a p p a r e n t l y . o r g

My friends seem to be in cahoots and think I should open a coffeehouse. Now, it's true that my neighborhood is devoid of a decent place to get a good cup of coffee, and not one but three coffee spots have closed in the nabe within the past year (two within the past two months).

And it's true that I have some strong opinions about how a coffeehouse should be run.

But someone's going to have to give me a very strong argument for why I should hire someone else to raise my child so that I can pull espresso and manage baristas twelve hours a day before I will seriously consider this sort of entrepreneurial career route. Even if - especially if - there is a knitting shop element to this plan. As we say to our son, persuade me. Or, get back to me in five years.

(The state of coffee in NYC is greatly improved of late. Bald and Effective sent me this article from the New York Times that lists 30 places to get a great cup in the city. Not one is in Sunnyside, but one is in Long Island City, a leisurely 25-minute walk away.)

Go ahead, convince me. I've suggested to more than one of you that the first step is to find out the rent on the Daco Romano space and/or any of the other empty storefronts in the neighborhood, and no one has presented me with any numbers. If you're serious, dangle some useful information. Who knows...I might just take the bait.

On the other hand, it took me many, many years to understand that just because you think you can do something better doesn't mean that you should.

felt coffee cup by me, actually. it's a prototype. more to come.

Labels: future, sunnyside

The walk from our apartment to preschool is five blocks. A healthy adult can make this walk in five minutes, or perhaps six if one observes all traffic signals. A healthy adult walking with a curious toddler, however, can make this walk in fifteen minutes at best, and that's if the lights cooperate, as we stop for every one. Short legs plus an affinity for asking questions about each truck, bird and sound makes for a chilly journey in winter weather. So usually we take the stroller to school. And let's be honest: this is for the boy's mother's comfort. He's happy to play in the cold.

This morning, however, we woke to a rare bit of snow.