about 370 gallons, if I figured it right. That’s a lot of coffee.
He takes 2 teaspoons of sugar in every cup. That’s 94,900 teaspoons, or 1,977 measuring cups, which works out to about 175 ¾ pounds. That’s a lot of sugar. Granted, the last 20 years he’s been using artificial sweetener.
We were just finishing up our chili and cornbread when we got on the subject. It struck me that Grandpa has lived a long time, and he’s always had his coffee. At first it seemed a silly question, but then we really got into answering it. Grandma reached for a pencil and pad of paper. When our heads started to spin, Grandpa dug around in the drawer for the calculator.
A day doesn’t feel like so much, but they add up before you know it. I’m at 1,825 cups of coffee. (But I don’t take sugar).

new favorite novel

I don't read many novels, but this one came well-recommended from my English advisor, who I respect considerably.
It's not a normal novel, either. The entire 250 pages is a letter an old man is writing to his young son, unfolding a rich story of his life and the history of his town, meandering through insightful comments on human nature and theology. It was very, very well worth the read.

Gilead. Read it!

a day

Today I made pancakes and scrambled eggs for the people in my dorm.
Today I didn't go outside until 6:30 pm. It was long since dark.
Today I drank coffee, grape juice, and green tea.
Today I fixed the vacuum cleaner. It had so much hair and lint wound onto pulleys that it had thrown the belt.
Today I ate dinner with people from Angola, Lesotho, and Nepal.
Today I talked to my grandparents.
Today I reserved plane tickets for a trip to Arkansas. Dec. 26th to Jan. 4th.
Today I thought about what it will be like to come back and visit this school in five years. I thought about my sister. I thought about what faith is. I thought about alot of things, while I was doing all this.
Tomorrow will be something else.