For the second time today, I find myself at the closest coffee shop to La Casa de Kraft, which happens to be Starbucks. It isn’t for the coffee, the atmosphere that makes me forget that I’m anywhere other than Anyplace, USA or wanting to be the butt of any Starbucks jokes. I need Internet.
Our Internet connection is not functional today and tomorrow morning, forcing us to life as it was in 1993. No Internet. No e-mail. This is even more difficult as the primary way I’m notified of work voicemail messages is via e-mail. It has been quiet in the house with no streaming Internet music. I’m antsy to check messages. The USPS only delivers once a day.
Taking a day to unplug every so often may not be a bad idea. I should be able to go 24 hours without Internet.
Last night, I was sitting in bed thinking and the idea of having a coffee bar came to me. This would be a coffee shop that would serve coffee, breakfast snacks, etc like every other coffee shop we’ve ever seen. All of the usual perks would be there–tables to work at, free WiFi, funky lighting.
But, what would make this place different is alcohol. It would serve beer, wine, and cocktails. Going out with friends and some can get a good coffee drink and others a beer.
I think there are a couple of places downtown that do this, but they’re too trendy. Hard to find a table, loud–looking more to be the hot spot than a good spot.
Of course, I’m thinking I am on to something when I drive by Cherrywood Coffeehouse on 38 1/2 St. in Austin. I was on my way to an appointment, so I took note of it (as a coffeeshop I haven’t visited that is somewhat near my home) and moved on.
As I type, I found myself with a few extra moments and decided to stop by. I walk in and it’s exactly what I thought up last night. A coffee shop with the usual perks of a good coffee shop with a bar. Looks like they have maybe 8-10 beers on tap and a selection of wine. It doesn’t appear they serve cocktails, but two out of three ain’t bad.
I haven’t tried the food, but the house coffee is good. Looks like it could use a couple of more seats near outlets, but I haven’t explored the entire place yet.
I’ll be visiting this place more in the future I do believe.
Of course, as I type this, I have a blogging assistant that pulls up recent stories/article from around the web that may be on the same topic. Apparently, Starbucks is doing this same thing…
As a field agent with the Knights of Columbus, I work with members access their fraternal benefits with us. The most valuable of these benefits is our insurance portfolio–various forms of life insurance, retirement annuities and long-term care insurance. Advising members on these issues require a great deal of training–both initially and continuing–and it requires members put a great deal of trust in that knowledge.
In the insurance industry, one way that agents try to quickly show the depth of their knowledge is through advanced designations. Basically, a set of coursework designed to help an agent advance in his knowledge of the field. I’m currently enrolled in a program that, when finished, would result in a “Fraternal Insurance Counselor” designation.
This initial program has an ethics requirement, which exams separately.
Overall, ethics is common sense when looking at work through Christian lens. Don’t lie. Don’t say a product is something it really isn’t designed to be. Make sure members know what they’re looking at, with all of the pros and cons outlined. Don’t try to replace someone’s insurance to help your numbers. (There are a few times where replacing life insurance makes sense, but it isn’t the norm). Don’t trash-talk your competition. It’s fair game to discuss the difference in ratings between companies, to explain what it means that the Knights of Columbus are certified by IMSA, but be clean in your discussion.
Sadly, there is a reason this course must be taken and why it is tested separately from the rest of the material.
Insurance agents, generally speaking, have sometimes not played fairly. The general public knows little about how life insurance works, what different types of policies do what exactly, what policies have what guarantees, and so forth. Some folks have purchased a variable universal life policy without realizing their death benefits are not guaranteed.* When they get a letter in the mail saying their $100,000 policy for $30 a month that they purchased 20 years ago either needs to be funded at $150 a month for the same benefit or for $30 a month, their benefit would be greatly reduced, without ever realizing that could happen, it’s a bad day for the insurance industry.
That’s why I like working with the Knights of Columbus. First of all, we don’t sell VUL policies. There are people and situations where those policies make sense, but, in my opinion, life insurance is to provide death benefits to families. It’s there to take worry away. VUL/UL policies can’t take all of the worry away because of the nature of the policy. The real reason I like working for the Knights is that, even if we did offer policies like that, we would be crystal clear on how they work.
Ethic courses shouldn’t be needed. No one should think it is right to do anything that would violate the simplest ethical standard — the Golden Rule.
* One disclaimer: Each company and each type of policy have different times of riders (subcontracts that “ride” on with the primary insurance contract). There are riders that can guarantee VUL benefits for certain time periods if certain conditions are met, almost always for an additional fee. Generally speaking, a vanilla VUL policy would not guarantee death benefits since the policy is tied to the market.
Our family website (http://family.kraft.im) was experiencing a little problem where it wouldn’t update if we posted something to it and you accessed it via casadekraft.com. The glitch has been resolved and everyone can now see the same content.
For the month of August, the Holy Father asks our prayers for the following intentions:
The Unemployed and the Homeless General: That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties.
Victims of Discrimination, Hunger and Forced Emigration Missionary: That the Church may be a “home” for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.
