A CELEBRATION OF TEA

 

Coffee is the work horse of the beverage world, tea is the show pony. Everything tastes and feels more special with tea.

Unlike coffee, tea evokes images and feelings. People who love coffee usually like loud music and crowds. These are NOT my people.

Tea is like a quiet, relaxing vacation in my mind, a mini getaway.

Whenever I sit and sip Irish tea, I can imagine myself sitting by a window in a cozy room with a blazing fireplace. Outside it's chilly as a light misty rain falls upon a wild garden. Curving thru it is a dirt path leading up to a crude old picket fence; beyond are jade colored mountains and wide haunting moors brimming with secrets longing to be told.

The flavor of Raspberry tea makes me feel as if I’m seated in a large white gazebo in the middle of a lavish spring garden. Acres of flowering trees and bushes with ripe fruit surround me. Rabbits scamper and frolic among these as songbirds sing sweetly to me. Beyond are rolling mint-colored hills and fields of lavender and wildflowers as families of deer strut proudly among them.

A taste of cinnamon tea and I imagine a Christmas Eve in Vienna! It's cold and snowing outside but I'm snug and warm inside a charming old ninetieth century home peering out thru a huge picture window high above the city. Icicles hang from the window along with frost. The multitude of bright gem colored lights outside display a gauzy glow as the stars above appear to be diaphanous distant pearls. Inside is a 10 ft tree decorated to the hilt. I can almost smell the cinnamon pecan rolls baking for Christmas morning.

My orange, passion fruit, jasmine green tea is a special exotic tropical treat! I imagine myself upon a paradisical private island somewhere between Africa and Asia. I'm alone enjoying every moment of my isolation and serenity. Fragrances from the many different and gorgeous flowers fill my nostrils, colorful butterflies as big as birds flutter past me. Just beyond, the azure waves of Indian Ocean lap the shoreline glistening in the sun; with each, a warm gentle breeze caresses me.

A new tea I’ve recently come to love is Butterfly Pea Flower Vanilla Midnight. It’s the green shade of a haunted forest. A magical esoteric place filled with secrets unknown to the outside world. Within the tree trunks dwell ancient spirits. Faeries perch in their branches as gnomes peek out from behind rocks. I call this my enchanted tea!

Opening my eyes after savoring each sip, I'm reminded that my kitchen table and the formal one beneath the chandelier both display lovely nature views outside that I don't need to imagine. However, a little fantasy and a bit of variety is always something to enjoy along with the delicious taste of tea!

AI & EYES IN THE SKY

 

I’ll admit I enjoy AI artwork. It’s the stuff of fantasy. I find it fascinating and intriguing.

A friend told me AI is going to eventually replace workers, and most people will be thrown out of a job.

I told her to look on the bright side and remember our ages, when the big takeover happens, we’ll probably be dead or close to it. -- Although this is happening already! Self-check-out is here and I detest it!

I still resent the fact that I’m forced to pump my own gas. I loathe having to touch that germy handle. Growing up this was a job for station attendants who also checked your oil & tire pressure, as well as cleaned your windshield. Nowadays, everything is more expensive with worse customer service.

Not long ago, I was presented with a special offer. AI could narrate my books for a reduced price. There was only one catch! The AI would have trouble with foreign words or phrases. So I had to decline.

In the two novels I’d have chosen: The first, the main character goes to Germany to solve a decades old mystery. The second, the lead character is a wealthy divorcee who is well traveled. AI would have a fit with these, especially the first one!

This in mind, I noticed something goofy in a YouTube video I was watching about WWII. The narrator referred to the German “Wehrmacht” as Vermont! Also 1945 was pronounced 1,945! Who talks like that? Certainly not a human being!

Recently, I hired a plumber, and we were discussing AI. I told him not to worry; his job was safe. He said he was concerned for his sons. He wanted them to be businessmen not plumbers.

By the time his sons are grown, plumbers will probably be making more money than doctors! And their services are hardly cheap now! Doctors will be easier to replace. AI can diagnose illnesses and robots can perform surgery. But I can’t see them doing plumbing.

I’ve read poetry written by a computer and it was laughable. The plumber pointed out that AI has already taken jobs away from humans by narrating books & videos. Sadly, I can’t argue with that!

Plus, we’re still in the early stages, computers are only going to be getting smarter.