So Wednesdays and Sundays are two of the greatest days of the week. I know, really weird days to get excited about, but these are my break days. Don't get me wrong, I really love my job, but some days I just need to rest. You're probably thinking "Really Ben? You're tired? You don't even go to school!". Yes, that is true because I made a choice not to go to school. For one, if I went to school, it would make it a little difficult to work for the #3 Food Company of the "Fortune 500" companies. Being a shift manager at 20 years old is pretty bomb, if I may say so myself.
Anyways...back on subject. The point of this blog is to talk about how my day was...not to be self-indulgent or anything. My black friend Jill was in town ( I know there isn't any reason to point out that she's black, but we tease each other since we always get made fun of for being friends, since I'm a white guy and she's a taller black girl). She goes away for college but when she gets back in town, we pretty much do the same...exact...thing. South Bend, Indiana is known for being lame so we TEAR THIS TOWN APART by doing the following // going to the mall, getting food, driving around, going to dollar general, then a movie //
The mall is usually the first place we hit up. Normally we park right in front of the food court because, being fat ass Americans, we need our orange chicken from Panda Express. Its da bomb! After we slam down that meal in 10 minutes. We try to walk off those calories in the mall. Our mall just opened an Apple Store and it is tiiight. Its pretty interesting to go on the computers and iPads and count how many people log on to their Facebooks (that they haven't checked in an entire 3.8 seconds) and forget to log out. So as I was on an iPad, I noticed a girl forgot to log out of her Facebook. Being the respectful, honest young man...I decided to change her status. Don't worry, I didn't say anything THAT bad.
Next, we usually drive around Grape Road (which is loaded with stores and other crap) and find something to do there. Eventually we got bored, and when this happens, we resort to going to a movie. Now, being intelligent fat-ass Americans, we NEVER buy the candy and pop from the theatre itself...we hit up Dollar General! Jill usually has a huge over-sized purse with her, so we just fill that right up with pop, candy, and sometimes chips and secretly sneak it into the theatre with us. We tried to stretch all this out because it was quite a while before "Meet the Fockers" started, but of course we got into our seats 35 minutes before the movie actually began. AND THE MOVIE WASN'T EVEN THAT GREAT!
After all of that was over, I went home, watched American Idol with my family (which has strangely enough been a family event for 9 seasons....yeah yeah, don't hate), then of course got on Facebook and now I am writing this crap of a blog post.
TODAY WAS SO STRESSFUL! not
Tomorrow morning I will tell you all about a project that I am soon to begin working on!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Dear Mr. President,
-Lower the freakin gas prices. I remember when gas was $0.97 a gallon. now...$3.19. RIDICULOUS! With gas at this price, I can't afford to be a fat-ass American anymore, forcing me to get a gym membership and all. damn.
-I don't mind paying a little for responsible PoPo, but the ones who use their power to go through red lights (almost crashing into innocent people) and then pulling into McDonalds, need to be taken out back..just sayin. Do something about this. Make a CHANGE. Get more PoPo like Ron.
-When it comes to healthcare, well...I don't mind having it for free. I'm a human-being. I think I deserve it.
-Foodstamps, I say you require drug tests for those who ask for them..no question. I can say this because one, my family works very hard, but needs a little help and two, I see lots of people who just advantage of it while doing drugs and somehow still abandon their kids. Add them to the list of people who need to be taken out back.
-Abortion is the worst thing ever invented. No excuse for it. Sorry ladies, I don't care how difficult life is, no reason to kill a baby. There's an old saying, "Life's hard". Mr. President, I want to punch you for making this option more accessible. Woman's rights? Bullshit. How bout a baby's rights? Make a CHANGE. Get rid of it.
-Death penalty is also crap. At the end, you're still killing a person. Let the rapist, murderer, child molester suffer in prison the rest of his life. God will have His own vengence.
I have more to say, but I have a job. I'll add more later.
-Sales tax....if the price tag says $6.97, just make us pay $6.97.
-I don't mind paying a little for responsible PoPo, but the ones who use their power to go through red lights (almost crashing into innocent people) and then pulling into McDonalds, need to be taken out back..just sayin. Do something about this. Make a CHANGE. Get more PoPo like Ron.
-When it comes to healthcare, well...I don't mind having it for free. I'm a human-being. I think I deserve it.
-Foodstamps, I say you require drug tests for those who ask for them..no question. I can say this because one, my family works very hard, but needs a little help and two, I see lots of people who just advantage of it while doing drugs and somehow still abandon their kids. Add them to the list of people who need to be taken out back.
-Abortion is the worst thing ever invented. No excuse for it. Sorry ladies, I don't care how difficult life is, no reason to kill a baby. There's an old saying, "Life's hard". Mr. President, I want to punch you for making this option more accessible. Woman's rights? Bullshit. How bout a baby's rights? Make a CHANGE. Get rid of it.
-Death penalty is also crap. At the end, you're still killing a person. Let the rapist, murderer, child molester suffer in prison the rest of his life. God will have His own vengence.
I have more to say, but I have a job. I'll add more later.
-Sales tax....if the price tag says $6.97, just make us pay $6.97.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Things you can find in a Starbucks.
The other night I was working and found something in the cafe. I knew right away that a short post would come from this "find".
At Starbucks, we have a task called a "cafe check", meaning before every break, we take a short stroll around the store cleaning up tables, taking trash out of the container labeled "Dirty Dishes", wiping down edges, picking up used napkins and tissues, spot-sweeping the floors, and getting talked to by really old people who blabber on about their grandchildren and how expensive our drinks are.
So yesterday I was wandering around the cafe, not only because I had to, but because I was unbelievably bored, and fell upon a piece of paper. Usually my first thought is, "Man, what lazy customer got my store confused with a landfill again?" and then picked it up to notice that it was a coupon for a free 11-15 pound turkey. YES! It didn't have a name on it so I didn't feel too bad about not saving it, and hey, I get a free turkey for "giving blood"!
Another random thing I found yesterday while doing a cafe check was a drawing of a naked lady. What was even more strange was that on the other side of the naked-lady drawing was a list of drinks that the person was going to order, including a Venti Peppermint Mocha and a Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte. I feel a little weird saying this, but the drawing was actually not too bad. We now know who got an A+ in art class...
And of course, throughout my 3 years with the company, I find the usual wallet or purse (which I don't see how people can forget because with my old car that I had for 4 years, I had one set of keys and not once did I ever lose them), but people tend to leave their belongings quite a bit.
CRAP! Yes, I said it...crap. Ok, it wasn't in the cafe itself, but it was in the bathroom. PLEASE FLUSH THE TOILET! Not only is it disgusting, but just rude. I don't go to your house, take a crap, and NOT flush it, so don't do it at my Starbucks. One of my friends at another local Bux told me of a horror story about somebody taking a dump in the middle of the bathroom floor. I said it, ON THE FLOOR! Apparently, during the rush (Starbucks' busiest 3-hour period of the day), some guy decided that he was unable to make it another 2 feet to the toilet and had to poop on the floor. The baristas were all pre-occupied with their crazy customers at the time, so it had to sit for a few hours. They had to close the bathroom while someone cleaned it, floor to ceiling. Glad it wasn't my store.
MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! yeah.....that usually just goes into our tip jar.
One time I found a shoe. I was so blown away, I didn't know what to think. I mean, a shoe. How do you leave a place and forget your other shoe. I mean, I can sort of understand if it was at the beach or a pool, where its not unusual to walk to your car barefoot, but this was at a cafe...No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service.
Now when it comes to other restaurants' food, I really don't mind if you bring it in with you, but don't leave it for us to clean up. My new store is across the street from an Arby's and next door to a Steak 'n Shake, and my other stores were next door to Panera and McDonalds, so we get that crap a lot. We baristas, bring in other food ALL THE TIME, but we clean up after ourselves. Do it again and I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.
The only things I can really handle are notes customers leave for us. Whether they're bitchy or thankful, they're always interesting to read and pass along to our fellow coworkers.
I swear, next time somebody leaves trash...and I catch them, I'm going to walk up to them and start singing the Barney song, i swear I will...listen to it below
At Starbucks, we have a task called a "cafe check", meaning before every break, we take a short stroll around the store cleaning up tables, taking trash out of the container labeled "Dirty Dishes", wiping down edges, picking up used napkins and tissues, spot-sweeping the floors, and getting talked to by really old people who blabber on about their grandchildren and how expensive our drinks are.
So yesterday I was wandering around the cafe, not only because I had to, but because I was unbelievably bored, and fell upon a piece of paper. Usually my first thought is, "Man, what lazy customer got my store confused with a landfill again?" and then picked it up to notice that it was a coupon for a free 11-15 pound turkey. YES! It didn't have a name on it so I didn't feel too bad about not saving it, and hey, I get a free turkey for "giving blood"!
Another random thing I found yesterday while doing a cafe check was a drawing of a naked lady. What was even more strange was that on the other side of the naked-lady drawing was a list of drinks that the person was going to order, including a Venti Peppermint Mocha and a Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte. I feel a little weird saying this, but the drawing was actually not too bad. We now know who got an A+ in art class...
And of course, throughout my 3 years with the company, I find the usual wallet or purse (which I don't see how people can forget because with my old car that I had for 4 years, I had one set of keys and not once did I ever lose them), but people tend to leave their belongings quite a bit.
CRAP! Yes, I said it...crap. Ok, it wasn't in the cafe itself, but it was in the bathroom. PLEASE FLUSH THE TOILET! Not only is it disgusting, but just rude. I don't go to your house, take a crap, and NOT flush it, so don't do it at my Starbucks. One of my friends at another local Bux told me of a horror story about somebody taking a dump in the middle of the bathroom floor. I said it, ON THE FLOOR! Apparently, during the rush (Starbucks' busiest 3-hour period of the day), some guy decided that he was unable to make it another 2 feet to the toilet and had to poop on the floor. The baristas were all pre-occupied with their crazy customers at the time, so it had to sit for a few hours. They had to close the bathroom while someone cleaned it, floor to ceiling. Glad it wasn't my store.
MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! yeah.....that usually just goes into our tip jar.
One time I found a shoe. I was so blown away, I didn't know what to think. I mean, a shoe. How do you leave a place and forget your other shoe. I mean, I can sort of understand if it was at the beach or a pool, where its not unusual to walk to your car barefoot, but this was at a cafe...No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service.
Now when it comes to other restaurants' food, I really don't mind if you bring it in with you, but don't leave it for us to clean up. My new store is across the street from an Arby's and next door to a Steak 'n Shake, and my other stores were next door to Panera and McDonalds, so we get that crap a lot. We baristas, bring in other food ALL THE TIME, but we clean up after ourselves. Do it again and I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.
The only things I can really handle are notes customers leave for us. Whether they're bitchy or thankful, they're always interesting to read and pass along to our fellow coworkers.
I swear, next time somebody leaves trash...and I catch them, I'm going to walk up to them and start singing the Barney song, i swear I will...listen to it below
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
NEW YEAR! last year recap--new year expectations.
Now this post is about everything I'm thankful for and everything that you (and I) can expect from me this year.
So 2010 had been everything but boring. It had been filled with learning, working, relaxing, working, losing friends and making better ones, and of course...more working. Yes, Starbucks has controlled my life for just over two and a half years now, but it has been some of the greatest moments of my life. Since I was thirteen, I had wanted to work there after my first experience at the Barnes & Noble cafe. I knew it was love at first sight...and I didn't let go of it until I officially started working for the real thing shortly after my 18th birthday. Now two and a half years later, I can proudly say I have received a very sweet promotion and have moved up the ladder. Along with the promotion came a move to a new store, and I am more than excited to be there. The store is alot slower than my old store was, so it invites the true Starbucks experience. It is full of awesome coworkers who love their job, and tight customers who treat us like family. Not only is the new store amazing, but it is less than 5 minutes away from my house, as opposed to the 25-minute trip to my old store. I love my job!
Hello ladies..
I am going to make a very short comment about GIRLS real quick. This might sound cheesy and a little out there, but I didn't start blogging so I could become a cold, shiny, hard, plastic person; I started it so I can be more honest about myself. At the beginning of high school, having a girl friend ruined my experience. I'm not bashing this girl at all, because it wasn't about her. But I let a girl get in the way of friends and I let the whole thing control my life for a short while. I realized it was very stupid and told myself I wasn't going to let it happen again. I have also been through alot with friends who have completely given up friendships for girls or boys, and I realized I didn't want to be that person. Now high school is over. Thank God.
I am now an adult, which is very weird to say, but the same goes with girls. I haven't had a serious girlfriend yet, and it has its pros and cons, and I still thank God for everything He has given me in life. But I am ready. Ready to move on with my life. I have complete and total trust in God and know he will lead me the right way...and to the right woman :) That is for the million people who have been telling me for the last two or three years that I would make the perfect boyfriend/husband. (p.s. this wasn't as short as I thought it would be)
MOVING ON...
Le Vehicule- In my last post or two, I had spoken about my car situation. One of the reasons I moved back home was to save for a car because I feared my current mode of transportation was on its last few miles. Well low and behold, a week or two after I moved back home, my '95 Lumina crapped out on me. Just died. It was kaput and not very subtle about it. It decided it was done with me at 4:30AM when I was on my way to work, and then the next car I attempted to use to get to work had a flat tire. That morning was not fun. Anyways, it wanted to steal all of my money by threatening to cost more than its worth to fix it. I didn't buy into any of its bulls**t and left it for another car. Yeah, that's right, I left it on the street to rot and die and went and bought a heck of a steal (1999 Chevy Malibu) for $1,300. yeah boi! Not only was this car a steal, but it has a working driver-side window, working air and heat, working cruise control, and the best part.....A CUP HOLDER! All of this my old Lumina didn't have. Oh and it has better gas mileage.
And to fill you in on it, I was going to do something very stupid, like buy an almost brand new car, and a few hours before I got to the dealership, somebody had traded the Malibu in. So God decided He wanted to show off a little by providing me with this crazy deal. And He saved me a bunch of money.
My job- Like I already said, about 2 weeks ago. I was promoted up to shift manager and sent to an amazing store. yeah buddy.
Friends- This is a big one, and possibly one of the greatest. Not to sound conceited, but I have alot of great friends--old ones and new ones. But this year especially has brought some of the coolest. Having truly great friends is a hard thing to discover in life. You don't always know who you can trust and you don't know who will always be there. At the beginning of the summer, I met a ton of awesome people, and I give Starbucks the credit. It's so cool to find people with similar taste in personalities such as sarcasm, movies, FOOD, and who also love to be extremely lazy and enjoy doing nothing but sit around and laugh all night long at your local Starbucks. That's what I did most of the summer. And because of this, I lacked sleep.
Patience- I am so happy that I have picked this up and this year taught me well. I really had to learn to be more patient with myself and other people. Drama is something that needed to be avoided and I think it has made me a better person, especially in the work place. I had to deal with people that really pushed my buttons and at some points made me lose the love for them and my job. I have written about bullies and that was one thing I had to stand up to, for myself and my peers, and I am glad I did it. There is no excuse to treat someone with such disrespect and there is definitely no excuse to bully someone. And when it comes to talking crap about people, just stop. It doesn't make you look any better and definitely doesn't move you up on the "respect" scale. All of this has given me the confidence to stand up for whats right and I know I will always do it.
Body of a god-........yeah...ANYWAYS! So I don't come off as an insecure person (at least I don't think I do) and I probably don't have any reason to, but shockingly, I have many insecurites. This might sound really stupid and not a huge deal to other guys my age, but again, bullying can screw people up. All through grade school I was made fun of by this one kid (and funny enough, I'm actually friends with him on Facebook), and he always made fun of my weight. I don't think I ever made a big deal about it at the time, but it is something that has always stayed with me. Sure, I was chubby, but I was also only like...12. So it's expected. He tormented me all through grade school and always found something to make fun of. To this day, and I'm 20 years old, it still bugs me. So this year I am making a change and it's fo' sho this time. I'm getting in shape. Not only am I doing it to become a more secure person, which I do realize I need to love myself more (as Dr. Phil says), but I'm doing it for all the people with the same insecurities as me. In a way, I want to thank this bully for making me this much stronger. It sounds cheesy, and I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but "if I can do it, then anybody can". God loves me and always wants the best for me, so I have to meet Him half way.
This blog will officially be a place for me to share how this next adventure of "working out" transforms.
Which also means more frequent blog updates. Stay tuned.
2011 will be awesome!
So 2010 had been everything but boring. It had been filled with learning, working, relaxing, working, losing friends and making better ones, and of course...more working. Yes, Starbucks has controlled my life for just over two and a half years now, but it has been some of the greatest moments of my life. Since I was thirteen, I had wanted to work there after my first experience at the Barnes & Noble cafe. I knew it was love at first sight...and I didn't let go of it until I officially started working for the real thing shortly after my 18th birthday. Now two and a half years later, I can proudly say I have received a very sweet promotion and have moved up the ladder. Along with the promotion came a move to a new store, and I am more than excited to be there. The store is alot slower than my old store was, so it invites the true Starbucks experience. It is full of awesome coworkers who love their job, and tight customers who treat us like family. Not only is the new store amazing, but it is less than 5 minutes away from my house, as opposed to the 25-minute trip to my old store. I love my job!
Hello ladies..
I am going to make a very short comment about GIRLS real quick. This might sound cheesy and a little out there, but I didn't start blogging so I could become a cold, shiny, hard, plastic person; I started it so I can be more honest about myself. At the beginning of high school, having a girl friend ruined my experience. I'm not bashing this girl at all, because it wasn't about her. But I let a girl get in the way of friends and I let the whole thing control my life for a short while. I realized it was very stupid and told myself I wasn't going to let it happen again. I have also been through alot with friends who have completely given up friendships for girls or boys, and I realized I didn't want to be that person. Now high school is over. Thank God.
I am now an adult, which is very weird to say, but the same goes with girls. I haven't had a serious girlfriend yet, and it has its pros and cons, and I still thank God for everything He has given me in life. But I am ready. Ready to move on with my life. I have complete and total trust in God and know he will lead me the right way...and to the right woman :) That is for the million people who have been telling me for the last two or three years that I would make the perfect boyfriend/husband. (p.s. this wasn't as short as I thought it would be)
MOVING ON...
Le Vehicule- In my last post or two, I had spoken about my car situation. One of the reasons I moved back home was to save for a car because I feared my current mode of transportation was on its last few miles. Well low and behold, a week or two after I moved back home, my '95 Lumina crapped out on me. Just died. It was kaput and not very subtle about it. It decided it was done with me at 4:30AM when I was on my way to work, and then the next car I attempted to use to get to work had a flat tire. That morning was not fun. Anyways, it wanted to steal all of my money by threatening to cost more than its worth to fix it. I didn't buy into any of its bulls**t and left it for another car. Yeah, that's right, I left it on the street to rot and die and went and bought a heck of a steal (1999 Chevy Malibu) for $1,300. yeah boi! Not only was this car a steal, but it has a working driver-side window, working air and heat, working cruise control, and the best part.....A CUP HOLDER! All of this my old Lumina didn't have. Oh and it has better gas mileage.
And to fill you in on it, I was going to do something very stupid, like buy an almost brand new car, and a few hours before I got to the dealership, somebody had traded the Malibu in. So God decided He wanted to show off a little by providing me with this crazy deal. And He saved me a bunch of money.
My job- Like I already said, about 2 weeks ago. I was promoted up to shift manager and sent to an amazing store. yeah buddy.
Friends- This is a big one, and possibly one of the greatest. Not to sound conceited, but I have alot of great friends--old ones and new ones. But this year especially has brought some of the coolest. Having truly great friends is a hard thing to discover in life. You don't always know who you can trust and you don't know who will always be there. At the beginning of the summer, I met a ton of awesome people, and I give Starbucks the credit. It's so cool to find people with similar taste in personalities such as sarcasm, movies, FOOD, and who also love to be extremely lazy and enjoy doing nothing but sit around and laugh all night long at your local Starbucks. That's what I did most of the summer. And because of this, I lacked sleep.
Patience- I am so happy that I have picked this up and this year taught me well. I really had to learn to be more patient with myself and other people. Drama is something that needed to be avoided and I think it has made me a better person, especially in the work place. I had to deal with people that really pushed my buttons and at some points made me lose the love for them and my job. I have written about bullies and that was one thing I had to stand up to, for myself and my peers, and I am glad I did it. There is no excuse to treat someone with such disrespect and there is definitely no excuse to bully someone. And when it comes to talking crap about people, just stop. It doesn't make you look any better and definitely doesn't move you up on the "respect" scale. All of this has given me the confidence to stand up for whats right and I know I will always do it.
Body of a god-........yeah...ANYWAYS! So I don't come off as an insecure person (at least I don't think I do) and I probably don't have any reason to, but shockingly, I have many insecurites. This might sound really stupid and not a huge deal to other guys my age, but again, bullying can screw people up. All through grade school I was made fun of by this one kid (and funny enough, I'm actually friends with him on Facebook), and he always made fun of my weight. I don't think I ever made a big deal about it at the time, but it is something that has always stayed with me. Sure, I was chubby, but I was also only like...12. So it's expected. He tormented me all through grade school and always found something to make fun of. To this day, and I'm 20 years old, it still bugs me. So this year I am making a change and it's fo' sho this time. I'm getting in shape. Not only am I doing it to become a more secure person, which I do realize I need to love myself more (as Dr. Phil says), but I'm doing it for all the people with the same insecurities as me. In a way, I want to thank this bully for making me this much stronger. It sounds cheesy, and I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but "if I can do it, then anybody can". God loves me and always wants the best for me, so I have to meet Him half way.
This blog will officially be a place for me to share how this next adventure of "working out" transforms.
Which also means more frequent blog updates. Stay tuned.
2011 will be awesome!
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