Surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia!

Translated: "The Lord is risen indeed!"

:) Happy Easter everyone.

I join my sentiments, hopes, and prayers for you with my parish priest, Fr. Terry (He has a cool website at http://www.frterryfulton.org/ ), when he said to me:

"May the resurrected Lord bring you peace, joy, and happiness".

At the close of Lent, one of my hopes was an end to a suffereing I had been going through. And although only when I am tested in that way can that particular suffering be realized to have ended (and, indeed, I hope it has ended), God wanted me to remember that even though perhaps it may be my time to have finished in that particular suffering and time to go through another, some people are still suffering through Lent and after... some people are still living an inconceivable and unique pain.

The thought, which is in fact a reality for many people, so captivates the interiors of my heart. As I pray to the resurrected Lord, my heartache is soothed, yet, and for good purpose, still longs for their peace, joy, and happiness.

And yes, this day is a holy day! Jesus went through insurmountable suffering victorious, and even He conquered death in all forms!

In the extent of my logicality and reasoning, there only lies distress - but at the end of it all, my faith tells me different. My faith tells me to keep praying through and thanking God for His crosses (sufferings), my faith tells me my suffering won't be in vain, my faith tells me in the end, everything will be okay. (My God, You touch my heart so lovingly, I proclaim these words for Your glory!)

My faith also tells me to love others in the same way Jesus loves me ... and allow Him to work miracles through that love.

Although I'm definitely not as good as loving you all as the good Jesus loves you, may this be my call to answer, reflect and imitate, and heed.

"In the twilight of our life, we shall be judged by love."-St. John of the Cross

Yours,
Aaron

"After a Run"

My own "genre work":

I close my eyes and listen
The birds sing melodiously
The sun feels gentle in its caressing

My eyes are still closed
The grass texture is springy
And I pretend the cars sound
Like ocean waves hitting the sand

I open my eyes and see
The birds, the sun, the grass, and the cars
Fresh air travels in and I am alive

An Attempt at "Simple Complexity"

Sometimes it's hard for me to put into words the sense of depth and thoroughness I try to approach a certain topic/argument/belief/suggestion. I'm trying to be a critical thinker, and even though I see aspects of truth and goodness in most of every rebuttal, it's difficult trying to make sense of it all into an "answer" (in which, perhaps, it seems there isn't any apparent empirically, and/or I just don't have the whole "picture" yet).

An Adventure in Coffee

Over the past two years, I have grown to love and appreciate coffee. Coffee is a hobby and a blessing for me. It's simply awesome to have the opportunity to taste the outcome of a lot of hard work, skill, and care of a very complex culinary beverage.

There are a lot of factors that go into making your cup of coffee and I don't think a lot of people take the time to consider them, or perhaps just don't know. From my experience and from what I have learned, I just wanted to share a few of them all in hopes that maybe you can take your own adventure in coffee - it's an experience where you end up tasting things you may have never tasted before, or tastes that would have never thought coffee could produce.

There's amazing potential in the tastes coffee can produce, and I think everybody should have the opportunity to try for themselves just what makes coffee so special.

At the fundamental level, to my understanding there are different species of coffee - Arabica (the most known), Liberica, and Robusta. In addition, there are different "sub-species" (known as "varietals") - this actually came as a result of the different locations coffee became grown in. A coffee can be Arabica, but grown in different places usually springs different varietals such as Bourbon, Catuai, etc. (You can also grow these different varietals in different places, too...)

From there, a certain type of coffee is affected by the location that coffee is grown in... things such as weather, soil nutrients, elevation, humidity, sun conditions... all affect the growth of the coffee and in the end, essentially the taste.

Once the coffee is grown, it is processed as a fruit into green coffee ("unroasted coffee") by different methods - such as natural "sun dried" process, wet-process, a combination of the two called "honey" process, and all shades of grey in between natural and wet process!

After that is perhaps the most overlooked part of the process in the final product that you taste: the roaster of the green coffee.

Each roaster brings their own unique experience and expertise in the roasting of the coffee they receive. A roaster can get coffee from the same exact place on the earth, and by their roasting, a completely different taste can come about in the end product. Generally, there is a spectrum of roasting coffee from light roasting to dark roasting.

Lastly, the way you brew the coffee (this, and the type of roaster you bought the coffee from is perhaps the parts of the process you have the most control over) effects the taste you end up tasting as well. Such methods to brew coffee include espresso, drip, french press-pot, Chemex, V60, etc.

To expand your range of tastes, a very dedicated roaster will let you know everything about the coffee they roast - from its varietal to its growing conditions. All to let you know what exactly goes into your cup of coffee to enhance the taste knowledge and experience.

It's really exciting to venture into the subtle (but not actually subtle) aspects of the coffee you end up buying, such as varietal type, who roasts it, and what method you brew the coffee by. All of these things end up effecting the way your end coffee product tastes.

A lot of people miss out on what coffee could actually taste like; I encourage you, if it is within your means and ability, to try and look into these aspects of the coffee process and begin your own adventure into coffee - in effect, opening up your experiences in tasting to aromas and flavors you may have never tasted before.

Making Peace

Hello blogspot and everyone,

It's about that time for change. 2012, I mean. :)

It's been one hell of a year for me. So, so much happened, but I know there's something I must do before it's officially the new year.

And that's make peace with myself...

I don't want to go into this New Year the same person as before anymore, I want to go at it changed. Changed from the horrible self I was before. I always know what I have to do be a better person, but it's hard for me to do it. Now, more than ever, is that chance to do it.

So to all of you still living in the past, live now. These moments are yours. Trust in God, and He'll pull through for you. Let go of all your vice-like grips on life; just do your best and live now.

Best,

Aaron.