Ramblings, Rants, and Reflections
The streets were quiet this morning, but make no mistake about it; we are living in crazy times. There is a pandemic that slowed down a bit but I feel is still far from being over, there's a war going on in Ukraine, Sri Lanka just defaulted on its debt; all this while the weather is getting more antsy by the day. I think that it is safe to say that things will get worse before it gets better. Sadly.
Back in our own playground online, the ongoing FTX saga had left a big dent on the burgeoning crypto space. Personally, i think that these are bumps in the road that we will get through over time but until we see a clear confirmation of accumulation, the bear is still king of the market. Hopefully, the bulls take over - soon. Many people have made a living out of blogging on the blockchain and it doesn't help that the value of Hive is getting hit by the overall negative sentiment towards crypto caused by the Sam Bankman-Fried fiasco as an added burden to the bear market. I am optimistic that this storm will pass and BTC and the alts will recover, though I'm still on the fence as to when.
Personally, I believe that this is a big opportunity to enter the cryto-space for those who have not yet wet their whistles in the exciting world of web 3.0 and the crypto space. However, I am taking the cautious route in this regard and holding off on substantially increasing my bag but only because I'm still on the fence, that line again, lol, whether I should go all-in in my online shenanigans or start with a traditional brick-and-mortar business, which I am very much familiar with and know like the back of my hand.
I think that it's great and wonderful to have many opportunities to choose from these days. The risks are higher than before because of the uncertainty and explosive macro environment. And I'd like to say it again: these are crazy times! The yin and yang have started to blow up at an even faster pace. Taking the time to slow down is a skill that can help us navigate the waters. Meditation, prayer, walking on the beach, or an intense workout at the gym, whatever practice helps you focus and find your center will go a long way in making the right decisions. Fake news and disinformation should also ramp up activities because of the many interest groups wanting to take advantage and protect it's turf. We should be wary and take this into consideration when doing business, but who really knows what's going on in these boardrooms. I mean what does a mafia or triad earnings report meeting look like; I can only imagine.
So near, yet...
So, we ran out of ground coffee. It was a disaster in itself. LOL. And since I'm not in the mood to go to the supermarket only to buy groceries this morning, I decided to check out this coffee shop that had recently opened but I've yet to check out. It's just a couple of minutes walk away from my house and I can't live my life without coffee so I now find myself walking out the door to check out what they have in store for me.
From the outside, the store looked nice. It's in a small space, but I don't mind. It's the brew that counts the most in these situations anyways, and, sometimes I find gems in the new mom and pop businesses whose owners love coffee as much as we do.
Perfect brew
Looking at the menu, I was ecstatic to find that they serve brewed coffee, REAL coffee. LOL. They also serve sandwiches so I ordered an egg sandwich together with my coffee - a cappuccino. Paid Php115.00 in all (roughly $2.00). Php55.00 for the cappuccino and Php60.00 for the egg sandwich.
The coffee was served quickly, and hot, so that made my day already. It doesn't matter that the egg sandwich got served after some time; still, I was fairly surprised by the cool presentation. It wasn't the best tasting egg sandwich in the world but I'd give it a 3 out of 5 overall.
The staff server was kind and smiling so that was a plus. I was the only customer and it was almost noontime. I'm guessing that this is the case for most of the weekdays, except for church days and weekends. They were right beside an Iglesia ni Cristo church and I'm guessing that they get more customers during church days; hence, serving meals on Tuesdays and Saturdays the the churchgoers are around.
A New Workspace?
At this point, a lightbulb appeared above my head and I thought that maybe I can do some work here from time to time. They have a nice, quiet place; few, if any, customers and it was already noontime; they had free WiFi; and, most importantly, good coffee. I asked the staff if it's okay to hang here with my lappy toppy; she said yes so I guess I have a new 'work' space. I'm happy that I checked out this place.
As for the food, they did not have plant-based options but an egg sandwich will suffice. It had to. Besides, 7-11 is just across the street so I can get my plant-based burgers from there. Who knows, I might even get to upload some more write-ups😆 while hanging here. I'm done eating my sandwich and drinking my daily fill of coffee for the day.
I'm too tired to edit any more photos. LOL.
It's almost midnight and I still have stuff to work on. I've already had a long day and I just wanted to write myself to sleep; if that makes sense.
That's it for today. If you are still reading, thanks! I appreciate you. You are awesome. Keep safe and healthy everyone.
Love and peace.
~Juan 😎
*all photos are mine