{ct} 0. introduction

welcome to caffeinated tangents: an inspired ramble!
i’m your creator and host, rlb.

in semi-short, i am:

a variety content creator & community cultivator
a mental health & social connectedness proponent
a burgeoning voice talent & actress
an abstract & impasto style painter
an occasional writer & voracious reader
a rusty & super self-aware soprano
an avid pursuant of vibe-sharing music
& your new bestie.

i’m currently creating content in the form of:

streams over on twitch;
blogging, here;
painting, which will be recorded on twitch then available for viewing via youtube;
and, now, a podcast.

this series was originally conceived via a joke that i ended up tossing around as a possible additional outlet for content, back in 2017. i was thinking about starting an informal interview style series where i talked to people who i felt were creators worth getting to know and support and promote to greater heights. since then, it’s warped into a few iterations, but i noticed i was moving further from focusing on the content creation side of things, which seemed counterproductive. i was more interested in showcasing why people were worth getting to know, period.

during my three years as a creator, i’ve learned a lot. certainly not everything – not even close, and you’ll never catch me doing so. but…i’ve learned that in streaming and content creation, my main goal was – and for the foreseeable future, is – to connect with people on as many levels over as many subjects and topics as possible. it constantly floored me that i was able to broadcast from my house, and be able to have people potentially tuning in globally, sharing, experiencing, connecting, and bonding together in one specific space, and regularly – and that that same phenomenon was happening in thousands of channels, at any given moment.

it’s ironic that we are able to become more interconnected than ever before, yet still so much separates us.

i don’t claim to have an answer, but perhaps a suggestion to help us navigate these ever unclear waters of years ahead:

maybe we could start with a cup of coffee?

think about it. no, really.

coffee and its purposes can absolutely be used as ways to convey connection and inspiration. the practice of consuming coffee is one that has been around for quite some time and is one of the only things that people globally take part in on a daily basis. farmers cultivate batches upon batches of bright, fleshy cherries, processing and roasting and procuring distinct flavors, earthen memories to be experienced around the world, one cup at a time. the discoveries and connections made in coffee shops, kitchens, reading nooks and coffee tables can happen anywhere thanks to the many, many hands of countless people working together in quite the effort to provide a small moment of cozy respite.

if we can start there, what else could be achieved by working together for a commonly appreciated moment of satisfaction and contentment?

i know it’s a tall order, but even huge and insurmountable tasks look that way until you take enough small, manageable bites from them. i can’t fix the world, nor would i want that task – but i can try to connect people to help heal themselves and their social webs – over some coffee, one cup at a time.

so. where to start?

well, there’s a myriad of ways one could start. this particular journey starts with a few things – functioning taste buds, good water, cozy mugs, organic cane sugar, a pen, some lo-fi, a book called the new rules of coffee: a modern guide for everyone, and some coffee from grinding coffee co.

it sounds like serendipity to me.

full disclosure – i am partnered with grinding coffee co, which happened after i tried their mexican chocolate roast and then made me infinitely happier i’d decided to partner with them. not only are they a poc and lgbtqia+ founded company, but they exist to provide quality coffee direct to customers’ homes, provide an opportunity for women and poc creators to earn while proudly representing a brand specializing in high quality, fair-trade coffees, and donate 50% of all branded merchandise proceeds to the coffee trust charity – a charity tailored to helping indigenous coffee farmers improve their agricultural practices, diversify their income, and raise healthy families.

special thanks to openmikke for music, sage for moral and technical support, ansitru for gorgeous pixel skills, grinding coffee co for the delicious coffee, and countless friends for encouragement, support, excitement, and most of all, your love.

we’re doing it, y’all.
❤