Summer Nights: When I Was a Kid...

Even though the summer doesn't officially end for another month, it's not stopping the school world from beginning. Over the past few days and for the next week or so I'll be saying my goodbyes to all my friends again. It's the only part that sucks about not being in school at this point in my life, I'm missing out on the sleepless nights doing homework and studying for tests. OH DARN! But it really hit me today that I'm getting old, and you're probably wishing you could punch me in the face seeing that I'm only 21, but today at work while I was on bar making tasty beverages for my customers, I was talking with a few girls that I've known either from grade school or high school about how small the kids are these days. They're not really that small, it's just that we feel so big now. St Joe High School just started up and a bunch of the kids hit up my Starbucks on their way into school and they seem like little kids. I remember going into high school and feeling like I went through middle school to quickly, and the same goes for grade school. It's surreal watching my little sister, who was born while I was in kindergarten, entering school as a freshman now. I can only imagine 10 or 15 years from now saying the same thing about my kids when they enter preschool. Oh God, this scares me a little.


Over the last week as I've watched kids going back to school with dreadful faces, all I could think about is the old days of my childhood. And it makes me a little nauseous thinking about the fact that the kids these days don't get to experience the good stuff.

THE GOOD STUFF THEY LACK TODAY:
Playing outside until you could no longer see your hands in front of our face.
The sound of the dial-up logging onto the Internet.
The feeling of sidewalk chalk on your fingers.
The outdoors in general.
When going to the park was the greatest.
Good cartoons.
No cell phones.
No computers.
No texting.
Bike rides.
Nap time.
When people could afford to drive places just for the fun of it.
Parents had control over their children and "smacked a hoe" if their little girls dressed like one.
Great video games existed such as Duck Hunt, Super Mario Brothers, Earthworm Jim, Sonic the Hedgehog, Zelda, etc.
Bugging your parents for money for the ice cream truck was actually a mission.
During the winter when you would spend ALL DAY outside sledding, building snowmen and snow forts, and shoveling INSTEAD of staying inside playing video games all day.
Getting to witness pot head skate borders.
When your only problem was worrying about which friend you should hang out with that day.
When "slutty" meant anything that showed off a woman's figure, now girls pretty much walk around naked.
This might sound weird coming from me, but remember the days before there was a Starbucks at every corner and the "cool place" was Lula's Cafe.
BAD HAIRCUTS.
When smoking was still an acceptable thing to do.


It actually makes me sad that the kids these days don't get to experience this stuff, or better yet, they don't get to suffer through it and get to say that they survived it all. If they only knew how slow the internet use to be, and I'm sure that was "lightning fast" for my time. I feel like kids are brats these days, but it's not anybody's fault but their parents. They no longer possess a backbone and give their children whatever they whine for. Oh well, I'll rant on my thought on parents these days, another day.


Now on a different note: My journey of working out.
So far it has been an awesome success! I'm about two weeks into it all and I've lost about 5 pounds, and that's without much dieting at all. I know it all sounds like excuses, and they probably are, but its been difficult starting the diet part of it when for the last week I've constantly been with friends eating out and saying my goodbyes, but I promise that I'm starting the diet in a few days. But the best part is when people notice the results more than I do.
Thanks for all the support!
TWO WEEKS STRONG!

Fat Asses Unite!

You all remember when I posted at the beginning of the year that I was going to start working out again? Yeah, well that was an epic fail!

FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!

For those of you who watch the tv show, Friends, there is an episode in the second season where Chandler Bing gets up enough courage to quit the gym. He joined a gym in New York City, went to it for a few weeks, then got lazy and stopped going. After I joined a gym a few months ago, I convinced myself that I would NEVER do that. Well, it so happens that that very thing happened. I made the mistake of joining in February or so and then went religiously for about 2 or 3 weeks and then was discouraged when we got a huge snow storm that kept me close to home. Also, when you pick a gym, try to find one close to home. Im not too sure why I pictured myself getting up everyday to drive 15 minutes to go work out. I was stupid. And to add on to my list of excuses, a few weeks after I joined the gym, I switched from a closer at work (where I was able to go work out in the morning) to becoming a morning opener/mid shift (which afterwards left me exhausted and made me only want to go home and sleep the day away).

I'VE GOT IT THIS TIME! And I have also made my coworkers accountable for making sure I don't eat ANY pastries and disgusting drinks. That alone will help out greatly with attempting to get back in shape. Plus, the gym I joined is a 24-hour facility that doesn't have co-ed days, so I can now go 24/7. And the gym is only a 4 minute drive from my house, an equal distance from home to work. I'm not sure why I didn't do this a long time ago.

Here I go. And unlike the last time I posted about working out. I WILL actually keep you all posted on my success.

HEADED OFF TO THE GYM ;)

College DropOUT

                                                 Backroom dance party.



What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words "college dropout"? Could it be a pot head, a knocked up chick, Mark Zuckerberg, or Kanye West's album? Maybe not. But I guess you could now think of me. That's right! I'm a college dropout. Hopefully it doesn't give you the wrong impression. I didn't drop out of college because I was a pot head. I didn't get a girl knocked up. Unfortunately, I'm not a multi-billionaire....yet. And I'm not douche bag enough to be Kanye West (I still hold a grudge because of what he did to Taylor Swift). But I am pursuing something that not many people my age are able to enjoy yet. Dispite my last rant on my fellow Starbucks baristas, I still love my job, or my career as I like to think of it. I've talked in a few posts from the past that I always wanted to work at Starbucks since I was a little kid, ever since my first experience in a Barnes & Noble Starbucks Cafe. And here I am about ten years later doing exactly that. At this point, I'm not too sure how far (how high) in the company I want to go. I just can't imagine myself NOT in the cafe or behind the bar steaming up unnecessary drinks for my customers. The thought of not being behind the bar scares me a little bit.

Over the last 3+ years I've been with the company, I've met and worked with many baristas who loved their job to death, many who absolutely hated it, and then a lot who were terrible at it. Most of the people who hate it are just being haters, and probably shouldn't be there. But we move on. I think in life, you should always work a job you love and care for. It's important. I understand that many people are unable to do that because it just doesn't pay enough for their children to survive, and I give them mad props because working a stupid job you hate is a HUGE sacrifice. But at this time in my life, I don't have much to worry about. My car is paid off. I'm not in any sort of debt and I only have a few bills every month, plus I pay for half a months groceries (which isnt cheap for 6 people) since I'm living here rent free. And then there are those who are fantastic baristas but have a different calling and are there as a means to an end, and that's respectable, just as long as they respect those who love being here with Starbucks for the longrun. There is nothing more irritating than having to work with someone who hates their job and isn't afraid to wear their hate for Starbucks on their sleeves. Sure, being a Starbucks barista isn't for everyone, but don't make us all hate it just because you do. And if you hate it that much, then you don't deserve to wear the green apron and you should probably give it up to the many people I know who would love to have your job.

Now when it comes to the college dropout part, it might not seem like a very good thing, but for me, it was necessary. Not many people are able to, or are willing to drop out of college for a career they're already apart of. But I guess I'm a lucky one. A lot of people have talked to me and asked why I'm not going to school anymore and its a simple and comforting question. I'm doing what I love. If I have to, I'll go to school later in my life when it becomes necessary. But I highly doubt I'll be returning to school. Then again, I'm sure God likes to mix it up a bit and could very well give me a new plan for life. We'll face that when it happens. Not to hate on people who do attend college, but I've seen a lot, and I mean A LOT, of people who go to school not knowing what they want to do with that $30,000 a years education. To me, it seems like a waste. And then after those 4 insane years of their life, they are back on their own in a mad search for a job, any job. Sadly, with the economy as it is, it's become difficult and a little pointless to get certain degrees just because you won't be able to find that job. And for people like my dad who attended IU Bloomington a million years ago, and got jobs doing things they loved, they now struggle to find a career in the field they were originally part of twenty years ago, like the furniture business for instance. I can't imagine putting in all that work for nothing. But for some of you, that isn't a problem and you probably wouldn't mind going to school. We all have different opinions.

WORDS OF ADVICE: Money can't buy love. Do what you love -- Love what you do.