Passover, and a Very Important Question

I have to say, I'm writing this on the 29th of May- not the 15th of March- but I still don't quite know how to phrase a lot of this. I still can't believe this entry actually happened some days- I'm almost afraid that I'm going to wake up and it's going to be a dream. It's pretty awesome! So- where to start? The last entry was dated March 9- Which means that I've only got one week between entries. What all has happened? Well, on the 8th Dakota and his family came out to Melody's and hung out for a while. Ms. Joanie was having a very good day- very bubbly, like usual. That's what I noticed anyway- Truth of the matter is that earlier in the day Dakota had to leave for a while to go visiting at the hospital with his pastor, Ray Carr. Well, I didn't know it at the time, but he was also going to a small jewelry store to look at engagement rings. So what was Ms. Joanie so excited about? Her son had an engagement ring in the car outside- and it was supposed to be mine. And I was just happy to see everyone. It was a good night, easy, full of good customers and good company. Dakota and I went to McDonalds after I got off work and hung out until close to 10:30- at which point he looked at his watch and went “Oh, you gotta be getting home,” I kinda pouted a little, “I suppose we kinda have to, right?” well- yeah. Can't stay in McDonalds all night talking, 'sides, he was coming over for passover the next day anyway. So we part ways and go home.
So the next day, Dakota sends me a text asking what time Passover is supposed to start. I basically told him 5:30, but you can come any time you like. He responded that he'd try to be on time, but had a couple things to do, like his mom scheduled him a haircut at 4. Of course, then dad walks by and informs me that Dakota asked him if he'd like to meet for lunch at Chich-fil-a. Now, we've joked this whole time that Chick-fil-a is where we go to conduct all our important conversations. So dad starts ribbing me about what he should tell Dakota if he starts asking thinks like “can I marry your daughter?” “Want me to send him packing?” My response? "What?! No! -No! Don't do that! Geeze, he's my best friend dad!" So off dad goes. he comes back and didn't stop grinning at me all day long. Dakota didn't know that I knew that they'd had lunch together, and didn't know that dad had asked me what I thought (more or less). So off dad goes, and mom and I started getting things together for passover. Em driver came over around four, we got the table set up, and then we waited. True to his word, Dakota was late. Dad hadn't stopped ribbing me all day- he even got Trillian to call me rib me while he was at lunch with Dakota. Of course, I was probably inviting the ribbing- every couple minutes I was back at the door watching to see if he was here yet. Finally, about forty-five minutes late, I glimpsed his car at the top of the hill. Because dad had been ribbing me all day, his reaction to Dakota coming down the driveway didn't surprise me at all. See, he unceremoniously kicked me out of the house with the order "you aren't allowed back in the house til you have him with you," and he locked the door behind me. So I wandered down the walk toward the driveway as Dakota is pulling in, arms crossed and feeling mischievous, with the biggest grin on my face- completely clueless that my dad had more motive behind kicking me out than just picking on me. So here I am, standing at the end of the deck with my arms saucily crossed over my chest, with my face pulled into a perfect smirk as he parked the car beside my truck. “Uh, hi!” He said, more or less falling out of the car as I approached. “Sorry I'm late, mom insisted I get a haircut. Put us a little behind schedule. How're you today?”
I kinda smiled, shrugged, leaned against the back of my truck, “Well, Dad's kicked me out of the house and says I'm not allowed back inside until I have you with me,” I started. He kinda smiled and fidgeted a little, “He did?” I nodded, still smirking slightly. I was feeling mischievous, so I decided to make a passover joke. “Well, if this was any other night, I'd suggest we hop in the car, run away, and go someplace.” see, part of the Passover meal is a question and answer session between the youngest and oldest members of the family, in which the youngest asks “Why is this night different from every other night?” and the oldest replies “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Eternal, our G-d, took us out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm.” I was just being goofy. Dakota kinda fidgeted a little, "Actually, on that note," he said, turning to pull something out of the car behind him. When he turned around again he had a small blue velvet box in his hand, with the most beautiful ring in the world in it. "So yeah," he said, all nerves. "Would you like to? I mean, run away with me. Sometime. Maybe.”
And time stopped. Everything was so still. The world could have exploded just then, and I'd have been no wiser. I truthfully have no idea what I did. Time stopped, and so did my brain- I forgot how to speak, how to breathe, how to think. I recall going "Oh my goodness-" like, probably fifteen times (just enough to inadvertently get him worried) and then I said something to the effect of "I'm gonna have to call my uncle and tell him I'm engaged!" (see the end of my post entitled 'Still haven't called my uncle')
“So that's a yes?” “Yes! That is absolutely a yes!”
-And I thought I sounded like an idiot when he asked me if I'd like to consider turning it into a courtship- I really sounded like an idiot when he actually asked me to marry him. I mean- wow.
Up until that point, if offered the chance to go back in time and change anything about my past, I'd have told anyone that I wouldn't change anything from my past- that everything works together to make me who I am. Now I'd have to say “Yes- Take me back to March 15^th, 2013- I need to change my reaction when my best friend asked me to marry him. I'd like to shout YES to the sky like a flipping maniac instead of kind of stuttering in shock like a dumb fool.” It kinda looked like a near miss of a huge trainwreck.
Oh goodness, I don't think I've ever been so happy as right now. I mean- this was the perfect night really. The perfect night.

Greenway, Hobbit, Hangin' out

This is a filler post, written after the fact- but aren't they all? Not many are written with so much time between the entries, nor are they so terribly back dated. It's alright though. This is cool stuff- I think I remember pretty well. :) When shall I date this one to? The 9th?
So much has happened! Like, a whole bunch of really fantastic, amazing, unspeakably awesome things! I mean- Awesome. And this is going to be Awesome. But yeah, I'm sitting on the edge of way too much vague goofiness-  I need to choose a day and start describing it.
So, the 9th of March. It's truthfully the 29th of May right now, so details are going to be fuzzy, but I'm going to pretend that it's all been today. On the 9th of March I hung out with Dakota in smithfield pretty much all day. We met at Melody's in the morning, talked for a couple hours- I finally got the story behind his name outta him. His first name is John- but he's never gone by it. John only goes on the important documents and stuff. We had some coffee, and then decided we wanted to walk on the Greenway. So off we went- walked down to it, walked all along it- the whole distance, three miles there, three miles back, almost a mile to get to it and almost a mile to get back to Melody's. We talked about so much! I remember that every once in a while Dakota would look over at me as we were walking and I'd all the sudden forget how to think, blush and have to start my train of thought over. I mean, wow. His eyes are the most intense, the warmest, deepest, eyes I've ever seen. One glance and I'm all to pieces. Completely melted. Over.
But yeah, so after our long, wonderful walk on the Greenway we went to lunch, and then Dakota took me to the Howell Theatre in Smithfield to see the Hobbit. It was a good movie! He even put up with my whining and side commentary! He's wonderful! After the movie we went our separate ways. it was a really good day. I so much enjoy spending time with Dakota. I'm so glad he asked me out. Earlier this year I was really afraid I might have scared him off. Turns out he's way braver than most of the guys I know. Actually, He's probably one of the bravest men I know- and even though he's brave he's not at all arrogant or mean. I mean, it's easy for a guy to be brave and take that to arrogance, and then arrogance turns into aloof cruelty. It's a terrible fate some suffer- but not Dakota. He's so solid and dependable, really up front and open. He's got no questions about who he is or whether he's good or not. He's confidant. I really love that about him. I don't think I could scare him off if I tried- and I may have tried once or twice. The first time he noted the .22 federal shells in my hat I started fishing for things that generally make people reconsider standing near me- like mentioning that I do enjoy shooting, I'm a passable shot, and I've got a firing range in the back yard, and that I usually carry a knife with me at all times. Did not phase him at all. He actually thought it was pretty cool. Then there was the time he was over at the house and I was showing him my german longsword, put it up and came after him with the LARP-er. I said I was going to go get the foam one- he just missed that bit of conversation... so I came at him from around a corner and checked the blow right at his throat- he thought I had the metal one still. took out the table trying to get away from me. he thought he was going to die! lol! He was okay though. -He still came by work the next time I was out there. I was impressed. :) Dakota Massengill has got to be the bravest man I know.

We're totally doing Passover this year!!!

Oh my goodness I'm so flipping excited!!! Yes, you read the title right- We're doing Passover this year. :D :D :D ...Not that we don't do Passover every year, but I'm going to East Asia over Easter this year, so I was rather resigned to not getting to celebrate Passover. But mom just said "If we're going to celebrate Passover, we have to do it the Friday before you leave- that's the 15th." and I'm like "...we're actually going to celebrate Passover?" and she's like "Yeah, we are. So you need to get in touch with Dakota and his folks- we can fit fourteen people around the table." and I'm like "YES YES YES YES YES!!!"
-So now mom and I are comparing china plates, talking about tables and table runners (the blue satin ones from Trillian's wedding [which she left] will be absolutely perfect!), Seder plates, Shabat candles, silver coins, table settings, and which haggadah outline we will use. :D ...the only thing I think we don't actually have is the candle stick holders- but we never have those for some reason or another. I'm so excited. 

Tuesday Night - Barista Rant

I've spent most of the day trying to remember if it was Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday. This is an important question, because I don't usually work Wednesdays or Fridays- but I work every Tuesday. Of course, I knew it wasn't Thursday because (lameness of all lameness) I knew that Dakota wasn't going to be at Melody's today. That means it's not Thursday. Of course, I knew I was supposed to be working, so that really only left Tuesday... But still, it felt sorta like Wednesday.
Anyway, one of the other barista's posted to Facebook a link to a twitter feed called the Bitter Barista. I'm not going to link to it, you'll have to go looking for it. Anyway, I was reading through it and realized that a lot of my issues that I have with customers that make me roll my eyes are experienced by Baristas everywhere. Things like people who ask for "Very Hot, No foam" Lattes (which is difficult), people who ask "Why's this cappuccino so light?" (When a cappuccino is generally 30% foam), People who order things like a "White Chocolate Mocha with french vanilla flavoring, an extra shot, 2% milk, lots of whipcream and a drizzle, and that crumbly stuff on top. Large." and then complain about the price. I really don't mind those things too much, people know how they like things (except the cappuccino people), and I don't mind making it for them. My only trouble customer today was my usual trouble customer- but he and his wife are usually rude, so I'm pretty braced for their comments. Something's always wrong. last time the shots that I pulled for his Americano looked "Fluffy", the time before I'd wanted to verify that he wanted caffeinated, not decaff (usually people in the middle of the day only get americano if we don't have decaff brewed and they want their coffee NOW) and his wife said he'd punch me in the face if I made him decaff. And he agreed. Okay guys, that was a threat. By the grace of God I was too shocked to say anything, because I'd have probably said something like "um- that wouldn't be good for either of us, because I'd have to call the cops- then you'd be getting your coffee in the slammer. :D have a nice day!" (On the other hand, I'll never forget that he gets caffeinated Americanos. But seriously, what a jerk!)
But yeah- tonight the issue was that she asked for a "Kay" I wasn't sure what in the heck a Kay was, so I asked her to say it again. "a Kay tea!" she sorta rolled her eyes and I'm like "Oh, she wants a Chai! ^.^ -- 0.0 -- Oh. she wants a chai. -_.-" See- I've got Five ways I can make chai back there. and home sister didn't even know how to say what she wanted- no way in heck is she going to be able to tell me which one of the five ways I can make Chai is actually the one she wanted. And she's picky too. So yeah, that was my issue earlier. I asked her if she had had one before, and she said yes, so I guessed that meant that it had to be the Chai Latte or the Chai Tea. So the next question was "Did it have a tea bag, or steamed milk" She had no flipping idea. so I made her a chai latte, all the time mentally daring her or her husband to say a WORD about the way I was making the latte. then I handed it to her and went to fold rags. I wasn't hanging around for them to tell me what a horrible job I did on the chai and how it wasn't what they wanted. Such stuck up jerks. (Dalek Barista says: Decaffeinate! Decaffeinate!) But yeah, other than that it was a good evening. I had a fellow come in around four and get a quadruple shot espresso with four pumps of caramel and whip cream. It was the closest thing to a Macchiato I've ever made. It looked awesome. :) I filed that recipe away in my brain, and one day I shall try it. :) It will be delicious and powerful.

Another Saturday Study Date

You'd think that 10am on a Saturday is a reasonable time to be somewhere. And it is. -My major malfunction is that I can't seem to get up in the mornings these days. But yeah, mornings that I don't have to be anywhere are quickly migrating toward being 9am wake ups whether I like it or not. I suppose I need to give myself a good kick in the pants and just do it. Call it responsibility, and that'll make us feel better. Anyway, So today I met Dakota at Melody's for a study date. Yes, Definition of "study date" is oxy-moronic: It's a date on which you study material for class. But really, we get through a lot of material. I wasn't sure how well those would go at first, but they're actually quite industrious. I'll sit at one side of the table with my textbook and computer, he'll sit at his side of the table with his, and we study. Occasionally one of us will interject about something that makes no sense or something we thought was interesting, but for the most part, we study. Today was a little difficult, the top forty list was playing on the radio and apparently I know more of the songs than I should probably admit (Come on guys, I work at a coffee house) so I kept being distracted by the more upbeat songs. It took me almost four hours to get through twenty-five pages. I felt like a dunce. Dakota covered at least forty pages in that time. But anyway, Victory was achieved, and I'm officially on spring break. So at about 2o'clock we went to Wendy's for lunch- they have a really good value menu. I hadn't realized that. It was a lovely discovery though. We sat in Wendy's for a while just talking about movies and such, then about the third time the Wendy's guy asked if we needed refills we decided to regroup elsewhere- so we went to the Greenway and walked almost three and a quarter miles. Not something I'd have done by me onesy, but it was nice enough with Dakota. The Greenway has a bit of a bad reputation in Smithfield- understandably so, it's well wooded on either side and far removed from people. Vissini: "We are but poor lot circus performers. Is there a village nearby?" Buttercup: "There is nothing nearby. Not for miles." Vissini: "Then there will be no one to hear you scream." And of course, there's a lovely little sign saying that there are no weapons allowed on the Greenway. Because signs like that totally keep delinquents from carrying guns. Silly people. They are called 'Perps' because they perpetrate crimes. Like armed robbery (which is also illegal). So yeah, but it was a fun walk, arm-in-arm discussing social norms vs a christian world view (Also see: things that just make us go "what?") it was a good time. :) I think we've more or less decided we need to go back when spring really gets going, and then again in the fall when the leaves are turning.
But yeah, that was pretty much my day. Came home, ate dinner, played minecraft. It's been a good day. :) I think I need to go and see if my pillow will take me back- I left it this morning after a long fight.