I am obsessed with good coffee and the idea of a coffee shop as a perfect alternative to a bar. I like hanging out with friend, talking about work, art and life and enjoying a cup of coffee. I also like to use it as the perfect way of breaking up the monotaney of my work day.

I tend to frequent Starbucks when I am working because they almost always have a nice clean bathroom to use and the drinks, prices and service are usually consistent from store to store. This weekend, I was working and ended up being assigned to a parade that ended at Tompkins Square Park. So while waiting for the parade to be finished and for our work day to end, I dragged two co-workers to a coffee shop on Avenue A. They both ordered drip coffees and sat down, I ordered a large iced coffee with a shot of espresso (also known as a large iced red eye). The man handed me my drink (a 16oz.) iced red eye and proceeded to charge me $4.18. Why is it $4.18, I asked and the counter staff informed me that because of the espresso shot it was increased to $4.18, and that there was also an extra $50 cents charged because it was an iced beverage.

Why do coffee shops charge more for iced beverages than for hot beverages? I know for a fact that because it is hot and you are making iced beverages, the only extra cost in your shop is to run and maintain a ice machine. But this cafe was not making hand made coffee ice cubes, they were using an old ice machine (most of which are never properly cleaned) and it was charging me $4.18 for this iced coffee.

I then began to realize why I love going to Starbucks even though I rather support a local business owner who is trying to stimulate the economy and the creative mind of local artists at their coffee shop. It's because at Starbucks I would have paid less than $5 probably equivalent to the $4.18 and received a 20oz cup filled with delicious ice coffee and probably two shots of espresso for the same price. I have no problem supporting a local business but I rather support a business that gives me the most bang for my buck and the friendliest service. Customer service is the number 1 thing that I remember when it comes to which businesses I like frequenting and which I dread to enter.

So if anyone can please let me know why coffee shops charge extra for iced beverages when you are receiving less product in the cup, because the ice won't melt before you are finished with the beverage, I would love to hear from you.

my twitter account is artbeatnik and I look forward to hearing from you.

I was sick this week again. That makes two times in my nine months on the job so far. This is not a good thing by any standards. However, I've been legitimately sick, which is why I am so pissed at the system. Overall, twice in nine months is really no big deal. Except that I am on probation because I am a new employee of the department.

I work for one of the uniformed services that are provided to the public in a major metropolitan city, and one of the incredible benefits that we are afforded is unlimited sick. However, being on probation, I am not afforded that I am only allowed a limited number of instances and a total number of days during the 18 months probation period. So since I began right before the Winter season, I am going to have to brave through two winter seasons without going over this limited number of times being sick.

I've already reached the maximum number of instances of being sick during my probation which is two. So I hope and pray that I will be able to go through the remainder of my probation without becoming ill as I may lose my job because of becoming ill. If I make my probation, I will be able to then enjoy the true benefit of unlimited sick. But until then, I pray that my supervisors and department brass see that I am a hard worker who shows up to work everyday that I am healthy enough.

Is it wrong to be impressed yet angry at your parent’s ability to understand and use technology. For many of us Y generation individuals, we take pride on the fact that our parents are unable to access our Myspace or Facebook accounts, or Twitters.

My father reminded me yesterday that he was on Twitter and wanted to know whether or not his co-worker was able to see his post to him. I told my father that his co-worker would have to be subscribed to his Twitter feed to see his and read his posts. I didn’t’ even know my dad was Twittering but that is because I was not following his tweets. But this alerted me to a new fact, that my dad is now part of the 21st century and could actually see anything and everything that I post online. I should have known this last Christmas when we sat around watching YouTube videos that were posted by a cousin of mine who actually has quite a following on YouTube. The videos had my whole family laughing and my parents stating out loud “is it necessary for Kevin to curse that much?”

All of these new social networking sites and programs are wonderful for keeping in touch with our old college roommates, former co-workers, and friends across the country. But what do we do when our parents begin to ask us questions about items we post. I realize that these issues came out and were prevelant in the early 2000’s when blogging was becoming a major phenomenon. Blogs went from being an online diary meant to spew your most intimate thoughts and secrets to major marketing tools for corporations. They also became one of the first things for new employers to look for to gain dirt and information on a prospective employee. One of my favorite bloggers was the first to be fired because of her blog and it basically was the best thing for her, it launched a career and lifestyle that I don’t think she would want to trade for anything in the world.

So do we as artists, writers, thinkers and dreamers begin to curb the thoughts that we Tweet to one another, or do we just go with the flow and risk having our parents ask us embarrassing questions when we meet them for our weekly dinners? You know questions about our one night stands, our drunken nights at the bars, pregnancy scares, or office tirades.

I need to work on my writing as well as investigative reporting so I could add some facts and interviews with cutting edge bloggers on this subject. Maybe in the future… until then, it will just be the ramblings of an Irish Rasta, a modern day beatnik wannabe.

I've been wondering how many people move from one location to another and pack up items only to never ever unpack them. When we moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island, I packed a lot of boxes and half of the stuff including a lot from college, was never reopened. Some boxes were immediately unpacked but most sat around in the new attic or garage until a need for one small artifact arouse and then the boxes would be combed over with more intensity than Guiliani's hair.

Why is it that we as Americans especially tend to hold on to things that we do not need. We fear that somewhere down the road five years later we will need that one cog that once fit into some mechanical device because it can now be used somewhere else.

My current living situation, has me in a great home with a wonderful girlfriend. The only problem is that I inherited not only her stuff but the other items which were accumulated by her parents during their 20 year occupation of this house. So there are decorative tins from all different retailers and companies which once held rice, chocolate, cookies and candy stacked neatly on shelves while items used everyday are kept in bins.

A huge task will be undertaken this weekend as I attempt to persuade Liz to sit down with me and go through all of these items so we can decide which are keepers and which can be sent to the dump.

So I am sick. It is actually very rare that I am legitimately sick and unable to attend work. Today I woke up with a sore throat and a deep bronchial cough that sounds like I am getting the beginnings of bronchitis. So it’s off to the doctor for me today. Something happens when I am sad or sick and I usually try to combat that feeling by spending money or time in a café sipping coffee and relaxing but today I spent more time in my car looking for a parking space near one of several cafés in Park Slope before finally traveling through “little Mexico” which is really Sunset Park to Bay Ridge; where I ended up with my coffee and relaxation. This time spent driving turns me into a ranting and raving Archie Bunker type who hates everyone and just wants to be left alone.

BTW, due to NYC’s tight regulations on probationary employees going sick and being out sick, I will not be staying home tonight. Rather I will be braving the cold to drive a truck all night and earn my pay. Because I cannot take a chance at being sick for a few days and having a much more serious illness creep up later in my 18 months probationary period.

Productivity is difficult to maintain when you don't have any structure. I am currently working for the city of New York in a department that does not have set schedules for most of it's employees. My schedule changes day to day and I only know my days off in advance, not what time I am working. So even though I may be off from work today, I may still have to go back into work at 12am midnight. This makes a day off not really a day off but more like a few hours off from work.

This becomes very frustrating if you think about it, so I try not to think about it too much. However, it's hard when your significant other and other close family members repeatedly ask you on a Friday, "So when are you working on Tuesday?" and I respond "I won't know Tuesday's schedule until the day before."

No matter how often I attempt to explain the crazy system to them, they still never get it. What makes things worse is that even though I signed to work nights. Meaning that I will be guaranteed a slot on a night shift before someone who didn't sign nights, I still end up jumping around working all sorts of crazy schedules.

One of my dreams has always been to open a coffee shop and up until the last 2 years, I always felt that Starbucks had cornered the market. I don't believe so anymore. As a result of some serious crucial mistakes on their part, Starbucks has lost a lot of money and resources. Not resources in the terms of money but in terms of well educated employees with a vast wealth of coffee knowledge. This news and the fact that three of the west coast's more famous coffee house institutions are moving to NYC and opening up their own roasting plants, has made me more interested in opening up my coffee shop than ever.

Today as I went into one of my favorite stores, I was greeted by a friend of mine who told me that I left the company at the right time. She went on to inform me that moral is really down adn that hours are being cut, assistant managers are being let go, and so the staff is feeling the burden of cramming in work that was normally done during a shift at off peak hours. I expect to find a few more less enthusiastic Starbucks employees and a lot dirtier appearence at many of their locations here in NYC. It seems that Starbucks is falling behind on what everyone else is doing. Instead of just tightening the ship and going back to basics, they are attempting to pull rabbits out of hats and make the company successful by launching new product lines and revamping old product lines which they have been told are not successful.

Expect to find new tea offerings in your local Starbucks stores, as sources have told me that you will be seeing a revamp of the entire TAZO Tea line. One of the biggest disappointments to me, is the news of a new Chai product to be launched by Starbucks which will alter this customer's favorite non-coffee based beverage. I love the Chai as it is currently offered and would hate to see it change.

If Howard Schultz is truly listening to what people want he will realize that keeping a consistant product is most important for people. That is the number 1 reason that I frequent Starbucks locations. By losing District Managers who have had more than 8 years with the company, and by eliminating assistant manager position, you are causing there to be huge opportunities for inconsistent beverages to be made along with a breakdown in communication and education of all new and current Starbucks partners. Starbucks was always a fun place and that is why so many young talented, well educated individuals worked there. Not because they were slackers, but because it was a place where they could have pride in what they do, and share their knowledge of coffee and tea and feel like they are impacting people's lives. Many young artists, poets, and writers all work at coffee shops and I am afraid that they will end up not being able to afford supplies or resources for their work, because their hours will be cut this winter season.