FAQ and Miscellanious Musings.

Random story:
This morning, while opening the shop, I grabbed the airpot full of warm water to brew coffee and set it in the sink as usual - I brew a pot of water before leaving to keep the pot warm, thus keeping the coffee hotter for longer during the day.  I measured the grounds into the filter, loading them into the brewer and proceeded to empty the airpot into the sink.  Today there was some sort of spider, about the size of a dollar coin, in the sink.  I watched him as he struggled to avoid the flood, which he did successfully all the way up until the very end when he seemed to just give up.  He curled into a ball and followed the last trickling stream down the drain.
I wanted to save him, but I'm afraid of spiders.
I was so sad that he went down the drain.  I even said, "I'm sorry spider."  I felt bad that I had potentially killed him for almost an hour, and even recounting the story just now I still feel bad.
And that's my random story.

Some of these questions are off topic; I just decided I wanted to write about what it is I get asked the most as a blogger and as a barista.


1).  Why did you become Catholic?
The most honest answer I can give here is that I knew it was the right choice for me.  It helped that I found agreement in most of the teachings in regards to living my own life.  Accepting those I disagree with has been an enriching challenge and a process of self-discovery as well as education.

2).  How is married life?
This is one is slightly annoying because I get asked a lot.  What do people expect me to say?  "Oh, it's so terrible!  I should have never done this!"  Realistically, married life is pretty much like normal life for me, except I do a lot more cooking and my husband actually lives with me.  I love to cook, but I generally don't cook something if it's just me who will be eating it, so this works out well.

3).  Why did you start a blog?
I started this blog a while back because I got the feeling that blogging would be a good way to review (and thus learn things I had previously missed) the catechism.  Not only that, but I wanted to share my story in a more in depth way for the people who really wanted to know what I saw in Catholicism and how I made the decision.  A lot of people assume that I just joined the faith so I could marry my husband which is not the case.

4).  How many children will you have?
This question is sometimes implied in the form of statements such as, "ha, you're going to have so many children without birth control!"  Sometimes I explain that there are natural forms of birth control (or family planning, the two are the same) and sometimes I just smile and say, "we're hoping for four."  I am completely aware that the number of children I want and the number of children I will have may be different for varying reasons, but I am intending on having four.  If the number grows after that, I suppose I'll have however many children I was meant to have.

5).  (a).  What's your problem with birth control?
This question is something I've been running into lately in relation to HHS discussions.  The short answer is I don't have a problem with birth control use.  If you chose to use contraceptives that's OK with me, but I hope you realize that they're killing chivalry.  In my opinion, at least.
(b).  What's so bad about HHS?
HHS frustrates me (sometimes to the point of anger) because it's about mandating benefits.  Yeah, there's the whole religious rights argument against it, but that one is losing credibility thanks to jerk-faces like Rush Limbaugh.  HHS is not about women's health/rights: birth control is widely available and in most cases affordable even without insurance.  Not to mention if this were about women's health there would be more widely available information about exactly that (i.e. charting your cycle as a way of knowing your body).  HHS is not about limiting religious freedom: if the government wanted to do that I think it would be in a more insidious manner (or maybe I'm giving the government too much credit).  HHS is about entitlement.  The fact is we're a spoiled nation; we don't see war or extreme suffering here to the degree that some countries see it. A lot of people are unaware that shopping for groceries in a supermarket is a completely foreign concept for less successful nations.  But here we are, whining that a percentage of employers and colleges do not provide benefits that suit our individual needs.  Not only are benefits optional, but they are not (and should not be) mandatory - if you don't like your employer's benefits, opt out and use the "extra" money on your check to find insurance that suits your needs rather than being an entitled brat about it.  In summary, the reason I dislike HHS so much is because we are moving away from accountability.  HHS is a departure from being responsible adults and an arrival at being spoiled children in adult bodies.  At least it brings us closer.
(c).  Why does this bother you so much?
It hits me on a personal level because of my brother and what I see his entitlement doing to our family.  On a less personal level I believe that the world (or at least the country) would be a much better place if we - as a nation - were to just grow up and shoulder the burdens of responsibility we're given, instead of whining about how hard life is.  Seriously, grow a pair.  If you don't like the way something is, work proactively to change it (this does not include having the government mandate something inappropriate).

6).  Are you Little Miss Latte?  The company I work for is called Little Miss Latte.
No.  And you're not clever or funny for asking, so go somewhere else with you're smug grin and self-satisfied chuckles.  I hear this so much I don't know why people think they're the first person to ask every time they ask it.  It's like ordering a latte from me and then saying, "thanks a latte" when you get it.

7).  Do you want some (insert processed food here)?  Why not?
Because I'm trying to eat food that is made without soy, modified anything, hydrogenated anything, etc.  No, I don't think I'm too good for "normal food," I just feel like crap if I eat stuff with crap in it.  So, thank you for offering, but I'll stick with what I have.

8).  What's wrong with divorce?
A lot.  I do think that in cases of abuse (of any kind) and other serious situations divorce or annulment is acceptable.  I do not think that divorcing someone because you "fell out of love" is acceptable.  You made a vow (promise); for better or for worse.  Does no one take that seriously?

9).  This is the only job you have?  How do you pay your bills!?
This one I get less frequently now, but it still happens on occasion.  The simple answer is I budget and I'm pretty good at talking myself out of frivolous purchases (like that jar of nutella that looks so delicious sitting in the baking aisle).  I feel like modern people have lost the ability to budget effectively.  I find a few fellow penny pinchers here and there, but what I generally observe is a consensus that if you're frugal you're automatically a cheapskate and thus a bad friend/parent.  That's fine if you perceive me this way, I'll go about my merry way and save my money for a rainy day (because they most certainly do happen and I'd rather be prepared).

10).  How did you meet your husband?
We met at the hospital he works at.  The company I work for has a location in Rose and Aurora South.  I used to work at Rose and he came in one day to get coffee and introduced himself.  Some time later, when I was beginning to realize the extent of my crush, I found out we had similar interests.  Somewhere in there I had fallen flat on my face in love and failed to realize it immediately.  Nothing happened for about a year until by chance I caught a status update on facebook about a movie and asked if I could come.  The rest is history as they say.