Au Revior Benjamin
25 August 2022
I had another 3AM night yesterday, staying up writing, so I started the day strong with a trip to Coffee Bar.
This is a new cafe for me but it’s been on my radar. I like to go on Google Maps and trawl around the flat pastel shapes looking for spots that might be good. Coffee Bar is good! One of the better cappuccinos I’ve had.
Behind the counter were sitting a couple of liter mason jars filled with liquid and what looked like vanilla pods. So I was like:
“What’s in those jars?”
And the barista, he was like:
“It’s vanilla syrup, we make our own syrup!”
He said it takes about three days to steep the pods in a simple syrup. Afterwards, he’ll reuse one pod for the next batch and add two new pods. The used pods can be used for baking and something about creme brulee, I couldn’t really make out the last bit behind his mask. I’ll be back to try a vanilla drink next time.
I like to share at least one picture of the interior of the buildings I go in. When you play open world games, you get to run/swing/fly around the city but you never get to go inside any of the buildings. It’s the same thing in real life, half the buildings I can’t go into because they’re not public buildings. When I finally get to enter, it’s like a Christmas morning surprise.
There’s a sense of community inside buildings. Everyone is there to do something similar. For example, if it’s a coffee shop, everyone is there to get coffee. There’s a certain, albeit brief, sense of camaraderie to us all having the same purpose. Standing together in line, in close proximity.
Further along my walk I came across a mysterious set of stairs.
Which lead to…
A courtyard park surrounded by towering office buildings. I love the bits of greenery interspersed around the concrete jungle.
I’m starting to notice that there seems to be an interconnected set of walkways between the buildings in this part of town. One of these days, I’m going to have to see how far I can go between these bridges. I might be blocked short by a locked door or two but that will be part of the adventure.
Benjamin
Today is Ben’s last day at Gatsby, so we had a little celebration at High Horse.
Ben was my intern this summer. I’m really proud of what he’s been able to accomplish. I feel like he’s learned so much and grown so much as an engineer. I loved his curiosity. At times, he would challenge my own understanding by confronting my assumptions. I learned as much from him as he did from me.
Mentorship
I’ve always romanticized mentorship. I had a mentor and was a mentor multiple times in University, but it’s never really lived up to my expectations.
Mentorship is difficult to get right. Both parties have to be equally invested in making the most of the mentorship. The hard part of mentorship is building the initial trust. The mentee has to feel comfortable coming to the mentor for help. In my experience, building this trust has to be initiated by the mentor. But slowly, as the mentee becomes comfortable, the roles will reverse and the mentee will become more proactive in reaching out. In Ben’s case, I still think I could have done better, spent more time with him, worked more closely with him.
I’ll miss seeing you around.
Au Revior Benjamin.