Assaulted by Caffeine

Caffeine: bitter alkaloid found especially in coffee, from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

My daughter and I can certainly attest to cafffeine's bitter aspect, tyro coffee drinkers that we are.

We started the day off doing some banking and then with a visit to Oakridge Mall. We had to buy some canned salmon at Zellers for Betty's parents and I had to pick up three Jazz Festival tickets from Ticketmaster. Betty had to get her watch band sized at the jeweller. I couldn't find any springform pans at The Bay kitchenware department.

The plan was to lunch in Kerrisdale at the Caffè Artigiano, primarily to check out the lattes. So I ordered a tall low-fat latte, and for my daughter, a tall ice latte. My latte was served in a small cup, very creamy and unlike its much larger brethren at Starbucks. I poured in one packet of Splenda and took a sip. Talk about bitter! A second packet of Splenda did not mollify the assault on my taste buds. I looked at my daughter, who was scrunching up her face. Two Splendas and one sugar could not tame her ice latte. I took a swig, and even with so much sweetener in the drink that some of the crystals didn't dissolve, it was still too bitter.

I guess part of this can be explained by the smaller cup sizes: the same number of espresso shots per drink as Starbucks but with less liquid. The stuff was more bitter than an Americano at Starbucks.

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In the second paragraph, I called myself a tyro. I make self-deprecating remarks like this often. If there's one thing I try never to do it's to become an instant expert on topics I know very little about, or be a jump-on-the-whatever-is-in-band-wagon'er—like the person who starts explaining the minutiae of two-man bobsledding or the pommel horse [what, did this person just watch a short feature about the events a few hours ago?], or that guy in my previous workplace who wore Croakies (neoprene straps for preventing eyeglasses from slipping off) because all the "cool" people were doing it, or all those gadget lovers who somehow, by some miraculous fiat granted by the mere acquisition of the latest and greatest, become the next Ansel Adams [Ansel Adams being probably the only photographer they can name].

Give me a break. Understanding and craft take time. And some humility and self-assessment are in order. Aren't there some sayings to the effect that we're all slobs/losers most of the time?

Note, I am far from perfect. But I can account for that by saying that the theoretical doesn't necessarily match up with the practical (what is practiced).
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I ended picking up a 9" non-non-stick springform pan (i.e., a springform pan) at the Basic Stock store. We also dropped into COBS Bread for some jalapeno twisty bread but they were out.

We spent the afternoon at Metropolis at Metrotown. I was looking for casual summer shoes (sneakers) to go with my jeans and shorts. Nothing I liked was on sale. We also picked up some groceries, then made our way home.

Dinner was at the Thai House. The pad thai, chicken satay, and gai curry were better than last time, mainly because my sinuses were clear, a lull in my hay fever. Betty and I decided that we weren't going to travel any further than Seattle this summer and instead be tourists in our own town and see and do things we've always been meaning to do. The savings in the hotel costs should afford us some pretty good eats—why leave this wonderfully diverse culinary city to dine at mostly subpar restaurants elsewhere?