Two Hands, Stupid

Have you ever fallen off a moving treadmill? I did this once. Not that it was actually falling �off�, but it was more like an attempt to get �on� the moving apparatus that caused the situation. It�s not often that I find myself jogging at the gym on the treadmill. It�s something I save for frigid winter days when there�s no option to go outside for a little ski or something. Anyway, there I was about 3 minutes into my jog, completely annoyed that I was watching Gun Dog: Bird Hunters on the TV with an out of range remote control in my hand. Bugged by my inability to control my environment, I stepped off the moving treadmill to walk up to the TV to get the thing to change to something more appropriate, like today�s Oprah, for example. Should I have asked the man 2 treadmills over if this was ok? Maybe, and this is probably why karma took control in the next moments.

Feeling victorious over the television, I walked back to my treadmill and stepped on. Not a one-hundredth of a second passed, and my right leg shot back as though I was pulling off the latest hip-hop move. My chin blew past the control monitor and hit the moving mill. My left leg made some attempt to stop the situation, which put me in a holding pattern that allowed a sharp burning sensation, caused by the 8 mph rubber, to push up my gym shorts and dive into my skin. At this point I let loose a complete chick-scream just in time to ensure that all my fellow gym-goers could see me land on the floor between my possessed treadmill and the one next to it. All of this took probably less than 2 seconds to transpire. In another 2, every person within earshot ran over while trying to choke back their giggles. �Are you OK?� �Oh my gosh!� �Wow that looked like it hurt!�

�I�m fine�, I was able to say. I forced a smile, and completely laughed out loud at myself, convincing everyone around me that I didn�t need an ambulance. As they scampered back to what they had been doing, I got up and appropriately mounted the moving treadmill this time. I winced to myself as I felt the full effect of the burning on my right thigh, and thought �you moron, pay attention for Christ sake!� I gimp-jogged for another minute or two before the pain subsided and the crowd stopped talking about me. My embarrassment found a way leave the room, and I couldn�t help by laugh. That was fricking funny.

Lesson learned? Get on the moving treadmill with two hands gripping the bars and start running in mid air before your legs even hit the ground. This is how every day has been bringing the business on-line. Full run�.no stopping. So many things have attempted to throw me off the back of the treadmill so far that I feel like I�m on the commando-mill on some episode of The Biggest Loser with the crazy uber-fit trainer chick throwing darts at my head and swinging chains at my feet. I�m jumping, ducking, sprinting, getting low, and swaying sideways. I haven�t fallen off yet, and every day I seem to get better at multitasking way outside my comfort zone.

Next week I am going to take a trip to visit the coffee importer I�ve selected as my supplier. We are going to spend the time trying different fresh green coffees imported from around the world that we�ll test roast to come up with the perfect offerings, whether they are blends of multiple coffees or from single origins. I�m going to expand my knowledge of �cupping� (you might remember that�s �tasting�) so I can get better at picking out flavors and aromas in the roasted coffee. In addition, I�m going to spend some time learning how to extract the perfect espresso shot and foam milk. Hey, what girl doesn�t need to know how to make great foam? Don�t worry, I�ll remember�.two hands on and hit the ground running.