A Soy Latte Girl on a BYO Tea Bag Budget

Like most college students, I survive off of coffee, and not just at finals. As a little girl, I use to see my mom wake up in the morning and be incoherent until the first cup of hot java was in her hands. I would shake my head at her addiction and swear that coffee would never affect me like that and I refused to drink it. That changed when I went to college and suddenly cappuccinos seemed like the cool thing to do. Now of course, as afore said, I am addicted. And I personally think that is okay, however, my pocketbook tends to disagree with me.
I am a coffee connoisseur; don’t give me cheap gas station coffee, or even a thermos from a well-known family restaurant; I want the best. Not into the commercialism of nationwide chains, I instead found this awesome little coffee shop across from my mid-west school called Nordaggio’s. Nordaggio’s has this cool artsy-vibe going on, yet in a quaint way. There is a huge river-rock fireplace and recreated masterpieces on the wall painted in espresso. Like a comfortable shoe you’ve had for years, there are scuffs on the hardwood floors and the oversized brown leather sofas with that well-worn look to it and they fit the place perfectly. It’s home for a lot of college students including my friend Tanner and I who study there almost every day. Despite the cool interior, the only downfall is its pricey items. However, they have the best latte in town so how can I resist? Nord’s, therefore, gets part of their rent officially paid from me, and my bank account is well aware of it. And I don’t get just a regular cup of coffee either. No, I have to get a soy latte of course, and at $4.50 for a tall cup my well-fed college student days are ending. What can I say? I like nice things, and I think that’s okay but I have struggled for the longest time about wanting to buy a latte when I can barely afford a tea. So sometimes I’ll steal from my gas money or secretly reach for the credit card whose bill goes to my father’s home and take my drink back to my little corner table where I will take up residence for the rest of the evening and feel somewhat guilty for the first hour or so until the remnant of the oversized mug is removed.
As faithfully as I will plunk down my decreasing funds, Tanner, on the other hand, will faithfully plunk down a quarter for a mug of hot water and produce his own British blend tea bag from his backpack. Everyday another quarter emerges, and frankly, I use to look at Tanner as somewhat of a tight-wad. After all, he works 20+ hours a week and has the extra money to spend if he so chose on a doppio espresso.
One day last spring, while a storm was raging outside and the tornado sirens were blaring in the background, Tanner broke his usual mold. Perhaps because the storm made him nervous, or most likely because I was fretting and his native-Oklahoma self was becoming annoyed, Tanner bought a vanilla latte and extra-large blueberry muffin setting him back at least 7 bucks. He carefully placed the nearly overflowing latte on the table and took a giant bite of his muffin. “I look forward to when I can do this everyday,” he said as he settled down in his chair.
That statement made me smile then, but has loomed up in front of me recently. In Luke 6:38, Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” In other words, responsibility is given to us, and we must us it wisely if He is to give us more to be responsible for. And as much as I want a soy latte now, I have to remember that I am a college student for this time in my life and sometimes cutting corners is necessary. And it is only a time, not forever. Some day, when I have a career and God blesses it, I will be able to go buy small things like lattes and muffins every day; but I also want to do big things too like funding mission hospitals and children in orphanages, therefore I must get a check on my responsibilities now to enable God to use me with big things in the future.
And so, I still go to Nordaggio’s everyday but I always keep in my backpack a stash of tea bags which I alternate with regular cups of coffee (I'm learning). But once and awhile I’ll splurge and buy the occasional latte; I’m still trying to make it through college after all.

Lovely eh? 

Welcome to the world of blog

So. In my attempt to become a serious, dedicated, and creative writer, I have taken a cue from my friends Matthew and Sheldon (amazing writing talents have been bestowed upon them both) whose witty blogged stories have brightened my day and set up my own blog. It will be fun, entertaining (at least to me) and frankly, keep me from being so bored.

Bored... Why am I bored? Well, I am not off on an exciting cross-country adventure, or traveling around the world for missions, or even finding a good job and making money like most of my good friends are. No, I am back in the wilds of ORU taking *cue scary music* summer school! Math and Society was my first class and I learned that our society is pretty much being screwed by the financial institutions I thought were so great. Have I really been that naive?? Apparently so. Interest is ridiculous! My future goals of 6 kids and a hardwood-floor bungalow in San Diego have been changed to 1 child and a small fixer-upper in Des Moines. Cash up front is what Math and Society has taught me. I don't believe in mortgages. How depressing. The bright side of all of this is as of 7:42 PM this evening, I, TammyLee Kerychuk, never ever EVER have to take another math class again! *Cheers!!!* I am throwing my calculator away. God bless the business major. There is a great reason that I am not one! Humanities is up next, but not till Monday.

In my mornings, after (or if) I work out, I usually head over to Panera Bread with my Bible and a journal. I was there a few weeks ago, munching on a 9-grain bagel and sipping a soy latte when I hear this lady ask her 3 or 4-year old son, "Charles, what do you want for breakfast?" Charles, his voice loud and clear, states, "I want a cinnamon roll and a mocha!" I had to bust out laughing. This little tousled head boy, who was dressed and also acted like a 30-year old man, knew what a mocha was. That will so be my future children. Except they will request a soy, extra-hot, double-shot latte and a fat-free vegan muffin I'm sure. I am sure that I will probably be bottle feeding them espresso shortly after birth.

Ahhh... espresso. Is it wrong that I love coffee as much as I do? I will walk into Nordaggio's Coffe and sniff the shots being poured.... a delightful experience. As Matthew Miller says, "An americano is the nectar of the gods," however, my vegetarian ways have made a soy latte a regular occurrence for me now since americanos without cream just aren't as beautiful.

I love Nordaggio's. I truly do. I consistently get made fun of for the amount of time I spend at Nord's but (to steal another line), "It's my bar." And it's true. Everyone knows my name. The baristas give me hugs. They know to pull out the soy milk since I won't use creamer. It's home. I spend more time there then I do in my dorm room. I study, I read, I play cards, I have serious conversations, and most of all, I get a lot of one-on-one time with God. There is no other place like it. I'll admit that every single time I pull into the parking lot, I wonder what people think, but then I'll walk through the door and not care. I'm what you call a regular. I definitely pay my share of the electricity. But for that matter, I rent a space every day at a corner table for just me, maybe a friend. Hmmm... I should go over now and read.

I am also a frequent of Panera as before mentioned and also of Wild Oats. They know me by name there too. They know that I usually buy a vegan muffin or cookie. But with my vegan ways, there is not too many other places to shop. WalMart can handle fruit, veggies, and pita bread, but everything else is bought at the Oats. I've got to say, this being a vegan thing has truly helped in the lack of my food getting stolen from the dorm fridges. Last year I had people swiping my peanut butter and celery and milk left and right. But no one has touched my food this year. I guess words like "organic," "tofu," "hummus," "rice milk," "non-dairy cheese," and "cultured soy yogurt" freak them out. Not even my green tea soy ice cream was touched. As much as people turn their noses up, I like eating this healthy. Who wants vanilla granola when you can get flax with pumpkin seed granola?! It's amazing! Here's to puffed millet!

If I am asked one more time why I turned vegan..... Actually, I am not a true vegan. Apparently, (after some e-search) veganism is a way of life, not just a diet. So I am a vegetarian who follows a vegan diet of no dairy, eggs or animal by-product. And I am not even truly pure on that because I eat honey which is a no-no. If I thought about it long and hard enough, I would cry about the inhumane treatment of animals. But that is not why I am vegan. I feel healthier, and more natural, and I have more energy; my skin, my hair, my body, everything is benefiting from it. So that's why I'm vegan for all of you still wondering. And for those who keep asking if I can drink milk, milk=dairy.

So, I couldn't sleep last night and was thinking of things I want to do before I die. This will be an ongoing list, but here are a few I randomly came up with:
-learn French fluently (starting this fall)
-make a souffle that everyone raves about (and I can't eat)
-play at Wimbledon (a chick playing at the French Open is like 42...there's a chance!)
-be proposed to at the top of the Eiffel Tower (??)
-write something worth reading

Well, that is it for tonight. Hmmm... 9:52. I could go to Nord's and read... Or go to bed already. What a life!!!