Coffee At Birkdale

Car of the Day:

2010 Chevrolet Corvette

Character of the Day:

Jim – Nicholas Cage with a PHD

Jim has a great story. He was born in Virginia, lived three years in Yugoslavia and three years in the Philippines.  His father was a nuclear engineer which accounted for the traveling. Following in the engineer footsteps Jim attended UNC Charlotte where he received his PHD in electrical engineering with a specialization in optics. He also received his MSEE and BSEE from UNC Charlotte.  Not to mention his 16 US patents, blah blah blah…Needless to say he’s a smart guy. He also owns part of T1 Visions which happens to be my employer. Like I said earlier he’s a smart guy! Jim met his wife Katherine at UNCC before the creation of Digital Optics (Mike (Day Day 244) & Jim’s first company) where they now work together. Overhearing a work conversation between the two is like trying to interpret Greek. She wasn’t too interested at first but his persistence payed off. They have been happily married for five years. Jim is a true business traveler. It’s not uncommon to get a phone call from Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, Czechoslovakia, etc to discuss what needs to be done at work. Currently he lives in South Carolina on Lake Wylie. For fun he enjoys the outdoors aka wake-boarding. We will teach him to do a flip by the end of this summer. He is a true Linchpin for T1 Visions. If there is a problem that no one can figure out… call Jim. I’ve spent hours on an installation in Florida for Jim to figure out in 15 minutes that it was bad wiring. He’s always finds the answer with a smile. His favorite thing about Birkdale… “T1 Tapas of course”.

Life has been busy with Madison’s arrival approaching fast and work at T1. The success of the project is what has kept me from finishing it. With a little nudge from my wife last evening I’ve decided to rearrange my schedule. By nature I’m a night owl,  able to work on spreadsheets and send emails at 4am. That particular trait combined with my new career at T1 Visions has made it unlikely of my attendance at Starbucks. That being said I’m heading to bed at 8:30pm! with Shannon and getting to Starbucks in the am before work.

It might be a little more difficult to snag a Character since everyone is in the “get-in-get-out” mode. Let’s see who the next Character is going to be…

Car of the Day:

2004 – Present Porsche 911

Character of the Day:

Rob – Local Tattoo Genius

After talking to Rob today I realized that my reputation at Starbucks has been solidified. He already knew everything about me and acted as if we had already met. I’ll admit I felt at a disadvantage for a split second but quickly recovered. This tattoo artist who is a first generation American born in Long Island made for quite a Character. Not only is he a tattoo artist but also works for Little Dreamer Productions as a DJ and Graphic Designer. Rob attributes his love for scary movies to his Transylvanian heritage. His great grandfather was the Duke of Transylvania. He also has a love for comic books which I’m sure influences his tattoo designs. Rob seems to be the local go to guy for tattoos since many past Characters have his designs. I asked what he thought about all of the tattoo shows on TV. “It’s a love & hate relationship. It has made tattoos more mainstream which creates more work. I just don’t like when people want exact copies of what they see on TV. It needs to mean something to them on a personal level.” Sounds like Rob is a responsible artist. He currently works at AP in Mooresville and eventually plans on opening his own shop. His favorite thing about Birkdale… “the calm atmosphere which allows me to not only hang out with many of my friends, but meet new people as well”.

Car of the Day:

2005 – 2008 Range Rover Sport HSE

Character of the Day:

Audrey – Little Princess Barista

Audrey has seen me numerous times and has perfectly made my drink for me each time. She was aware of the project and at first was a little hesitant to participate. I waited to ask her again after I got to know her and she agreed with a smile. Audrey is originally from Motor City, USA (Detroit) and does drive an American car, a silver Buick that was handed down from her Dad. It didn’t take long into the inverview for me to realize that she is a little bit spoiled. Her move to NC was due to her participation in an acting group that performed Godspell. Audrey has a pretty mature outlook on life such as buying a house in the Greens instead of renting in Birkdale. “Why waste my money each month when I can own something, plus I only have to walk two blocks to work” she said with a smile. To add to her princess persona she proudly admitted to owning a Maltese-Shih-Tzu named Oliver and wanting to get a Chinese Crested  (which was the small dog in How To Lose A Guy in 10 days).  Music seems to be her passion which includes an extensive collection of vinyls, 8 tracks, and mp3s.  Since she was on her break I only had a few minutes to get to know this Barista. Her favorite thing about Birkdale…. “ Birkdale is like a little town. I love the atmosphere and how everyone knows each other.”

Car of the Day:

Character of the Day:

Marty – Bleeds Purple & Gold

Marty and I go way back. We first met my sophomore year @ ECU on the 5th floor of Jones Hall on College Hill. His dry sense of humor coupled with his love for music made him a close friend of mine. To top things off he was the master of resisting peer pressure. I distinctly remember 30 guys trying to convince him to go to a party and he wouldn’t budge. He had plans of playing his guitar. Marty was born and raised in Kinston, NC which is only 30 minutes from where ECU is located. He received his degree in computer networking with aspirations of working for the university. He needed 3 years of experience, which he accumulated in the car business, before ECU would hire him. He managed the Business Development Department which handles all online customers along with computer network system. Currently he works for ECU installing and maintaining their VOIP network. He is a huge Pirate Football fan and manages to continue the tailgating tradition at every home game. In fact, Shannon planned a trip for us to visit him during a home game for my 30th B-Day so I can relive my college days. In his college days, Marty enjoyed playing his guitar and tennis. He still loves doing both but has since graduated his physical activity to running. This was his second visit to Birkdale while spending the weekend at my house. His favorite things about Birkdale… “All the great restaurants, and also the atmosphere of all the people hanging out.  I’m hoping to come down during the summer time to hear some of the bands play live in the circle”.

Car of the Day:

2001 – 2008 Mercedes SL500

Character of the Day:

Shannon – Charitable Southern Lawyer

Shannon was intently staring her Netbook (a miniature laptop) when I snagged the table between her and Bill (Day 163). It turns out she is a lawyer who has ventured out on her own and had a little extra time to spend at Starbucks. With her thick southern accent it wasn’t surprising to learn she was born and raised in Huntersville. Her academic history is pretty impressive consisting of an undergrad degree from Chapel Hill and a law degree from Campbell University. Her Carolina pride runs pretty deep when it comes to Chapel Hill. I felt bad breaking to her the news that ECU is going to beat UNC this year in football. She didn’t seem too worried. Shannon’s work career started as a law clerk for a federal judge.She then practiced litigation law and has been known to do lots of charity work. She’s also close friends with Sarah (Day 276), whom she met through her sister and the Junior League. For Shannon, charity is more of a passion than a hobby. If she isn’t helping others she’s working. It must be that southern upbringing.  Her hobbies include traveling and spending time her silver lab, Tucker. As always, I enjoyed our conversation. Her favorite thing about Birkdale… “really, everything, the vibrancy, the people, the food, the shopping . . . everything.”

Car of the Day:

2005 – Present Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Character of the Day:

Keith – Hauln’ Hauler

Keith was quietly sitting right beside me and some past Characters as he was checking his phone. I realized after a while that he was probably amused by the conversation taking place. It was then I started getting to know Keith. He’s a local born and raised in Davidson. He owns a 20 year trucking business that was passed down to him from his Dad. I got a little insight into the trucking business. It reminded me of the energy industry, it’s very expensive to have capital that isn’t being used. The trick is to find that perfect balance in capital investment with market demand. After my trucking lesson I learned a little more about Keith. He’s married with no kids. I didn’t get to learn as much about Keith as I do with my past Characters since our interview was cut short. He did seem to enjoy the conversation and I’m sure given the opportunity it would have lasted longer. His favorite thing about Birkdale… “the atmosphere”.

Car of the Day:

2007 – Present Cadillac Escalade ESV

Character of the Day:

Adam – Musician, Teacher, & Adventurer

Originally, I was introduced to Adam through Seth (Day 128), it was a brief introduction that consisted nothing more than a “Hello”. Today I enjoyed a 2 hour conversation with Adam. He was born in Charlotte and raised in California. He moved to back to NC two years ago and is getting ready to finish getting his music degree. Currently his better half still lives on the west coast with plans in place for her to transfer to UNCC to finish her degree. She’s getting her degree in Event Planning which complements Adam’s business. He is a musician and music teacher that can play strings and percussion instruments easily. He has to work a little harder on the keyboard. Not only is Adam musically inclined he’s also athletic which seems to be the norm for the Seth/Adam family tree. Where Seth prefers the waves and surfing, Adam likes it a bit colder in the snow with his board. Since music is more of a passion it’s movies that fall under his hobby category. Most of the conversation was focused on our religious views (which tends to happen at this particular Starbucks). It was an enlightening conversation. On a side note, we all know the three taboos in social conversation… religion, politics, and taxes. I’ve noticed in Birkdale these topics can be addressed without worry of an argument ensuing. There have been exceptions to the rule though… Our conversation today was enjoyable which was obvious by the length. His favorite thing about Birkdale… “the interesting people and conversations that never cease to take place”.

Car of the Day:

1998 – 2004 Porsche Carrera 4

Character of the Day:

Amber – An OCD Learner

There’s a lot to be learned about Amber from her sunglasses. If you notice they are a little quirky and have a lot of personality. She was born in Indiana and grew up in Mooresville. Amber isn’t your usual Race City USA townie. NASCAR, Football, and sports in general doesn’t do much for her… except for the Hoosiers Basketball. She’s more of the creative sort who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Elon college in dance. She seems to have some OCD tendencies which manifest themselves under the guise of learning. For example, the book she had with her was the The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire which she was reading for fun! She is on a self proclaimed quest to learn and once she has picked a subject she doesn’t stop until she has a thorough understanding of the topic. If you’re ever looking for a good discussion on the Roman Empire you can find her at Red Rocks where she is currently working. Her hobbies include  decoupage, which consists of gluing things to things, and any other type of art form that is stimulates her creativity. Her favorite thing about Birkdale… “the cars”.

Car of the Day:

1971 – 1989 Mercedes SL

Character of the Day:

Amy – From Russia With Love

This is Amy’s second time visiting the States. It was through Brent (Day 191) that she found herself sitting at our little Starbucks in NC. Amy was born and raised in Russia in Astrakhan which is in the south of Russia near the Caspian Sea. Her first trip to the US was for work as an interpreter, a skill she has literally mastered with a master’s degree. It was during this trip that she ran into Brent and a spark was ignited. They kept in touch when she went back home until she was able to visit again. Surprisingly, her biggest culture shock happened during her first visit in NY. It was there she realized that women in Russia were better dressed. “There where no pretty women during the day, they only came out at night” she said with her thick accent. One thing was for certain when talking to Amy… she knows her fashion and is quite passionate about her love for clothes. She also is quite artistic and loves photography & movies. She has aspirations of being a professional photographer and screen writer in the US. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and learned a lot about the English language. For instance, who knew there are 16 tenses in the English language?… not I. Her favorite thing about Birkdale… “i guess Starbucks. But I’m really crazy about little shops, especially Victoria’s Secret!”