Brewed Beverage of Choice: Dharma Bum IPA in an Imperial Pint Glass
Over the past few years I have become used to living a simple life without a car, a digital camera, a laptop (good one…), and any of life’s “luxuries.” I do not mind because most of the time I really do not desire any of these objects. I have a great job, good friends, an awesome dog, and an awesome family. What more do I really need? But now I sit here on a sunny Wednesday afternoon with a dilemma: get a new and desperately needed bike or get a new and desperately needed education in brewing.
With the dentist bills mounting, as well as the usual other bills we all have, I have to decide on a newer bike - mine has not been the same since I had an accident - or spend the same money on a deposit for a Concise Brewing Course at Siebel Institute in Chicago. For the past several weeks I have been working on the application for the Glen Hay Falconer Memorial Scholarship which would pay for the course at Siebel. By the beginning of the week I had come to realize that along with the application they require a deposit to accompany all the other materials. The newer bike was looking more like the option to go with. That is, until this afternoon.
While at work, I discovered a letter in my mailbox. It was from the HQ, leading to me to respond, “What did I do now.” But before I opened it, it dawned on me that this was the Letter of Recommendation from the General Manager of the Breweries. Crap! So I opened and read what my boss had written. Shite! With one fell swoop, his words clouded the decision between bike and education.
As a Confucian, one cannot be too educated. As a bike commuter, one cannot be too comfortable. See my dilemma? If I get the scholarship, I get to go to Chicago for two weeks…PAID!!! If I do not get it, then they hold the deposit for 4 years until I take the course. If I get the bike…well…I get to ride to work in comfort. Either way I cannot lose in my mind. Unfortunately for me, the deadline for the application is Friday. And so my next few hours are going to be decisive.
So as I leave you to go decide, I leave you with some words inspired by Ryokan. The last post was just too deep, so I thought I could turn to the lighter side of life. So enjoy! Because for the next few hours I will not be able to.
Prost!
the confucian brewer with a dilemma
Enticed by her beauty.
My friend remarks
on the technical reasons
for the sway of a woman’s hips,
while I stare at the metronome
of her gentle stride.
Even in simplistic admiration,
we are still little pigs!