I went to the rather derelict looking San Francisco Coffee outlet at Miri to grab a quick snack before heading to the airport. I’m clearing all my Miri trip backlogs – this is the final one before the Miri beach writeup tomorrow. 🙂
The decrepit and understaffed San Francisco Coffee franchise didn’t even have a barista at the counter at first. The staff was just lounging around OUTSIDE the premises. I was told that this franchise outlet is closing down soon, that probably attributes to the low morale.
The San Francisco Coffee souvenir stand was unmanned so you could probably just nick some of the stuff if you’re thus inclined. I’m pretty sure the staff would neither notice nor care about anyone doing the Five Finger Discount over here. 😉
There were a couple of other customers besides us but the place exudes a general feeling of barrenness (not in the biblical sense).
I ordered the Extreme Buzz with an additional shot of espresso (RM 16). I needed the caffeine to keep awake during the trip back just in case I become an unwitting drug mule from certain people slipping stuff into my baggage during the numerous microsleeps I had. :p
This is OJ DID IT – an orange juice fruit frappe that Faye ordered. I just love the wordplay, it’s cracked me up to no end. 🙂
This is the San Francisco Cheesecake (RM 7.95). It was alright, nothing to write home about that’s for sure.
The place also serves waffles (RM 4.95). It comes with Heinz marmalade, Anchor butter and honey on the side.
I was the only one that was due to fly back that day due to work commitments. I was totally exhausted by the end of it all.
San Francisco Coffee – Life is Good (except for the staff of this soon-to-be-closed outlet). 😉
closing down soon? ah no surprise there, whole place’s been damn abandoned since they closed down the mall.
i used to love hanging out at san fran. that was way before coffeebean opened, and M2 was still a fairly decent place to shop (because there was blush lingerie and blay footwear upstairs!)
so when are you heading over anyway, hb?
Still prefer Starbucks than others.Nowonder wanna close down open at Miri where got business should open at Kch ma, Kch don’t have San Francisco but we do have Chica.go 7
OJ did it!!! LOL!!! That was very clever indeed!!! And btw, Roland, isn’t there Seattle Coffee at Merdeka Palace in Kuching?…Personally, nothing beats my Ruby blended kopi-o ice!!! U’ve yet to try that, Huai Bin…..
yeahh i remember the good old days when it was good, they’re not really closing down, they’re just relocating that’s all.
I want that cheesecake and OJ did it.
Hello from just north of the original S.F. Your blog is very cool. Though honestly how I found it was searching for one of the Zuelligs, and came across some of your personal “pharma” testing.
Yah, I’ve actually met Stephen Zuellig, and Daniel, and Cristopher. Interesting history they have in the Philippines. Our family has been in business there since the 1930’s, but our food export to Asia dropped off.
Now in line with your “Fast Food Topic”, what do you think of MSG (monosodium glutamate). Because glutamate is also a neurotransmitter, and hypothalamus in brain is outside blood/brain barrier, do you think MSG acts as a kind of “consumerism” drug, inducing hypomania?
http://www.msgtruth.org/
http://www.msgtruth.org/panic.htm
http://www.msgtruth.org/pituitar.htm
Do you think at really high level the food industry and pharmaceutical industry are linked? Interesting that Ajinomoto Corp (MSG mfr) also has a pharma arm.
I’m personally buddhist and don’t believe in conspiracy theories or that there is anything of permanence to cabals or syindicates, so I sleep well at night. But you think too much fast food can cause the extremes of bipolar disruption? creating need for pharma?
Om Mani Peme Hung
Tuapui, I checked the website indeed theres a Seattle coffee at Merdeka Palace unfortunetly due to the location (inside a 5 star hotel) and not very well known so didn’t have the urge to check it out.
San Fran’s not closed down. It’s in the process of moving into Bintang Plaza. =)
Irene: Yeah, that’s what I heard. It’s seriously empty, the entire place and the staff were just lepakking OUTSIDE the outlet with no one manning the counter.
I missed the trip to Kuching this time due to another project I was handling, so I don’t know when the next trip would be. There is a seminar in July, I don’t know if I can go to that.
Roland: Me too. Brand loyalty. I prefer Starbucks to all the other coffee chains out there. What is Chicago 7 anyway, I heard it sells hot dogs and now coffee too?
suituapui: Yeah, I love the wordplay. Would have worked even better back when it happened. 🙂
Yeah, the next outing after Sheraton shall be at Ruby and we shall all sample STP’s coffee.
Darren: Interesting. Where are they moving to? New mall?
jessy: It would be eaten by ants before it got to you. I tried sending a 1 kg Easter Egg – it was huge – from Australia to Malaysia once and by the time my then gf got it, it was filled with ants.
Bill: Greetings! OMG, you’ve actually met them in person! I’m impressed. Yeah, the US has a lot of business (and historical) ties to the Philippines while the (now defunct) British Empire was the ruling force here back in the days.
It seems like we’re kindred souls in pharmacological experiments. I’ve heard about the MSG theory, and some research suggests that it doesn’t actually cross the BBB (blood brain barrier) so I’m still skeptical about it. On a personal basis, I do crave for MSG laden food, but that could be just a cultural thing.
The most impressive pharmacutical company in Japan that I admire is Sumitomo – they also do everything from heavy machinery to construction. Sumitomo Pharmaceutials produces the (in)famous Erimin 5. It’s nimetazepam, the only illegal benzodiazepine in Malaysia. It’s allegedly controlled by the Yakuza and has a very high demand in Malaysia and other SEA countries.
Back to the fast food and pharma link…this is the only the second time I’ve heard that and I’m going to read more in detail. It’s interesting, that’s for sure.
Franz: Good! They used to have this promotion where you get a free ice blended frappacinno (SF’s version) for every one you purchase. Double the caffeine for the normal price. That was very innovative of them. I used to get it to get through the day.
HB, regrading Chica.go 7 check this out :-
http://www.catscity.net/?p=944
p/s: I think its a local brand cos can’t find its website in the net
i love seattle coffee house @ merdeka palace by the way. actually i think i like the steamed milk heh. with all the interesting flavourings.
HB, you didn’t leave me a message saying you’d be in Miri!
Roland: Interesting! I shall check it out the next time I go to Kuching.
Irene: Well, I almost never go there when I was in Kuching. Coffee Bean and bing! are the ones I go to due to the central proximity. Arguably Merdeka Palace is close to town as well (in fact it’s technically CLOSER) but I hardly ever go there.
Franz: Sorry! I totally forgot that you are in Curtin now. Minta maaf Francine! I’ll call you next time I go to Miri.
By Franz on June 21, 2008 1:17 AM
HB, you didn’t leave me a message saying you’d be in Miri!
Cool man H Bin.
More of an alchemist almost accidentally, I have known in the 90’s alot of fellows quite like you from California to Finland, who were doing same thing but more for purpose of staying focused for computer programming. Yah I’ve studied Jose Rizal and whole history of Philippines.
Feel quite at home reading your blog, my wife is Filipina (somewhat malay) and most of our customers used to be Fukienese.
This is a cool blog for Philippines / Sundaland (SE Asia) history.
http://sambali.blogspot.com
I’m completely sober fellow. Really the only thing which looks interesting from a shamanic point of view is Salvia Divinorum. But all this meditation stuff is good enough anyway. All you and your friend bloggers rock, I’m going to tell a couple of my close myspace friends about this site.
Oh interesting about Sumitomo.
Bows.
Cool man H Bin.
More of an alchemist almost accidentally, I have known in the 90’s alot of fellows quite like you from California to Finland, who were doing same thing but more for purpose of staying focused for computer programming. Yah I’ve studied Jose Rizal and whole history of Philippines.
Feel quite at home reading your blog, my wife is Filipina (somewhat malay) and most of our customers used to be Fukienese.
This is a cool blog for Philippines / Sundaland (SE Asia) history.
http://sambali.blogspot.com
Oh, also I’ve corresponded with Paul Kekai Manansala.
Also here’s another friend.
http://www.orpilla.com
He’s got also a Filipino martial arts group, and he is reinvigorationg Filipino/Malay type tatoos in California.
I’m completely sober fellow. Really the only thing which looks interesting from a shamanic point of view is Salvia Divinorum. But all this meditation stuff is good enough anyway. All you and your friend bloggers rock, I’m going to tell a couple of my close myspace friends about this site.
Oh interesting about Sumitomo.
Bows.
Bill: Props to you, my friend. Most of the people I know who used meth has stopped due to it’s unfortunate tendency to cause…issues, shall we say, with mental health and relationships. I know of 4 other people who quit meth (we always used together). Quitters Inc. 😉
Those are interesting blogs indeed, browsed through them just now.
Salvia divinorum caused a wierd flashback to childhood for me during the time I tried it (with cannabis about an hour before) where I had this very vivid hallucination of being on a two-seater swing with my mom and I was probably 5-6 years old then. It evoked very sad feelings inside me, but my relationship with my mom is somewhat strained, so that could be the reason.
Thanks for reading, and do tell me what Salvia did for you. It causes somewhat different reactions in different people.
Wow man you already tried Salvia. Actually that is what I “would” do, but have never done it.
Me only alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and mushrooms about 3 times. Am lucky never got heavy into. And now the non-intoxicated route (although anything is possible when realizing the “one taste for all phenomena”).
Funny you mention flashback because after going through kind of a huge late life, very messy but not too bad late onset bipolar experience (the swinging has stopped, am very fortunate) and after doing daily meditation practice and everything balancing out (being happier than in my whole life), I had an incredible flashback to childhood.
Remember being dropped off at a house downtown at a baby sitters with a bunch of other kids, in heart of my hometown of Mill Valley. Remember exact details of house, and living room used to be in, and laying on carpet watching “Ultraman” on T.V.
My brother advised me that I was about 1 year old, because my mom only dropped me off at that babysitter when she was nearly divorced from my dad.
It could be though, she used same lady a couple of years later, so no way to verify the 1 yr old memory.
Even though am beginning practitioner, can at least sense what they talk about with omniscience (beyond time, knower of three times) in Buddhism, though of course omniscience does NOT mean omnipotence, as the Western egos think. But the real weird stuff the Lamas say you shouldn’t share it.
Now I know most of your friends likely have a good Christian education, but on the esoteric end it could be that “maybe” there was an inner esoteric teaching in Christianity, of course found with the Gnostics (which were EDITED out of the gnostic gospels).
Duality, Yin/Yang etc is just a fact of life, but there are hinted reconciliations in Eastern traditions, usually requiring some kind of surrender (Alcoholics Anonymous, don’t they say I SURRENDER?). Won’t go into the buddhist archetypes per se, but it is interesting the Shiva-Shakti, or Ardhanarishvara principle…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanarishvara
And how similar it is to either the “bridal chamber” stated in gnostic gospel of Philip, or the following passage from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas (Nag Hammadi)…
(Of course seems totally random, but along lines of childhood flashbacks, “beginner’s mind” zen etc)
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html
22. Jesus saw some babies nursing. He said to his disciples, “These nursing babies are like those who enter the (Father’s) kingdom.”
They said to him, “Then shall we enter the (Father’s) kingdom as babies?”
Jesus said to them, “When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom].”
Anyway, it is pretty simple, just be human (including whatever religion) alchemy or tantra is not necessarily path for everyone. It is interesting how Jesus is a story of such perfection (perfection in Buddhism is paramita) and nondual attitude (treading everyone with kindness).
Oh and certain yogas and tantras are quite ancient and common to all cultures, including shamanic. And some people’s have retained an integral view and are quite happy and hospitable, I find Malays / Filipinos and the “bayanihan” spirit to be this way.
Switching topics again here, yah, Europeans have connected the world, but Eurocentrism and Colonialism were quite awful. I’ve got a Filipina friend who is assoc professor of Multicultural studies at Sonoma State, Leny Mendoza Strobel who has written a good book Decolonization: Coming Full Circle, very cool book.
Anyway, yadayadayada…
In beginner’s mind are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind very few – Shunryu Suzuki roshi
Bill: I love your comments. 🙂 We’re on the same page here. I have a lot of interest in religion and although I was brought up in a Christian family with Christian traditions, I’m more of an agnostic person. I sometimes lean towards being a total atheist, but I do believe that I’m agonistic in nature. I will believe it if I see it. I’m not a Dawkins type atheist (which I would call militant, the polar opposite to bible bashing evangelical Christians).
Your flashback is interesting, considering most psychologists agree that memories beyond 3 years old are non-retreivable. I am interested in your theory of “beyond time, knower of three times” as it kinda correlates with “species/cellular memory”. The very same things I am interested in. 🙂
Yes, I have also read the Gnostic Gospels and Nag Hamundi (sp?) scrolls as well as the dualistic teachings of a sect I can’t remember during the early ages of Christianity (post-Roman). It was illuminating, and it’s interesting that most people take the Bible as gospel when it was chosen from a lot of books by a select few in AD 66.
Personally, I am open minded and open to new ideas. I’m glad I met someone on the same wavelength. Cheers mate!
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