That's what it's all about -- getting another chance. Thank God.
As of right now, there is about 5 hours left to 2011. It has been a great year, and I mean that. This is my moment, our moment, to reflect on the last year and the year to arrive in 5 hours.
For some people, this day can be a burden mainly because they choose to look back at all their failures. I believe it's important to look back at those failures; but look at them through a different lens, one that doesn't show every nook and crack in the last year of your life. That's not what this day is about. Today is the day --to remember both our triumphs and missteps, our promises made and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures or closed ourselves down for fear of getting hurt. Because that's what the new year is all about -- getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about 'what if' and start embracing 'what would be'.
We spend so much time caring about what other people think, the things we don't have, our looks, our disadvantages, our misfortunes...but we never realize how lucky we are, how blessed we are. The other night while I was driving around town, I kept turning my mind to the fact that I had spent way too much money on Christmas this year. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to share with my friends and family; but deep down I had this aching pain that made me upset at myself for spending so much or at least more than I should have. I've been throwing a lot of my paycheck directly into my savings so that I don't carelessly spend it, but the week before Christmas, I found myself moving more and more money out of my savings and into my checking account. As I was passing the Hope Rescue Mission downtown and saw all the homeless people sitting around waiting for the building to open up for their little meal, that's when it hit me; I don't know how many millions of people in the world would die to have the worst of my problems. I'm there worrying that I spent too much money and these people are worrying about surviving. It really put my life in perspective.
As much as this year is about second chances, it's also about taking chances. It's about getting out of our comfort zone. For so long, I looked at being successful as something that requires you to do anything, even if it means something you don't enjoy. Recently, my view on success has morphed into a true value. Everyone deserves to do what they love, and love what they do. I understand that a lot of people are forced to work a meaningless job in order to put food on the table for their family, but I pray that they get out of that rut and are able to love their jobs. I guess that's an example of where I'm blessed. For over three and a half years, I have been given the opportunity to love my job, and I have. I get to go to work everyday and enjoy the company of my coworkers and customers -I mean, who gets to do that?- but I've also learned not to take that for granted. That all said, I realized that I cannot settle. I know God has bigger and better things for me in the future. About two months ago, I realized that I don't want to be with Starbucks forever. In no way does this mean I'll be leaving soon, because I have a lot of other stuff to sort out. But I've fallen back in love with cooking. Originally, I was planning on going to culinary school, but being an immature 18 year old, I let some people scare me out of doing that. I let them make me afraid of the future before it had even arrived. And I had soon given up my hope and love for what I wanted to be. I'm still not completely sure what I'll be doing; but I trust God will connect the dots for me when the time comes.
"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."
-Steve Jobs-
With this new year, I pray that I can forgive more, love more, share more, travel more, laugh more, become healthier, care less about the worthless, care more about the worthy, cook more, read more, try harder, be there more, pray more, worry less, trust more, and enjoy life more.
Over the last year, and not to sound too cliché, I've learned that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you have to lose everything in order to gain it all. Relationships might be broken or damaged, but they might be healed and then made stronger. You might not understand why things have to happen, you just have to believe that God has a reason for it all. As Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
The time has come for me to end this year with a celebration with great friends; a celebration of our triumphs and struggles, and a celebration for the year to come. I hope you all have a fantastic time doing whatever you're doing, whether you're on your couch alone or with a million people in Times Square. Just remember to love yourself for who you are, but never settle for a mediocre life. God never created anything less than extraordinary. I'll leave you with this quote by Marianne Williamson...
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Love Someone Like You're Five
Love someone like you're five. In art class, let her use your paint brush; smile as you watch her smoosh the colors on the paper. When it's snack time, ask her what animal fruit snack is her favorite; share with her and feel good about it, but make sure she doesn't eat all of yours because you like them as much as her. When it's nap time, save her a spot on the floor and help her lay out her mat; giggle together until the teacher shushes you to be quiet.
Love someone like you're eleven. Dance with her as she sings to Britney Spears; laugh and act like you know the words together; be oblivious to the real lyrics; blush when she grabs your hand and sings to you. Tell her that her yearbook picture is prettier than the most popular girls'; blush when she says the same to you. When you get in a single file line, look ahead of you to make sure she is there; feel your heart skip a beat when she looks back at you. Laugh and scream obnoxiously loud when running towards the swings; let her have first pick. When you are swinging, try to get in sync with her swing so that you will "be married", and hide your beat-red face when she acknowledges you as her "husband". Imagine your future. Get distracted.
Love someone like you're fourteen. Walk over to her house and watch a movie with she and her other neighbor; lie to her mom about your curfew; don't worry about getting in trouble by your parents because she is all you care about at the moment. When she asks to walk you home, feel safe. Feel loved. Remember when she giggly asked if she could kiss you earlier that day; hope to God that she didn't forget. Stand under the street lights, in the summer night; get butterflies when you feel her grab your hand; try not to blush. Blush. Feel your heart beat faster. As she jokingly yells at her friend to look away, wait for the kiss; as she turns around towards you and smiles, wait for her to lean in; close your eyes. Even though the kiss was short, you lose your breath. She takes your breath away. You think you love her, but feel silly because you know you are so young. You still think you love her.
Love someone like you're eighteen. High school created a barrier. You lost touch. As you walk into school, you see her and you remember when she kissed you and can feel the summer warmth on our skin; you remember the feeling, you daydream about the past. As the year goes by, you continue to think about her, but worry she doesn't remember you. You get jealous when you hear about her other guy friends. You think the worst and believe you two will never be together again. You try to move on. You don't know that she feels the same about you; she sees you and believes that you forgot about the past. She moves on while still wishing you would there to be with her. It's March. You both had to stay after school for various reasons. As you leave and head outside to the empty parking lot, you notice her car. You see her struggling to open the car door because of the ice. You think twice, but decide to go help her. As your almost there, she's just giving up. She sees you and acts like nothing is wrong. With a little tug, you pop the door open. You feel good. You feel strong. You feel needed. She thanks you and then asks how you've been doing. It feels a little awkward, but feels right. Just as you both are reminiscing about the past, her boyfriend pulls up in his car. She feels embarrassed. The moments over.
Love someone like you're twenty-three. It's been years. You've seen her a handful of times while home during summer breaks from college; every time you wanna rip your heart out because even though it's been years, you still think about her. Now college is over; you've both returned home. You see her for the first time. Your heart skips a beat. You go to the bar to meet a group of old high school friends; they weren't sure if you knew her and they introduce you to her. Your faces meet. Your heart skips a beat. She's just as beautiful as you remember. After everyone settles down and continues talking to one another, you walk towards each other. The background noise dies out as you look a her and say a simple 'Hi.' Everything feels right. The two of you stray away from the others and you buy her a drink. You talk about the days of when you were kids. You bring up the night she kissed you. Her face turns red because she is shocked that you remembered. She admits that she never stopped having feelings for you; you admit the same. The two of you are speechless and just stare at each other. The day after you exchange numbers, you call her and ask her out; she agrees.
Love someone like you're twenty-four. After dating for awhile, you want to say those three words. You remember the days of giving her your paint brush and your fruit snacks and cracking jokes and singing with her; you remember how good it made you feel to see her happy. You know she is happy and you realize you want to spend the rest of your life doing anything you can to make her happy. It's Christmas; you enjoy dinner with her and your family. After hours of talking and laughing, it's dark outside; she asks you to take her to her parents house down the street. As you head down the sidewalk into the empty street, you come to that street light. The street light gives you flashbacks of that night. As you think about that night, she brings it back up and you both laugh. Once you get to standing underneath the light, everything goes quiet; you get warm. It hits you like a train and you can no longer contain yourself. You immediately interrupt her talking and quietly say "I love you"....She doesn't say anything. All you can do is wait. After a few seconds of letting your words sink in, she looks at you with those beautiful eyes and softly says "I love you too". Before you can fully take in her response, she leans in towards you and kisses you like it was the last kiss you would share together. Again, she takes your breath away.
Love someone like you're thirty.The two of you have been married a few years now, and she still makes you blush. You have your first child together and it only makes you love her more. You help out with the baby as much as you can, not because you have to, but because you want to. You've come to respect her for everything she is and all that she does for you. You can't help but wake up everyday with a smile on your face. You still take her out on dates like when you first started seeing each other, and every night you kiss her like it's your last kiss.
Love someone like you're fifty. By this time, you have inherited your parents house; it's now your home. The kids are in college now and you are finally alone with her again. The house is rarely quiet because you keep each other laughing like when you first met. You like the same things, for the most part, because it makes her happy. You travel the world with her and feel comfortable where ever you are, because she is your home. She makes you feel like your the most important thing that's ever happened to her, and it's true. Every night you fall asleep together; she has your heart, you have hers.
Love someone like you're ninety. The kids are grown up and have children of their own. They have been raised on the love of their grandparents. That's true love. To this day, the kids know that street light. They now own the house in front of it. It continues to brighten up the night. You have spent every night in each others company, mesmerized by your shared love. Another year or two goes by; she passes away. Your heart is broken in a million pieces. After the funeral, you are given a note that she wrote before she passed. In the note, she explains that there is a box that she kept hidden that she now wants you to have. You arrive home and find the box. As you sit down and open it, you immediately burst into tears. You feel sad and joyful at the same time. After a minute or so, you pull out two objects; a paint brush and a pack of fruit snacks.
Love someone like you're five.
Love someone like you're eleven. Dance with her as she sings to Britney Spears; laugh and act like you know the words together; be oblivious to the real lyrics; blush when she grabs your hand and sings to you. Tell her that her yearbook picture is prettier than the most popular girls'; blush when she says the same to you. When you get in a single file line, look ahead of you to make sure she is there; feel your heart skip a beat when she looks back at you. Laugh and scream obnoxiously loud when running towards the swings; let her have first pick. When you are swinging, try to get in sync with her swing so that you will "be married", and hide your beat-red face when she acknowledges you as her "husband". Imagine your future. Get distracted.
Love someone like you're fourteen. Walk over to her house and watch a movie with she and her other neighbor; lie to her mom about your curfew; don't worry about getting in trouble by your parents because she is all you care about at the moment. When she asks to walk you home, feel safe. Feel loved. Remember when she giggly asked if she could kiss you earlier that day; hope to God that she didn't forget. Stand under the street lights, in the summer night; get butterflies when you feel her grab your hand; try not to blush. Blush. Feel your heart beat faster. As she jokingly yells at her friend to look away, wait for the kiss; as she turns around towards you and smiles, wait for her to lean in; close your eyes. Even though the kiss was short, you lose your breath. She takes your breath away. You think you love her, but feel silly because you know you are so young. You still think you love her.
Love someone like you're eighteen. High school created a barrier. You lost touch. As you walk into school, you see her and you remember when she kissed you and can feel the summer warmth on our skin; you remember the feeling, you daydream about the past. As the year goes by, you continue to think about her, but worry she doesn't remember you. You get jealous when you hear about her other guy friends. You think the worst and believe you two will never be together again. You try to move on. You don't know that she feels the same about you; she sees you and believes that you forgot about the past. She moves on while still wishing you would there to be with her. It's March. You both had to stay after school for various reasons. As you leave and head outside to the empty parking lot, you notice her car. You see her struggling to open the car door because of the ice. You think twice, but decide to go help her. As your almost there, she's just giving up. She sees you and acts like nothing is wrong. With a little tug, you pop the door open. You feel good. You feel strong. You feel needed. She thanks you and then asks how you've been doing. It feels a little awkward, but feels right. Just as you both are reminiscing about the past, her boyfriend pulls up in his car. She feels embarrassed. The moments over.
Love someone like you're twenty-three. It's been years. You've seen her a handful of times while home during summer breaks from college; every time you wanna rip your heart out because even though it's been years, you still think about her. Now college is over; you've both returned home. You see her for the first time. Your heart skips a beat. You go to the bar to meet a group of old high school friends; they weren't sure if you knew her and they introduce you to her. Your faces meet. Your heart skips a beat. She's just as beautiful as you remember. After everyone settles down and continues talking to one another, you walk towards each other. The background noise dies out as you look a her and say a simple 'Hi.' Everything feels right. The two of you stray away from the others and you buy her a drink. You talk about the days of when you were kids. You bring up the night she kissed you. Her face turns red because she is shocked that you remembered. She admits that she never stopped having feelings for you; you admit the same. The two of you are speechless and just stare at each other. The day after you exchange numbers, you call her and ask her out; she agrees.
Love someone like you're twenty-four. After dating for awhile, you want to say those three words. You remember the days of giving her your paint brush and your fruit snacks and cracking jokes and singing with her; you remember how good it made you feel to see her happy. You know she is happy and you realize you want to spend the rest of your life doing anything you can to make her happy. It's Christmas; you enjoy dinner with her and your family. After hours of talking and laughing, it's dark outside; she asks you to take her to her parents house down the street. As you head down the sidewalk into the empty street, you come to that street light. The street light gives you flashbacks of that night. As you think about that night, she brings it back up and you both laugh. Once you get to standing underneath the light, everything goes quiet; you get warm. It hits you like a train and you can no longer contain yourself. You immediately interrupt her talking and quietly say "I love you"....She doesn't say anything. All you can do is wait. After a few seconds of letting your words sink in, she looks at you with those beautiful eyes and softly says "I love you too". Before you can fully take in her response, she leans in towards you and kisses you like it was the last kiss you would share together. Again, she takes your breath away.
Love someone like you're thirty.The two of you have been married a few years now, and she still makes you blush. You have your first child together and it only makes you love her more. You help out with the baby as much as you can, not because you have to, but because you want to. You've come to respect her for everything she is and all that she does for you. You can't help but wake up everyday with a smile on your face. You still take her out on dates like when you first started seeing each other, and every night you kiss her like it's your last kiss.
Love someone like you're fifty. By this time, you have inherited your parents house; it's now your home. The kids are in college now and you are finally alone with her again. The house is rarely quiet because you keep each other laughing like when you first met. You like the same things, for the most part, because it makes her happy. You travel the world with her and feel comfortable where ever you are, because she is your home. She makes you feel like your the most important thing that's ever happened to her, and it's true. Every night you fall asleep together; she has your heart, you have hers.
Love someone like you're ninety. The kids are grown up and have children of their own. They have been raised on the love of their grandparents. That's true love. To this day, the kids know that street light. They now own the house in front of it. It continues to brighten up the night. You have spent every night in each others company, mesmerized by your shared love. Another year or two goes by; she passes away. Your heart is broken in a million pieces. After the funeral, you are given a note that she wrote before she passed. In the note, she explains that there is a box that she kept hidden that she now wants you to have. You arrive home and find the box. As you sit down and open it, you immediately burst into tears. You feel sad and joyful at the same time. After a minute or so, you pull out two objects; a paint brush and a pack of fruit snacks.
Love someone like you're five.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Why Baristas are Better than Regular People.
Before I start blabbing on about why I'm better than you (jokes jokes), I'll update you on what's been going on in my life the last 3 weeks or so. Starbucks consumes most of my life, so there is little to say what I do outside of work.
-- Starbucks' Christmas season began a few weeks ago so my manager, a fellow barista and I worked our butts off getting the store looking like Santa Claus puked his red-cheerful-merry Christmas bliss everywhere. The store is filled with a ginormous amount of Christmas Blend coffee that will surely last us 4 or 5 years. The windows are decorated with snow flakes (minus the real snow that has yet to fall upon South Bend..and it's almost December). The mood in my store has progressed to a nice level. My coworkers seem to be in better spirits. I'm not sure if it's the Christmas season or people are finally starting to do their jobs without complaining. I hope it's the latter. I'll take what I can get because work is a more enjoyable place again. Along with my store, I also decorated my house with Christmas decorations. I think this may have been the earliest we have finished decorating and I think we were the first house with lights up in my neighborhood. Don't judge us! And this last Thursday was Thanksgiving, so I worked in the morning and spent the rest of the day cooking and eating. I probably ate my body weight in turkey and green bean casserole. I got to see a few friends who were back from school and that was awesome. I also went out with a friend, my other friend Steph and her cousin from Italy. We hit up a newer bar in town and the place was hoppin with kids from my grade school, high school, and a crap load of random friends. After another boring day or two, I'm now sitting here writing to you guys. Let's do this!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Starbucks baristas, we're known for being unbelievably good-looking and amazing at what we do. But what the regular people don't know, is that we're amazing at doing the most random things. If you try and argue with me, I'll be upfront and say that you're wrong. I'm not working behind the bar, so I don't have to "Just Say Yes" to your nonsense. My store is known for being amazing, and it's only proof that even though we are the slowest store in the area, we make the best tips. I don't leave my shirt two buttons undone at the drive-thru window for no reason..LOOK AT ME NOW..IM GETTING PAPER!
Pointless Talents of a Starbucks Barista
-We can write on cups just as well as paper.
-We can remember a ridiculous amount of drinks that are spit out to us in the drive-thru without having to put them in the expeditor.
-We can tell who is going to be a bitch before they speak.
-We carry 6+ gallons of milk at once from the back of the store to the front multiple times a day.
-We can talk to a person while taking an order from a different person all while counting money from someone else all at once.
-We can translate obnoxious hand movements into english (such as the hand movement for a sleeve. Come on people, we're in Starbucks, not a parked car behind a strip club downtown.)
-We canalways sometimes speak through the drive-thru speaker without messing up while being poked or molested by our fellow baristas.
-We can spot a needy person from a mile away.
-We can do almost anything in the 20-some seconds it takes for the espresso machine to pull a shot. For example, we can run to the back fridge and grab 6 gallons of milk and run back before the shot finishes pulling, we can rinse 10+ milk pitchers, we can run to grab a newspaper while grabbing a pastry and a coffee on the way to catching the shot.
-We clean more than your house maid.
-We can fix technical issues, broken pipes, clogged toilets, espresso machines, climb 20 feet to change a light-bulb, "fix" cupboards.
-We are amazing at over-analyzing things and assuming everything is completely broken and useless without consulting a professional first.
-We are pros at handling liquids of temperatures as high as 200 degrees.
-We are able to spill freshly brewed coffee all over our hands while keeping a straight face.
-We can take in more bullshit than the average person.
-We can flip whip cream and caramel bottles like we're bartenders.
-We know your dogs name before we know yours.
-We know your multiple drinks before we know your name.
-We can make a huge mess with just about anything.
-We can kick a paper cup across the store if we're pissed off enough.
-We can be louder than the average person.
-We can turn anything into a "That's What She Said" joke.
-We can make anything filthy.
-We can corrupt good people into vile, disgusting human beings.
-We have better singing voices than Frank Sinatra, opera singers, and you.
This list is endless because our talents are endless. Don't hate us because we're so popular.
-- Starbucks' Christmas season began a few weeks ago so my manager, a fellow barista and I worked our butts off getting the store looking like Santa Claus puked his red-cheerful-merry Christmas bliss everywhere. The store is filled with a ginormous amount of Christmas Blend coffee that will surely last us 4 or 5 years. The windows are decorated with snow flakes (minus the real snow that has yet to fall upon South Bend..and it's almost December). The mood in my store has progressed to a nice level. My coworkers seem to be in better spirits. I'm not sure if it's the Christmas season or people are finally starting to do their jobs without complaining. I hope it's the latter. I'll take what I can get because work is a more enjoyable place again. Along with my store, I also decorated my house with Christmas decorations. I think this may have been the earliest we have finished decorating and I think we were the first house with lights up in my neighborhood. Don't judge us! And this last Thursday was Thanksgiving, so I worked in the morning and spent the rest of the day cooking and eating. I probably ate my body weight in turkey and green bean casserole. I got to see a few friends who were back from school and that was awesome. I also went out with a friend, my other friend Steph and her cousin from Italy. We hit up a newer bar in town and the place was hoppin with kids from my grade school, high school, and a crap load of random friends. After another boring day or two, I'm now sitting here writing to you guys. Let's do this!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Starbucks baristas, we're known for being unbelievably good-looking and amazing at what we do. But what the regular people don't know, is that we're amazing at doing the most random things. If you try and argue with me, I'll be upfront and say that you're wrong. I'm not working behind the bar, so I don't have to "Just Say Yes" to your nonsense. My store is known for being amazing, and it's only proof that even though we are the slowest store in the area, we make the best tips. I don't leave my shirt two buttons undone at the drive-thru window for no reason..LOOK AT ME NOW..IM GETTING PAPER!
Pointless Talents of a Starbucks Barista
-We can write on cups just as well as paper.
-We can remember a ridiculous amount of drinks that are spit out to us in the drive-thru without having to put them in the expeditor.
-We can tell who is going to be a bitch before they speak.
-We carry 6+ gallons of milk at once from the back of the store to the front multiple times a day.
-We can talk to a person while taking an order from a different person all while counting money from someone else all at once.
-We can translate obnoxious hand movements into english (such as the hand movement for a sleeve. Come on people, we're in Starbucks, not a parked car behind a strip club downtown.)
-We can
-We can spot a needy person from a mile away.
-We can do almost anything in the 20-some seconds it takes for the espresso machine to pull a shot. For example, we can run to the back fridge and grab 6 gallons of milk and run back before the shot finishes pulling, we can rinse 10+ milk pitchers, we can run to grab a newspaper while grabbing a pastry and a coffee on the way to catching the shot.
-We clean more than your house maid.
-We can fix technical issues, broken pipes, clogged toilets, espresso machines, climb 20 feet to change a light-bulb, "fix" cupboards.
-We are amazing at over-analyzing things and assuming everything is completely broken and useless without consulting a professional first.
-We are pros at handling liquids of temperatures as high as 200 degrees.
-We are able to spill freshly brewed coffee all over our hands while keeping a straight face.
-We can take in more bullshit than the average person.
-We can flip whip cream and caramel bottles like we're bartenders.
-We know your dogs name before we know yours.
-We know your multiple drinks before we know your name.
-We can make a huge mess with just about anything.
-We can kick a paper cup across the store if we're pissed off enough.
-We can be louder than the average person.
-We can turn anything into a "That's What She Said" joke.
-We can make anything filthy.
-We can corrupt good people into vile, disgusting human beings.
-We have better singing voices than Frank Sinatra, opera singers, and you.
This list is endless because our talents are endless. Don't hate us because we're so popular.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Hi, I'm Outspoken.
Over the last year and a half, I've come to realize 1) What the definition of "outspoken" is And 2) That I am very much a good representation of it.
For the most part, it has led me into trouble with family and friends. I honestly believe and standby what I say 100%, but I later end up feeling guilty and sad for what I have stood up for. I shouldn't feel this way. Sometimes I wish people wouldn't be so sensitive and take it so seriously, but I get what I ask for. In the past, I have called people out for acting a certain way or doing something they shouldn't have done, or for even being dishonest. I don't want to come off as one of those people who think everyone else is in the wrong, and I'll usually admit when I was in the wrong, but I come off as an arrogant asshole. Not to sound cocky, but most people love me, and I'm trying not to wear the mask of an egotistical douche bag when I say that. I'm very easy to get along with and can hold a wide range of friendships with many strange people.
In the past, I have told my friends how it is. They can take it or leave it. But where do we draw the line? Sometimes, I feel like i know people better than they do. I feel like I can read them so well that I know when they're lying or feeling uncomfortable. That might be why I get along with so many different types of people, because they feel like I understand them when nobody else does. If you're friends with me, I'm going to be apart of it completely...and sometimes that bothers people in the end. I've lost friendships with girls because I see them making huge mistakes with their boyfriends or see them ruining their friendships with other people, and it scares me. I don't want to be that person who admits to feeling left out or neglected or even used. They usually don't want to hear it. I had a friend who shared my bluntness and we always told each other that if we started to date someone and we began to neglect our friendship with each other, that we would call them out before it got too far. In the end, she got her boyfriend and things got awkward. She wanted to be with him all the time and eventually got to the point where she let him convince her that I had feelings for her, which was obviously not true. He didn't like me. It was clear. But when I finally "grew a pair" and got enough courage to tell her how I felt, it was too late. She got all defensive and made me feel like I was the one who changed. I ended up telling her what needed to be said, but was unwelcome. It's the classic "best friend gets a boyfriend/girlfriend" scenario.
And so I grow...
Sometimes I think about the most outspoken person in history and it makes me feel better about the person I am. That would be Jesus Christ. Before you judge me, hear me out. Im in no way trying to compare myself to him, because lets face it, its no competition. Think about it. It all makes sense. Jesus didn't care the tiniest bit about how people thought of him. Seriously. If I was a Pharisee back in the day and I tried to convince him that what he was saying was incorrect, I would probably hate his guts, mostly because he would prove me wrong so fast.I would prefer to be outspoken like Martin Luther King Jr than outspoken like.....Kanye West?
I'm not sure where I was really going with this blog post. I guess the mix of my sarcasm and outspokenness can sometimes piss people off. I don't regret what I do, I just sometimes regret the manner in which I presented my opinion.
If you haven't taken the Myers-Briggs Personality test, I strongly recommend it. I will post a link to the site at the end of my post. It has really shown me a lot about the person I am and the person I can be. It describes me perfectly. I am an ENFP. It's one of 16 different personality types. From what I've read and reserched, its the rarest personality type of the 16, with only 2 or 3 percent of the population possessing it. After re-reading it, one of the biggest traits someone with this personality has is outspokenness...go figure. They tend to be very emotional and highly value friendships. It's also states that people with my personality type, ENFP, have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others.
For the most part, it has led me into trouble with family and friends. I honestly believe and standby what I say 100%, but I later end up feeling guilty and sad for what I have stood up for. I shouldn't feel this way. Sometimes I wish people wouldn't be so sensitive and take it so seriously, but I get what I ask for. In the past, I have called people out for acting a certain way or doing something they shouldn't have done, or for even being dishonest. I don't want to come off as one of those people who think everyone else is in the wrong, and I'll usually admit when I was in the wrong, but I come off as an arrogant asshole. Not to sound cocky, but most people love me, and I'm trying not to wear the mask of an egotistical douche bag when I say that. I'm very easy to get along with and can hold a wide range of friendships with many strange people.
In the past, I have told my friends how it is. They can take it or leave it. But where do we draw the line? Sometimes, I feel like i know people better than they do. I feel like I can read them so well that I know when they're lying or feeling uncomfortable. That might be why I get along with so many different types of people, because they feel like I understand them when nobody else does. If you're friends with me, I'm going to be apart of it completely...and sometimes that bothers people in the end. I've lost friendships with girls because I see them making huge mistakes with their boyfriends or see them ruining their friendships with other people, and it scares me. I don't want to be that person who admits to feeling left out or neglected or even used. They usually don't want to hear it. I had a friend who shared my bluntness and we always told each other that if we started to date someone and we began to neglect our friendship with each other, that we would call them out before it got too far. In the end, she got her boyfriend and things got awkward. She wanted to be with him all the time and eventually got to the point where she let him convince her that I had feelings for her, which was obviously not true. He didn't like me. It was clear. But when I finally "grew a pair" and got enough courage to tell her how I felt, it was too late. She got all defensive and made me feel like I was the one who changed. I ended up telling her what needed to be said, but was unwelcome. It's the classic "best friend gets a boyfriend/girlfriend" scenario.
And so I grow...
Sometimes I think about the most outspoken person in history and it makes me feel better about the person I am. That would be Jesus Christ. Before you judge me, hear me out. Im in no way trying to compare myself to him, because lets face it, its no competition. Think about it. It all makes sense. Jesus didn't care the tiniest bit about how people thought of him. Seriously. If I was a Pharisee back in the day and I tried to convince him that what he was saying was incorrect, I would probably hate his guts, mostly because he would prove me wrong so fast.I would prefer to be outspoken like Martin Luther King Jr than outspoken like.....Kanye West?
I'm not sure where I was really going with this blog post. I guess the mix of my sarcasm and outspokenness can sometimes piss people off. I don't regret what I do, I just sometimes regret the manner in which I presented my opinion.
If you haven't taken the Myers-Briggs Personality test, I strongly recommend it. I will post a link to the site at the end of my post. It has really shown me a lot about the person I am and the person I can be. It describes me perfectly. I am an ENFP. It's one of 16 different personality types. From what I've read and reserched, its the rarest personality type of the 16, with only 2 or 3 percent of the population possessing it. After re-reading it, one of the biggest traits someone with this personality has is outspokenness...go figure. They tend to be very emotional and highly value friendships. It's also states that people with my personality type, ENFP, have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
NOOOvember
It's November. Let me repeat...it's freaking November! Where has this year gone? I swear for the past few years, I say this more and more. I guess this comes with old age. Right now I'm sitting in my house, because it's too cold outside, and I'm writing this blog post surrounded by four cats and a dog. Two of the kittens should've been out of the house a long time ago, but I have procrastinated doing that because they're cute as hell. But that's what I do...I procrastinate, I'll tell you all about that later...
I love November, I just hate how quickly it arrives. When the days become shorter, everyone's emotions run high. Customers are crappy, and so are the baristas. I think this season makes everyone depressed, but when the sun is out, it all changes. I actually feel motivated to write a little today. It's been awhile but who cares. I have my coffee and my iPad so I'm good to go.
You all know a little bit about my journey with getting (back?) in shape and probably understand why it's been a struggle for me from my past posts. Everyone who has ever struggled with their weight knows that there is a deeper darker reason for the problem. A lot of it is because of emotional eating. We do it because it makes us feel better for a little bit. But after we do it, we then feel even worse than we originally did. We all have our reasons and we all have our insecurities. Looking at me, you would probably roll your eyes at the fact that I have a weight problem. You might even want to smack me in the face. But for me, food was a solution to my problems as a child. The biggest problem was bullies in grade school. Over the last year, it has become clearer and clearer that bullies were my issue. After the wide-coverage of teen suicides about a year ago, it became evident that I struggled with their same problems. I was never suicidal or really even close to it, but I knew what they were going through. Even at 20 years old, I was still having to deal with a bully at work and it was tearing me apart. After I got promoted and left that hell, I could now get back up on my feet. And this is probably the hardest part. I have to learn how to control my emotional eating and deal with my issues. My friends could probably tell you that I am a very confident person and highly sarcastic, which might be a problem in some areas of my life, but in the end, they wouldn't expect me to have a problem. The nice part is, I'm finally moving forward and I am proud to say that I am kicking it's ass.
In mid-September, I watched a documentary called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and it was a huge eye opener for me. It had a two-week detox program for people wanting to get back on their feet and reboot their bodies. For two weeks, I juiced like crazy. I had to give up sugar, caffeine, alcohol, meat, wheat, nuts, dairy...and pretty much EVERYTHING that wasn't a fruit or vegetable. It was difficult but I made it through it and I feel great. I lost about 13 lbs in fifteen days and a few weeks afterwards I only gained a few pounds back, which is normal. About eleven days ago, I decided I wanted to become a vegetarian until Thanksgiving Day, where I will most likely completely reverse everything I worked for, seeing that it's my favorite holiday. But by then, I plan to lose another 13 pounds. I have 23 days and I know I can do it! I just literally have to work my ass off.
Recently, I've been trying to change my outlook on life. For so long, I was afraid of change, afraid of exploring the outside world. I have all these dreams and aspirations but have been moving in neutral gear. Ive done nothing. I realized that until I change, until I actually do something to change, my dreams will only be a fantasy. God has blessed me with an amazing life, but I need to continue discovering what all that actually is. I have settled for a mediocre life for so long, thinking that this is all God has given me, but it isn't. I will never know what I can do, things I can change, people I can inspire and my inner gifts if I stay still. God didn't give me feet to walk a mile, He gave me the ability to go where I please and build my life around Him. And from what I've heard, the world is a big place full of crazy opportunities. I just can't be a wuss anymore.
"If fear is all that we should fear, then what are we so afraid of? Fear is only in our head. So why do we let it control us?"
I love November, I just hate how quickly it arrives. When the days become shorter, everyone's emotions run high. Customers are crappy, and so are the baristas. I think this season makes everyone depressed, but when the sun is out, it all changes. I actually feel motivated to write a little today. It's been awhile but who cares. I have my coffee and my iPad so I'm good to go.
You all know a little bit about my journey with getting (back?) in shape and probably understand why it's been a struggle for me from my past posts. Everyone who has ever struggled with their weight knows that there is a deeper darker reason for the problem. A lot of it is because of emotional eating. We do it because it makes us feel better for a little bit. But after we do it, we then feel even worse than we originally did. We all have our reasons and we all have our insecurities. Looking at me, you would probably roll your eyes at the fact that I have a weight problem. You might even want to smack me in the face. But for me, food was a solution to my problems as a child. The biggest problem was bullies in grade school. Over the last year, it has become clearer and clearer that bullies were my issue. After the wide-coverage of teen suicides about a year ago, it became evident that I struggled with their same problems. I was never suicidal or really even close to it, but I knew what they were going through. Even at 20 years old, I was still having to deal with a bully at work and it was tearing me apart. After I got promoted and left that hell, I could now get back up on my feet. And this is probably the hardest part. I have to learn how to control my emotional eating and deal with my issues. My friends could probably tell you that I am a very confident person and highly sarcastic, which might be a problem in some areas of my life, but in the end, they wouldn't expect me to have a problem. The nice part is, I'm finally moving forward and I am proud to say that I am kicking it's ass.
In mid-September, I watched a documentary called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and it was a huge eye opener for me. It had a two-week detox program for people wanting to get back on their feet and reboot their bodies. For two weeks, I juiced like crazy. I had to give up sugar, caffeine, alcohol, meat, wheat, nuts, dairy...and pretty much EVERYTHING that wasn't a fruit or vegetable. It was difficult but I made it through it and I feel great. I lost about 13 lbs in fifteen days and a few weeks afterwards I only gained a few pounds back, which is normal. About eleven days ago, I decided I wanted to become a vegetarian until Thanksgiving Day, where I will most likely completely reverse everything I worked for, seeing that it's my favorite holiday. But by then, I plan to lose another 13 pounds. I have 23 days and I know I can do it! I just literally have to work my ass off.
Recently, I've been trying to change my outlook on life. For so long, I was afraid of change, afraid of exploring the outside world. I have all these dreams and aspirations but have been moving in neutral gear. Ive done nothing. I realized that until I change, until I actually do something to change, my dreams will only be a fantasy. God has blessed me with an amazing life, but I need to continue discovering what all that actually is. I have settled for a mediocre life for so long, thinking that this is all God has given me, but it isn't. I will never know what I can do, things I can change, people I can inspire and my inner gifts if I stay still. God didn't give me feet to walk a mile, He gave me the ability to go where I please and build my life around Him. And from what I've heard, the world is a big place full of crazy opportunities. I just can't be a wuss anymore.
"If fear is all that we should fear, then what are we so afraid of? Fear is only in our head. So why do we let it control us?"
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
You Know You're a Starbucks Barista When...
For the majority of you who read my blog who are NOT baristas, don't feel bad that this might not make much sense to you. IT'S OK! This is a learning community. As I was working the other day, I was overcome with the thought of doing one of those "You know you're _____ when _____..." type posts. I thought it could give you an insight into your barista's mind as they work to give you that Starbucks experience you expect. This type of list can be endless but here are the ones that stuck out to me the most. P.S. This makes us sound like angry people, which is true, so do not be one of these customers.
P.p.s. This was not made out of anger, just as a joke and is not to be taken seriously at all. I love my job and each of my customers...for the most part.
You know you're a Starbucks barista when...
-the word "Frappe" makes you want to kill the customer and dump their body in a McDonalds bathroom. Its not a "Frappe", it's a Frappuccino!
-you want to scream and cry whenever you make a Caramel Macchiato and the lid doesn't go on properly...meaning you have to remake the entire drink.
-you roll your eyes when you get a customer who tries to lecture you on how to do your job...and end their rant with "I used to be a barista".....BULLSHIT!
-you throw up at the thought of making an iced cappuccino. Hot steamed foam on top of cold milk and ice! YUM!
-shaving with a dull blade sounds more enjoyable than having to follow the "Just Say Yes" policy with arrogant people.
-the worst four words to say after a drink is beautifully created are "I wanted that iced..."
-you never realize how cup sleeves are taken for granted until you run out.
-you feel angry when you get a whipped cream that wasn't shaken properly while it was made. YUM, soupy whipped cream!
-you've poured brewed coffee into the cup instead of hot water while making a hot tea.
-you've poured freshly brewed coffee onto your arm instead of in the cup.
-you've resteamed milk because it was quicker.
-you get pissed off when a customer pulls the "That's not how the other Starbucks does it" card. Oh really? Shut the heck up.
-you get customers who believe they have a high-maintenance drink when it really isn't that difficult.
-you wanna scream when they stand at the hand-off counter watching your every move with their drink.
-you've "accidentally" hit the Decaf button just because the customer was an a-hole.
-it feels good to say 'No' to a customer who screws up ordering their drink and makes you remake it, and THEN asks for the messed up drink.
-you have a fake work voice.
-you feel bad for ordering a Frappuccino for yourself.
-you cry inside whenever you have to make a smoothie during morning rush.
-when you roll your eyes at the stupid teenage girls, and sometimes grown men, who can't handle a drink without a sleeve cause it is "too hot".
-you want to kill your fellow barista who calls off because they're "sick", but you know they're just really hungover.
-you purposely speak louder to the customers who show up to Starbucks on their cell phones.
-you hate yourself for pushing too hard on the mocha pump when it was just recently made.
-you can no longer tell what are real freckles from the the homemade Chai-splatter freckles.
-you answer sarcastically to the customers who ask 3+ times if you made sure their drink was decaf.
-you realize how perverted you have become since working at Starbucks.
-you hate the words "moist", "extra thick", "that'll do me", and "wet".
-you want to scream at the people who don't know the difference between the 'trash bin' from the 'dirty plates and silverware bin'.
-you dread having to tell a customer who tries to buy a Tall Coffee that you can't accept the $100 bill. Yeah right. NEXT!
-you smell like coffee 98% of the time.
-you get so tired that you sometimes lose the ability to scold.
-you have to explain a few times a day what the difference is between a Cappuccino and a Frappuccino.
-you enjoy telling people that you will not touch their trash in the Drive-thru because it is a health code violation and that Starbucks is not a big trash can..
-there is always that one customer who you avoid, and then the one customer who you love.
-you feel "dirty" mixing chai and espresso.
-the little things bother you, such as when a customer orders a "Caramel Apple Cider".
-you want to rip off that customers head when they try to take change out of the tip jar, and then you don't feel bad for yelling at them.
-you feel terrible for telling a person that their card was declined.
-it makes your day when you accidentally upgrade the customers drink to a larger size and they get freaking excited.
-you judge people who need to have every box filled in on the cup.
-you throw in an entire Splenda packet because it is too much work to just pour in half a Splenda packet.
-you scold people who need their cup both double-cupped and with a sleeve.
-you agree with this list and just realized how angry of a person you truly are.
P.p.s. This was not made out of anger, just as a joke and is not to be taken seriously at all. I love my job and each of my customers...for the most part.
You know you're a Starbucks barista when...
-the word "Frappe" makes you want to kill the customer and dump their body in a McDonalds bathroom. Its not a "Frappe", it's a Frappuccino!
-you want to scream and cry whenever you make a Caramel Macchiato and the lid doesn't go on properly...meaning you have to remake the entire drink.
-you roll your eyes when you get a customer who tries to lecture you on how to do your job...and end their rant with "I used to be a barista".....BULLSHIT!
-you throw up at the thought of making an iced cappuccino. Hot steamed foam on top of cold milk and ice! YUM!
-shaving with a dull blade sounds more enjoyable than having to follow the "Just Say Yes" policy with arrogant people.
-the worst four words to say after a drink is beautifully created are "I wanted that iced..."
-you never realize how cup sleeves are taken for granted until you run out.
-you feel angry when you get a whipped cream that wasn't shaken properly while it was made. YUM, soupy whipped cream!
-you've poured brewed coffee into the cup instead of hot water while making a hot tea.
-you've poured freshly brewed coffee onto your arm instead of in the cup.
-you've resteamed milk because it was quicker.
-you get pissed off when a customer pulls the "That's not how the other Starbucks does it" card. Oh really? Shut the heck up.
-you get customers who believe they have a high-maintenance drink when it really isn't that difficult.
-you wanna scream when they stand at the hand-off counter watching your every move with their drink.
-you've "accidentally" hit the Decaf button just because the customer was an a-hole.
-it feels good to say 'No' to a customer who screws up ordering their drink and makes you remake it, and THEN asks for the messed up drink.
-you have a fake work voice.
-you feel bad for ordering a Frappuccino for yourself.
-you cry inside whenever you have to make a smoothie during morning rush.
-when you roll your eyes at the stupid teenage girls, and sometimes grown men, who can't handle a drink without a sleeve cause it is "too hot".
-you want to kill your fellow barista who calls off because they're "sick", but you know they're just really hungover.
-you purposely speak louder to the customers who show up to Starbucks on their cell phones.
-you hate yourself for pushing too hard on the mocha pump when it was just recently made.
-you can no longer tell what are real freckles from the the homemade Chai-splatter freckles.
-you answer sarcastically to the customers who ask 3+ times if you made sure their drink was decaf.
-you realize how perverted you have become since working at Starbucks.
-you hate the words "moist", "extra thick", "that'll do me", and "wet".
-you want to scream at the people who don't know the difference between the 'trash bin' from the 'dirty plates and silverware bin'.
-you dread having to tell a customer who tries to buy a Tall Coffee that you can't accept the $100 bill. Yeah right. NEXT!
-you smell like coffee 98% of the time.
-you get so tired that you sometimes lose the ability to scold.
-you have to explain a few times a day what the difference is between a Cappuccino and a Frappuccino.
-you enjoy telling people that you will not touch their trash in the Drive-thru because it is a health code violation and that Starbucks is not a big trash can..
-there is always that one customer who you avoid, and then the one customer who you love.
-you feel "dirty" mixing chai and espresso.
-the little things bother you, such as when a customer orders a "Caramel Apple Cider".
-you want to rip off that customers head when they try to take change out of the tip jar, and then you don't feel bad for yelling at them.
-you feel terrible for telling a person that their card was declined.
-it makes your day when you accidentally upgrade the customers drink to a larger size and they get freaking excited.
-you judge people who need to have every box filled in on the cup.
-you throw in an entire Splenda packet because it is too much work to just pour in half a Splenda packet.
-you scold people who need their cup both double-cupped and with a sleeve.
-you agree with this list and just realized how angry of a person you truly are.
Monday, August 22, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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 ;)
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 ;)
Monday, August 8, 2011
College DropOUT
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.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Dear diary, this sucks.
This is sad, but before I wrote the first sentence, this blog post was intended to be about how awesome summer is, how awesome my friends are and my happiness...then I got a little off track and started talking about how much it sucks to be single right now. I swear I had good intentions, but I think it's also necessary for me to get this out before I go insane.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's 4th of July weekend and it's only just starting to feel like summer. Recently I've been trying to act my age. This might sound strange, but for the last year I've only been a work-a-holic. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, as most of you know by what you've been reading. But I've been feeling like I'm doing too much and not relaxing enough. I cant really say I have a stressful life because it really isn't too tiring, but I need to do more of nothing. When I say nothing, I mean I need to find that separation between work and my social life. It's very likely that I'm just on a social high since all my friends are finally home for the summer and that means I'm constantly with people. I definitely don't regret not going to college because I'm lucky enough to have found my career so early in life, but I sometimes wish I had a little bit more of the "college experience", meaning no work and all play.
I turned 21 a little over five weeks ago and my 21st birthday was a blast, and I'm pretty sure most people have a great time with the whole bar scene on their birthday. Since my birthday night, I had gone an entire 4 weeks before I went back out to try it all again...and I really enjoyed it again. I'm not a crazy partier for a few reasons, one because alcoholics are known in my family and I don't want to struggle those same demons, and also it's a huge waste of money to be spending my whole pay check on booze. I've been going out with the same group of friends the last few weekends and it's actually been a completely different experience than I thought it was. I guess you have to choose the right bar, but the scene is quite fascinating. We've been hitting up the same place and the people there are really chill. Before I was of age, I imagined the bars to be filled with retarded assholes who just wanted to fight. I'm sure plenty of bars are filled with those people, but it's been surprisingly sweet. Just as long as you're smart and don't attempt to drive drunk, you can have an awesome time relaxing with good people. I tried hookah the other night (which, I'll admit, I thought was just for weed and other crap) and it was pretty cool, as long as you limit yourself. I definitely got a little light headed.
And now comes my sob story. Here it goes. I'm sick of being single! Up until now I've honestly been cool with it and I haven't had time for it. I love life and what God has provided for me and I know he's going to provide me with an amazing woman...but I can't help but want it right about now. People always ask me why I don't have a girlfriend and why I've never had a serious one. I feel they get this "wow, what a loser" thought when they think about a 21 year old guy who has never had a serious girlfriend. I can careless about what people think but at the same time, I'm ready. It's funny because all the people at my store make fun of me because I get so ga-ga whenever a baby comes into my store. I don't know, I'm a freak I guess. I want lots of babies.
I know why I'm still single. It's because I have high standards. I'm not talking about looks (but I must say, if you're taller than me, it's not gonna work out. it will for some other guy, just not me), I'm talking about morals. I'm a Christian and some things I think should wait until you're in love. Sadly it's difficult to meet girls with morals at a party scene because all they want are douche bags who will make them feel important and have sex with them. That's not my type of girl. Quite a few girls from my high school class are exactly like that. They're not bad people, and they're actually cool, but they've just gone for the wrong things. They show up to class parties in barely legal-almost prostitute style skirts and come off as slutty. I don't want a slut, sorry. I've had a few hook ups over the last few years and it still left me feeling empty, which I must say, if you're looking for love, you won't find it if alcohol is involved.
THE FRIEND ZONE
Another problem of mine is probably the worlds worst thing ever...THE FRIEND ZONE. It sucks for guys who are actually interested in a girl and let it go too far. And when I say too far, I mean the point where you're just looked at as a friend and not a potential date. For any of you who are die-hards fans of the tv show, Friends...you will know what I mean. In the show, there is a character named Chandler Bing, he is known for being unbelievably sarcastic. In one episode, another character named Phoebe has a date with a psychiatrist who can tell why people do and talk the way they do, because he studies personalities I guess. So anyway, he meets Chandler and from his personality, he tells him that his sarcasm and jokes are a defense mechanism towards women. That has "ME" written all over it. I think I can be a little too sarcastic when it comes to meeting girls. They all think it's funny and I'll admit, they all really like me, but only as a friend after a while. I have a lot of friends and we tend to be sarcastic and funny. I think I use it more when I get nervous around a girl and it can probably turn her off a little. I don't know whose problem that is. I'm hoping it's the girls problem and that God will send me a woman who loves my sarcastic humor.
Now I'm going to go to bed. This weekend has really been awesome and summer is just starting. My life really does NOT suck, and I'm thankful for it. I'm just ready for the dating life to begin. I hope you all have an amazing 4th of July weekend! And for the other people who are reading from other counties and don't celebrate Independence Day, have a good night I guess.
Any advice? Words of wisdom? You wanna scream at me about something? Go ahead, just leave a comment below!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's 4th of July weekend and it's only just starting to feel like summer. Recently I've been trying to act my age. This might sound strange, but for the last year I've only been a work-a-holic. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, as most of you know by what you've been reading. But I've been feeling like I'm doing too much and not relaxing enough. I cant really say I have a stressful life because it really isn't too tiring, but I need to do more of nothing. When I say nothing, I mean I need to find that separation between work and my social life. It's very likely that I'm just on a social high since all my friends are finally home for the summer and that means I'm constantly with people. I definitely don't regret not going to college because I'm lucky enough to have found my career so early in life, but I sometimes wish I had a little bit more of the "college experience", meaning no work and all play.
I turned 21 a little over five weeks ago and my 21st birthday was a blast, and I'm pretty sure most people have a great time with the whole bar scene on their birthday. Since my birthday night, I had gone an entire 4 weeks before I went back out to try it all again...and I really enjoyed it again. I'm not a crazy partier for a few reasons, one because alcoholics are known in my family and I don't want to struggle those same demons, and also it's a huge waste of money to be spending my whole pay check on booze. I've been going out with the same group of friends the last few weekends and it's actually been a completely different experience than I thought it was. I guess you have to choose the right bar, but the scene is quite fascinating. We've been hitting up the same place and the people there are really chill. Before I was of age, I imagined the bars to be filled with retarded assholes who just wanted to fight. I'm sure plenty of bars are filled with those people, but it's been surprisingly sweet. Just as long as you're smart and don't attempt to drive drunk, you can have an awesome time relaxing with good people. I tried hookah the other night (which, I'll admit, I thought was just for weed and other crap) and it was pretty cool, as long as you limit yourself. I definitely got a little light headed.
And now comes my sob story. Here it goes. I'm sick of being single! Up until now I've honestly been cool with it and I haven't had time for it. I love life and what God has provided for me and I know he's going to provide me with an amazing woman...but I can't help but want it right about now. People always ask me why I don't have a girlfriend and why I've never had a serious one. I feel they get this "wow, what a loser" thought when they think about a 21 year old guy who has never had a serious girlfriend. I can careless about what people think but at the same time, I'm ready. It's funny because all the people at my store make fun of me because I get so ga-ga whenever a baby comes into my store. I don't know, I'm a freak I guess. I want lots of babies.
I know why I'm still single. It's because I have high standards. I'm not talking about looks (but I must say, if you're taller than me, it's not gonna work out. it will for some other guy, just not me), I'm talking about morals. I'm a Christian and some things I think should wait until you're in love. Sadly it's difficult to meet girls with morals at a party scene because all they want are douche bags who will make them feel important and have sex with them. That's not my type of girl. Quite a few girls from my high school class are exactly like that. They're not bad people, and they're actually cool, but they've just gone for the wrong things. They show up to class parties in barely legal-almost prostitute style skirts and come off as slutty. I don't want a slut, sorry. I've had a few hook ups over the last few years and it still left me feeling empty, which I must say, if you're looking for love, you won't find it if alcohol is involved.
THE FRIEND ZONE
Another problem of mine is probably the worlds worst thing ever...THE FRIEND ZONE. It sucks for guys who are actually interested in a girl and let it go too far. And when I say too far, I mean the point where you're just looked at as a friend and not a potential date. For any of you who are die-hards fans of the tv show, Friends...you will know what I mean. In the show, there is a character named Chandler Bing, he is known for being unbelievably sarcastic. In one episode, another character named Phoebe has a date with a psychiatrist who can tell why people do and talk the way they do, because he studies personalities I guess. So anyway, he meets Chandler and from his personality, he tells him that his sarcasm and jokes are a defense mechanism towards women. That has "ME" written all over it. I think I can be a little too sarcastic when it comes to meeting girls. They all think it's funny and I'll admit, they all really like me, but only as a friend after a while. I have a lot of friends and we tend to be sarcastic and funny. I think I use it more when I get nervous around a girl and it can probably turn her off a little. I don't know whose problem that is. I'm hoping it's the girls problem and that God will send me a woman who loves my sarcastic humor.
Now I'm going to go to bed. This weekend has really been awesome and summer is just starting. My life really does NOT suck, and I'm thankful for it. I'm just ready for the dating life to begin. I hope you all have an amazing 4th of July weekend! And for the other people who are reading from other counties and don't celebrate Independence Day, have a good night I guess.
Any advice? Words of wisdom? You wanna scream at me about something? Go ahead, just leave a comment below!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
3 years happy and the SEX is still good.
Ok, you're probably thinking..."Wow Ben, that title is gross and wildly inappropriate!". Thats true, but then again, you're the one who clicked the blog and started reading...pervert..
HAHAHAHAHA! You actually clicked this thinking I was going to talk about sex. I can almost bet this will be one of my most popular posts just because of the title.
So anyways, I've made my mark and am still happy. I just had my 3 year anniversary with Starbucks and I'm so glad I made it this far. If Starbucks and I were married, we'd still feel like newlyweds and I'm sure the sex would be awesome. I'm officially done with the sex references. Back to what I should be writing about.
3 years ago, I had my interview for Starbucks on my 18th birthday. I was scared to death. I had never worked a real job before and I had very little experience. I had done a lot of yard jobs for neighbors and had been a male nanny for a really cool family for part of a summer. So when it came to Starbucks, I was more than ready. I'm pretty sure my manager at the time knew I was excited just by looking at my application. I wrote it beautifully but was unbelievably corny.
I first got a taste of the Starbucks atmosphere when I was about 11 or 12 when I went on one of my many adventures with my older sister to a Barnes & Noble where they had a Starbucks cafe. We did a lot of hanging out there and at another local coffee shop called Lula's Cafe in South Bend. At this point, there weren't any corporate Starbucks stores within 100 miles, so I was kind of limited. But every time, the experience was amazing and I knew right away that this profession would be my future. I wouldn't call it as much a profession as I would call it a way of life. Everyday, I see people that either fill me up with so much joy or people that completely piss me off...thank God the latter is to a minimal. Sadly, I could probably remember every little detail about the day I got the call informing me that I got the job. It was a few weeks after junior year in high school and I was at a local high school taking the SATs and when I got out of the building, I went to my car where my cell phone was located (since we weren't allowed to bring our cell phones with us) and I saw the two greatest phrases on my phone -1 MISSED CALL- and -ONE VOICEMAIL-. I knew almost instantly that it was going to be a great day, and it was.
----My first store was the newest store in the city and the most poorly located store. It was on Portage Road and was a bridge away from the ghetto. It had the worlds smallest advertising sign. Most people didn't even know the store existed. It was placed in the middle of a McDonalds and a Meijers grocery store. Don't get me wrong, it was probably my favorite store I've worked at, my current store has the best people, but the Portage store was the most well built. There was a limited supply of teenage girls to hit on and mostly consisted of stay-at-home moms. It was a slow store that barely provided a morning rush. But it was amazing.
----My next store was decent. I'll leave it that.
----But my third and current store is amazing. It has an amazing crew and super cool customers. Some of them read my blog so I'm gonna say it...CRISTIN AND STEVE ARE CRAZY!
Now here is a list of some of my unusual experiences over the last 3 years.
-Old people coming into my first store to order a Double Cheeseburger.
-A homeless woman sneaking into the cafe during the middle of the night while the milkman delivers the goods. Let's just say she scared the shit out of the openers the next morning.
-The guy who took a crap in the middle of the bathroom.
-Having two robberies happen next door to us (literally 20 feet away from our entrance) without us knowing.
-Once last summer on a very hot day, all the pipes in my old building clogged somehow and therefore all the floor drains overflowed. Let's just say it smelt like a dumpster filled with chunky milk and poop.
-We had a customer who I'm almost positive is schizo because people witnessed him talking to himself a few times. I felt bad cause the guy was always really cool to me. He usually came through the drive-thru to get his white chocolate mocha Frappuccino, but one day he came in, I rang him up on the register and gave him back his change, and out of no where, he chucks the change at the back of my fellow baristas head and starts screaming at him. It all ended a minute later.
-We had a customer who came in once in a while, but one day he would come in dressed as a man, and then the next day come dressed as a woman. I wouldn't have judged him if he didn't stare at me the entire time he was in my cafe.
-We had a ridiculous amount of people who would run into somebody else's car while waiting in line in drive-thru. I'm not too sure how they all managed to do that.
-Once a lady in her mid-forties asked me if I was into cougars...
THANKS STARBUCKS!
HAHAHAHAHA! You actually clicked this thinking I was going to talk about sex. I can almost bet this will be one of my most popular posts just because of the title.
So anyways, I've made my mark and am still happy. I just had my 3 year anniversary with Starbucks and I'm so glad I made it this far. If Starbucks and I were married, we'd still feel like newlyweds and I'm sure the sex would be awesome. I'm officially done with the sex references. Back to what I should be writing about.
3 years ago, I had my interview for Starbucks on my 18th birthday. I was scared to death. I had never worked a real job before and I had very little experience. I had done a lot of yard jobs for neighbors and had been a male nanny for a really cool family for part of a summer. So when it came to Starbucks, I was more than ready. I'm pretty sure my manager at the time knew I was excited just by looking at my application. I wrote it beautifully but was unbelievably corny.
I first got a taste of the Starbucks atmosphere when I was about 11 or 12 when I went on one of my many adventures with my older sister to a Barnes & Noble where they had a Starbucks cafe. We did a lot of hanging out there and at another local coffee shop called Lula's Cafe in South Bend. At this point, there weren't any corporate Starbucks stores within 100 miles, so I was kind of limited. But every time, the experience was amazing and I knew right away that this profession would be my future. I wouldn't call it as much a profession as I would call it a way of life. Everyday, I see people that either fill me up with so much joy or people that completely piss me off...thank God the latter is to a minimal. Sadly, I could probably remember every little detail about the day I got the call informing me that I got the job. It was a few weeks after junior year in high school and I was at a local high school taking the SATs and when I got out of the building, I went to my car where my cell phone was located (since we weren't allowed to bring our cell phones with us) and I saw the two greatest phrases on my phone -1 MISSED CALL- and -ONE VOICEMAIL-. I knew almost instantly that it was going to be a great day, and it was.
----My first store was the newest store in the city and the most poorly located store. It was on Portage Road and was a bridge away from the ghetto. It had the worlds smallest advertising sign. Most people didn't even know the store existed. It was placed in the middle of a McDonalds and a Meijers grocery store. Don't get me wrong, it was probably my favorite store I've worked at, my current store has the best people, but the Portage store was the most well built. There was a limited supply of teenage girls to hit on and mostly consisted of stay-at-home moms. It was a slow store that barely provided a morning rush. But it was amazing.
----My next store was decent. I'll leave it that.
----But my third and current store is amazing. It has an amazing crew and super cool customers. Some of them read my blog so I'm gonna say it...CRISTIN AND STEVE ARE CRAZY!
Now here is a list of some of my unusual experiences over the last 3 years.
-Old people coming into my first store to order a Double Cheeseburger.
-A homeless woman sneaking into the cafe during the middle of the night while the milkman delivers the goods. Let's just say she scared the shit out of the openers the next morning.
-The guy who took a crap in the middle of the bathroom.
-Having two robberies happen next door to us (literally 20 feet away from our entrance) without us knowing.
-Once last summer on a very hot day, all the pipes in my old building clogged somehow and therefore all the floor drains overflowed. Let's just say it smelt like a dumpster filled with chunky milk and poop.
-We had a customer who I'm almost positive is schizo because people witnessed him talking to himself a few times. I felt bad cause the guy was always really cool to me. He usually came through the drive-thru to get his white chocolate mocha Frappuccino, but one day he came in, I rang him up on the register and gave him back his change, and out of no where, he chucks the change at the back of my fellow baristas head and starts screaming at him. It all ended a minute later.
-We had a customer who came in once in a while, but one day he would come in dressed as a man, and then the next day come dressed as a woman. I wouldn't have judged him if he didn't stare at me the entire time he was in my cafe.
-We had a ridiculous amount of people who would run into somebody else's car while waiting in line in drive-thru. I'm not too sure how they all managed to do that.
-Once a lady in her mid-forties asked me if I was into cougars...
THANKS STARBUCKS!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Barista Dangers: the deaths of a coffee ninja.
AH! I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. I know there isn't any good excuse. Thank you to all my loyal readers who are reading from almost 20 countries, you guys rock! I trust the last month has treated you all nicely. Now onto the blogging. Today's post in on the dangers of my job.
Being a Starbucks barista requires you to carry a lot of baggage with you, and that can range from kickass customers all the way to your everyday stalker. But it can also cause physical pain. In my 3 years, I have been cut all over my body by anything sharp that lives in the cafe, such as the metal coffee brewer edges, knives hiding in the bubble-filled sinks, the underneath edges of the espresso machine, and even the drains that we clean daily. Some other dangerous objects include broken ceramic coffee cups, floor mats (that are very easy to trip over when in a rush), wet floors, spilled milk, open oven doors, brooms, trash cans, and probably the most popular....running into other baristas.
So aside from being physically hurt by inanimate objects and a few fellow baristas, we now get to the customers. Now they don't physically hurt us, but some are known for trying to physically "get to know" us. I'm talking about the creeps. If you are a creep, then yes, you should be offended. There is a big difference between hugs (with us knowing) and trying to rape us when we aren't looking. Starbucks has a very wide variety of customers. For example, the stay-at-home moms, working husbands, business people, old people, cops, teens and tweens, high school girls, even more high school girls, more old people, douche bags, nice people, FREAKING AWESOME people, your mom, your girl friend, creepers, touchy people, scary old guys, and just a few normal people. Oh did I mention the cougars? Well there are quite a few of those.
One of the many great gifts about my place of employment is the amount of generous regulars. Around the holidays, especially Christmas, the cafe and drive-thru gets slammed. And having a packed house usually results in slightly stressed out baristas, so the regulars know how to cheer us up. You would think we would be cool with getting just a smile and a "Hello!", but today, these kids are all about the money. So please tip us! Regulars are generally really cool about doing this. They are also cool about bringing us cookies or some kind of candy and we always appreciate it. But then again, one of our customers gave us a bag of candy right after Easter. We were all excited until we took a bite and realized it must have been "Dollar Store" candy.....it tasted like crap. Thanks a lot Pastor Tony. But we still love you.
Speaking of tips, I guess you could include this in our lists of barista deaths. These days, it seems like everyone is underpaid and for a barista it feels especially so. Being a barista can be a high-stress, fast-paced job. I'm not complaining but it's not the place you want to work if you plan on sitting around being lazy, because it won't happen. So, as opposed to license Starbucks stores (the Starbucks that are in a grocery store or Barnes & Noble), we're allowed to accept tips. If you ever wake up one morning and ask yourself "How can I really piss someone off today?", just walk into a Starbucks and attempt to take money out of our tip jars so that you don't have to break a dollar. Oh yeah, your arm will be cut off on the spot and probably fed to some sort of rodent...NO MERCY! We WILL kill you. It's interesting, because the majority of people who try to take change out of our jars so that they don't have to break a dollar are usually higher class customers, you know, the ones driving the Mercedes parked out front. I have witnessed a few girls I work with literally flip out when someone tries to touch our jars. My favorite part about it all is when the customer then tries to argue with us. They say "But it's only 45 cents!". Yeah, we understand that, but it's not your money! At my old store, this giant wank actually argued with me and my fellow barista for ten minutes...and we still didn't cave. Just go home sir.
My Starbucks is located in a tiny strip mall, connected to a Sprint store, a Fedex Kinkos, and on the other end, a Game Stop. In the last 6 months, that Game Stop has been held up and robbed twice. The scary part is, seeing that their store opens after us and closes before us, I was in the same building while the robbery happened. At the end of it, the employees weren't harmed and were fine. The other day, one of the employees came into my cafe to get a "Crappy Hour" Frappuccino for half the price, and while she was waiting for her drink, she was telling us all about the robbery and to her luck, she was in the store both times. It brought back a memory of a few months ago when I got home after a close and came upstairs to my mom watching a crime show about Starbucks baristas who were robbed and killed while closing the store. I swear if that happens to me, I'll be pissed. I later thanked my mom for watching such a ridiculous show and giving me nightmares that will scar my life.
Now to lighten the mood, I will share a few fun facts that have occurred over the last few months.
1. A clown came through my drive-thru.
2. A fellow barista of mine argued with a guy at 6AM that we could, in fact, NOT make him an Iced coffee HOT. She offered him a hot brewed coffee and he refused and continued to say he wanted a iced coffee HOT. After slamming the window on him and having somebody else help him, they figured out that he wanted an iced coffee with no ice in it...
3. If you and your lover are in my cafe, on my couch, making out in front of many many customers, I will ask you to take your business elsewhere.
4. "The customers is always right", unless I'm right...then you're shit out of luck.
5. If you ask me to blend up your medicine in your Frappuccino, I will refuse.
6. Sir, I am not being racist when I say black coffee.
this is the picture of that clown. my co-worker took a picture of the drive-thru camera screen...
Being a Starbucks barista requires you to carry a lot of baggage with you, and that can range from kickass customers all the way to your everyday stalker. But it can also cause physical pain. In my 3 years, I have been cut all over my body by anything sharp that lives in the cafe, such as the metal coffee brewer edges, knives hiding in the bubble-filled sinks, the underneath edges of the espresso machine, and even the drains that we clean daily. Some other dangerous objects include broken ceramic coffee cups, floor mats (that are very easy to trip over when in a rush), wet floors, spilled milk, open oven doors, brooms, trash cans, and probably the most popular....running into other baristas.
So aside from being physically hurt by inanimate objects and a few fellow baristas, we now get to the customers. Now they don't physically hurt us, but some are known for trying to physically "get to know" us. I'm talking about the creeps. If you are a creep, then yes, you should be offended. There is a big difference between hugs (with us knowing) and trying to rape us when we aren't looking. Starbucks has a very wide variety of customers. For example, the stay-at-home moms, working husbands, business people, old people, cops, teens and tweens, high school girls, even more high school girls, more old people, douche bags, nice people, FREAKING AWESOME people, your mom, your girl friend, creepers, touchy people, scary old guys, and just a few normal people. Oh did I mention the cougars? Well there are quite a few of those.
One of the many great gifts about my place of employment is the amount of generous regulars. Around the holidays, especially Christmas, the cafe and drive-thru gets slammed. And having a packed house usually results in slightly stressed out baristas, so the regulars know how to cheer us up. You would think we would be cool with getting just a smile and a "Hello!", but today, these kids are all about the money. So please tip us! Regulars are generally really cool about doing this. They are also cool about bringing us cookies or some kind of candy and we always appreciate it. But then again, one of our customers gave us a bag of candy right after Easter. We were all excited until we took a bite and realized it must have been "Dollar Store" candy.....it tasted like crap. Thanks a lot Pastor Tony. But we still love you.
Speaking of tips, I guess you could include this in our lists of barista deaths. These days, it seems like everyone is underpaid and for a barista it feels especially so. Being a barista can be a high-stress, fast-paced job. I'm not complaining but it's not the place you want to work if you plan on sitting around being lazy, because it won't happen. So, as opposed to license Starbucks stores (the Starbucks that are in a grocery store or Barnes & Noble), we're allowed to accept tips. If you ever wake up one morning and ask yourself "How can I really piss someone off today?", just walk into a Starbucks and attempt to take money out of our tip jars so that you don't have to break a dollar. Oh yeah, your arm will be cut off on the spot and probably fed to some sort of rodent...NO MERCY! We WILL kill you. It's interesting, because the majority of people who try to take change out of our jars so that they don't have to break a dollar are usually higher class customers, you know, the ones driving the Mercedes parked out front. I have witnessed a few girls I work with literally flip out when someone tries to touch our jars. My favorite part about it all is when the customer then tries to argue with us. They say "But it's only 45 cents!". Yeah, we understand that, but it's not your money! At my old store, this giant wank actually argued with me and my fellow barista for ten minutes...and we still didn't cave. Just go home sir.
My Starbucks is located in a tiny strip mall, connected to a Sprint store, a Fedex Kinkos, and on the other end, a Game Stop. In the last 6 months, that Game Stop has been held up and robbed twice. The scary part is, seeing that their store opens after us and closes before us, I was in the same building while the robbery happened. At the end of it, the employees weren't harmed and were fine. The other day, one of the employees came into my cafe to get a "Crappy Hour" Frappuccino for half the price, and while she was waiting for her drink, she was telling us all about the robbery and to her luck, she was in the store both times. It brought back a memory of a few months ago when I got home after a close and came upstairs to my mom watching a crime show about Starbucks baristas who were robbed and killed while closing the store. I swear if that happens to me, I'll be pissed. I later thanked my mom for watching such a ridiculous show and giving me nightmares that will scar my life.
Now to lighten the mood, I will share a few fun facts that have occurred over the last few months.
1. A clown came through my drive-thru.
2. A fellow barista of mine argued with a guy at 6AM that we could, in fact, NOT make him an Iced coffee HOT. She offered him a hot brewed coffee and he refused and continued to say he wanted a iced coffee HOT. After slamming the window on him and having somebody else help him, they figured out that he wanted an iced coffee with no ice in it...
3. If you and your lover are in my cafe, on my couch, making out in front of many many customers, I will ask you to take your business elsewhere.
4. "The customers is always right", unless I'm right...then you're shit out of luck.
5. If you ask me to blend up your medicine in your Frappuccino, I will refuse.
6. Sir, I am not being racist when I say black coffee.
Friday, March 25, 2011
THIEF! THIEF! My Christmas past.
Ok, so let's be honest now. I'll tell you about how horrible of a child I was. Nobody ever believes me because I'm such a nice person, or so they tell me. So this story makes it even more fun to tell. When I was nine, I had a family that lived behind my house through a little patch of trees, and one Christmas, out of no where I decided to steal presents from their house. I didn't actually come up with a plan to steal from them, it was just one of those spur-of-the-moment type situations. I went over to their house and they went home, so I decided to walk in their UNLOCKED door. AGAIN, I barely remember most of this since it was 12 years ago, but going inside seemed like a good idea at the time. And if you know my family and how much my family procrastinates, you know that Christmas presents are not wrapped and placed under the tree until Christmas eve, because one of the nine kids in my family would most likely try and open them. I think I only stole 3 gifts. One being a dolphin clock (which I later went and rewrapped to give to my older sister), a #1 Dad coffee cup, and something else. I obviously wasn't a very good thief because the next morning, they noticed those gifts were missing, and then proceeded to follow my child size footprints from their back door to my house. Here comes Christmas morning, were all in the middle of opening presents at my house when the family knocks on our door. I was scared to death! I guess I offered them my gifts that I "bought" myself. They later called the cops on me. Police showed up. They scared me even more. My parents grounded me to my room for an entire day. Everyone found out about it and I was forever embarrassed about the whole thing. Since then, every Christmas we retell the story. It's become a nice Christmas ritual. But that part changed my life, because I turned into a really good kid. I never got in trouble in school, never got a detention, only an in-school suspension for forging my moms signature in third grade, but that was right before that christmas, so it's all good. I've received one speeding ticket, which actually isn't on my record because I paid for drivers Ed by myself and got a deferral for it. Oh yeah, and since that Christmas 11 or 12 years ago, my nickname has been the Grinch, thanks to my older brothers.
Oooooh man. I have many more stories that I will share later on. Peace out
Oooooh man. I have many more stories that I will share later on. Peace out
Friday, March 18, 2011
Summer Adventures.
This is what you call a "half-ass" post. Sorry.
This summer will be different, filled with a lot of the same events, but a few different people.
Last summer kicked butt, I was almost always busy, but it was filled with a little bit of stress. This summer, not so much. For one, since I moved back home, I don't have to worry about paying $445 a month for rent. Plus, I got a newer car that has very little mechanical problems and seeing that my old car was a stuck up little douche bag, that will be a HUGE weight off my shoulders.
One of the coolest things about this summer is....wait for it.....I will be 21!! Yes, I have been waiting for this day for a while now. Its not really about getting wasted all the time, because let's face it, I can't afford to. I have an awesome job with many responsibilities and I'm also not stupid enough to drink that much. Well, we'll see about that.
Since I had the world's least dependable car last year, I will now be able to go to the beach all the time like my family has done the last few years. One year, we literally went probably 3 or 4 times a week. It was amazing!
This post is really random but the weather has been awesome the last few days and it only excites me even more to make a "Trip to the beach" mix. It's a little cheesy. Some of the songs I'm embarrassed to include, but they're painfully addicting for a beach trip with a car full of people.
-Yolanda Be Cool- No Americano
-Michael Jackson- The Way You Make Me Feel
-Kid Cudi- Up Up and Away
-VV Brown- Shark in the Water
-Neon Trees- Animal
-Trey Songz- Say Aah
-Rihanna- Rude Boy
-K'naan- Wavin Flag
-Justin Bieber- Baby (don't judge me)
-Ben Folds- You Don't Know Me
-Taio Cruz- Dynamite
-Lady Gaga- Bad Romance
-Mac Miller- Knock Knock
-Jason Mraz- I'm Yours
-M.I.A.- Paper Planes
-Michael Jackson- Black or White
-Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling
-Outkast- Hey Ya
Ok, bye.
This summer will be different, filled with a lot of the same events, but a few different people.
Last summer kicked butt, I was almost always busy, but it was filled with a little bit of stress. This summer, not so much. For one, since I moved back home, I don't have to worry about paying $445 a month for rent. Plus, I got a newer car that has very little mechanical problems and seeing that my old car was a stuck up little douche bag, that will be a HUGE weight off my shoulders.
One of the coolest things about this summer is....wait for it.....I will be 21!! Yes, I have been waiting for this day for a while now. Its not really about getting wasted all the time, because let's face it, I can't afford to. I have an awesome job with many responsibilities and I'm also not stupid enough to drink that much. Well, we'll see about that.
Since I had the world's least dependable car last year, I will now be able to go to the beach all the time like my family has done the last few years. One year, we literally went probably 3 or 4 times a week. It was amazing!
This post is really random but the weather has been awesome the last few days and it only excites me even more to make a "Trip to the beach" mix. It's a little cheesy. Some of the songs I'm embarrassed to include, but they're painfully addicting for a beach trip with a car full of people.
-Yolanda Be Cool- No Americano
-Michael Jackson- The Way You Make Me Feel
-Kid Cudi- Up Up and Away
-VV Brown- Shark in the Water
-Neon Trees- Animal
-Trey Songz- Say Aah
-Rihanna- Rude Boy
-K'naan- Wavin Flag
-Justin Bieber- Baby (don't judge me)
-Ben Folds- You Don't Know Me
-Taio Cruz- Dynamite
-Lady Gaga- Bad Romance
-Mac Miller- Knock Knock
-Jason Mraz- I'm Yours
-M.I.A.- Paper Planes
-Michael Jackson- Black or White
-Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling
-Outkast- Hey Ya
Ok, bye.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Things that make me go "HAHAHAhahaHA!" ::PART ONE::
Basically, this is a list of things that make me laugh (either because it is unbelievably stupid...or actually funny). I know I could probably come up with a better post, BUT it's 2:54AM and I really don't care at this point. This may also be full of a few stereotypes, so I'm sorry in advance.
I LAUGH AT...
1. people who drive Hummers and the way they automatically think they're the shit.
2. people who think they know my job better than me.
3. people who come through my drive-thru and ram their car into the big yellow pole.
4. people with trashy cars and big, shiny rims.
5. old people.
6. the way former President Bush speaks.
7. the need to look like you're texting someone when walking by yourself so you don't look like a loser without any friends.
8. the times I ask customers at my Starbucks if they'd "like fries with that" and waiting for their reaction.
9. old people who try to dress like they're 23.
10. 40-year old woman who try to hang out with 20 year olds.
11. the lousy customer service at Walmart.
12. people who are jerks and speed ahead of everyone and then later you pass them because they got pulled over by the cops.
13. Cher's speaking and singing voice.
14. the creepy feelings myself and my fellow male baristas get when getting hit on by gay men.
15. the way people at the Dollar Store always know when I'm going to see a movie because of my large amount of candy and pop.
16. when black guys walk with their pants passed their crotch.
17. blondes who purposely act ditsy.
18. how boring South Bend is.
19. a girl who pointed out that black woman consume most of our sugar at Starbucks and white guys who try to act tough by asking for a black coffee then load it up with a bunch of crap at the condiment bar.
20. the way bitchy people get even more pissed off when you act really nice to them.
21. the times when cars full of teenge girls pull up in the drive-thru.
22. the moment the boy who used to always call me gay because I had a little lisp growing up walked inside my Starbucks hand-in-hand with his boyfriend......awkward.
23. the way husbands/boyfriends look while waiting for their wives/girlfriends as they shop in Victoria's Secret.
24. the actors who promote skin care commercials as they complain about the entire 3 pimples they've had to deal with during their life, as people with REAL skin acne suffer.
25. Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin//just Sarah Palin in general makes me cry a little.
MORE TO COME...
I LAUGH AT...
1. people who drive Hummers and the way they automatically think they're the shit.
2. people who think they know my job better than me.
3. people who come through my drive-thru and ram their car into the big yellow pole.
4. people with trashy cars and big, shiny rims.
5. old people.
6. the way former President Bush speaks.
7. the need to look like you're texting someone when walking by yourself so you don't look like a loser without any friends.
8. the times I ask customers at my Starbucks if they'd "like fries with that" and waiting for their reaction.
9. old people who try to dress like they're 23.
10. 40-year old woman who try to hang out with 20 year olds.
11. the lousy customer service at Walmart.
12. people who are jerks and speed ahead of everyone and then later you pass them because they got pulled over by the cops.
13. Cher's speaking and singing voice.
14. the creepy feelings myself and my fellow male baristas get when getting hit on by gay men.
15. the way people at the Dollar Store always know when I'm going to see a movie because of my large amount of candy and pop.
16. when black guys walk with their pants passed their crotch.
17. blondes who purposely act ditsy.
18. how boring South Bend is.
19. a girl who pointed out that black woman consume most of our sugar at Starbucks and white guys who try to act tough by asking for a black coffee then load it up with a bunch of crap at the condiment bar.
20. the way bitchy people get even more pissed off when you act really nice to them.
21. the times when cars full of teenge girls pull up in the drive-thru.
22. the moment the boy who used to always call me gay because I had a little lisp growing up walked inside my Starbucks hand-in-hand with his boyfriend......awkward.
23. the way husbands/boyfriends look while waiting for their wives/girlfriends as they shop in Victoria's Secret.
24. the actors who promote skin care commercials as they complain about the entire 3 pimples they've had to deal with during their life, as people with REAL skin acne suffer.
25. Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin//just Sarah Palin in general makes me cry a little.
MORE TO COME...
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Why Starbucks is awesome
I like to brag about my job, and I'm sure a lot of you know that. So I'm going to explain exactly why. I'm also writing this because at the moment, my mom is watching her soap operas..and if I have to listen to one more second of the pathetic lives of those on Days of Our Lives, I might just kill myself a little.
FREE FREE FREE
So lets start with the free stuff. As a Starbucks barista, we are all entitled to a free beverage on each of our breaks (including 30 minutes before work, our 2 ten-minute breaks, a thirty-minute meal, and 30 minutes after work). Any kind, any size. So as you can expect, when I first started working their back in 2008, I probably gained 10 lbs just after my first week there. And I can bet almost everyone does. It's sort of like Starbucks' own "freshman fifteen". They want each partner to be able to give their own personal explanations and experiences of each beverage in case a customer asks for our opinion. It's actually pretty tight. We get to eat and drink a lot. Eventually baristas get past the point of overload and cut down on their Frappuccino consumpion. Another thing that Starbucks pays attention to is the freshness of their coffee. So we have to dump our coffee every thirty minutes, whether it was touched or not. Dumping perfectly good pastries/mocha sauce/coffee simply because it has passed Starbucks' expiration point breaks my heart everytime. As I pour that "expired" mocha down the sink, I cry out "No! no! nO! NO!"....but in my head. Sadly the coffee giant teaches us how to hide our pain.
So along with a free beverage on every break, we are allowed to get a free markout EVERY week. That means a free pound of coffee or a free tin of tea. Yeah, it's amazing. It's about $5,200 of free whole bean coffee every year. Now that's a good deal!
FUN FUN FUN
Now to work at Starbucks you have to be a little sarcastic.....ok, you have to be very sarcastic. We as a group tend to be loud and obnoxious. Depending on what part of town you work at, customers love it or hate it. But our "Customer Voice" scores are amazing. My store usually receives a 100% on friendliness. But like most work places, if the day is crazy, we can get cranky, but if its slow...we really get to do our jobs. One criteria of our job is to be awesome--awesome at making drinks, awesome at giving our opinions, awesome at dealing with crappy rich snobs who think they rule the world, and awesome at selling stuff.--but they best part is, we like to be creative. Creativity flows like fresh hot mocha....it's ALL OVER THE PLACE! We get to be designers, comedians, professionals, kids, da bombs, and most importantly...the best part of your day. Many times throughout our shift, we get people who have lousy days in general, and the second they arrive to our store, they immediately feel better because we are good at putting a smile on their faces. I know it sounds corny, but it makes us feel good that we were able to "turn that frown upside down".
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
So over the last 3 years, I have met a ton of baristas who are either dating or are married to someone they met while working together at Starbucks or who were at one point a customer of theirs. I can count off hand 12 couples who met at Starbucks. It's pretty astonishing. I have always thought that one day, I will most likely marry a woman who was once a customer of mine or a coworker. It's bound to happen, I swear. That's another cool thing about my workplace...it's flocking with woman! Hello ladies....
FREE FREE FREE
So lets start with the free stuff. As a Starbucks barista, we are all entitled to a free beverage on each of our breaks (including 30 minutes before work, our 2 ten-minute breaks, a thirty-minute meal, and 30 minutes after work). Any kind, any size. So as you can expect, when I first started working their back in 2008, I probably gained 10 lbs just after my first week there. And I can bet almost everyone does. It's sort of like Starbucks' own "freshman fifteen". They want each partner to be able to give their own personal explanations and experiences of each beverage in case a customer asks for our opinion. It's actually pretty tight. We get to eat and drink a lot. Eventually baristas get past the point of overload and cut down on their Frappuccino consumpion. Another thing that Starbucks pays attention to is the freshness of their coffee. So we have to dump our coffee every thirty minutes, whether it was touched or not. Dumping perfectly good pastries/mocha sauce/coffee simply because it has passed Starbucks' expiration point breaks my heart everytime. As I pour that "expired" mocha down the sink, I cry out "No! no! nO! NO!"....but in my head. Sadly the coffee giant teaches us how to hide our pain.
So along with a free beverage on every break, we are allowed to get a free markout EVERY week. That means a free pound of coffee or a free tin of tea. Yeah, it's amazing. It's about $5,200 of free whole bean coffee every year. Now that's a good deal!
FUN FUN FUN
Now to work at Starbucks you have to be a little sarcastic.....ok, you have to be very sarcastic. We as a group tend to be loud and obnoxious. Depending on what part of town you work at, customers love it or hate it. But our "Customer Voice" scores are amazing. My store usually receives a 100% on friendliness. But like most work places, if the day is crazy, we can get cranky, but if its slow...we really get to do our jobs. One criteria of our job is to be awesome--awesome at making drinks, awesome at giving our opinions, awesome at dealing with crappy rich snobs who think they rule the world, and awesome at selling stuff.--but they best part is, we like to be creative. Creativity flows like fresh hot mocha....it's ALL OVER THE PLACE! We get to be designers, comedians, professionals, kids, da bombs, and most importantly...the best part of your day. Many times throughout our shift, we get people who have lousy days in general, and the second they arrive to our store, they immediately feel better because we are good at putting a smile on their faces. I know it sounds corny, but it makes us feel good that we were able to "turn that frown upside down".
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
So over the last 3 years, I have met a ton of baristas who are either dating or are married to someone they met while working together at Starbucks or who were at one point a customer of theirs. I can count off hand 12 couples who met at Starbucks. It's pretty astonishing. I have always thought that one day, I will most likely marry a woman who was once a customer of mine or a coworker. It's bound to happen, I swear. That's another cool thing about my workplace...it's flocking with woman! Hello ladies....
Thursday, February 24, 2011
religion.
I've been absent from this blog for a little while due to the lack of motivation and time, but mostly the motivation. In the last few months I have shifted from an early-EARLY morning person to a late-LATE night person..I definitely prefer the former (because it meant I would get off of work at 1pm the latest and have the rest of the day free, as opposed to starting work at 1pm like I do now). It's ok. I'm over it. But it does mean that by the time I get home from work, all I wanna do is relax....which usually consists of Facebook stalking and, well, relaxing. But I tend to think of this blog more than normal now, because all I want to do is write. It also doesn't help that South Bend feels like Seattle at this point. It's always cold and wet and cloudy outside..
I think I'm suffering from a winter depression...AHHH. I love the winter up until New Years is over and I can't look forward to another holiday for awhile.
"Isn't it the time when our lives seem the darkest that God's glory shines the brightest."
====================
For awhile now, I keep getting an urge to write about religion. Not entirely sure where this will lead, but I'll give it a shot.
As I grew up, I was raised Catholic. It's pretty obvious, just look at the size of my family. (9 children) But I never felt like it was right for me. I'm not trying to describe it like coffee, some people love bold coffee, others hate it, so we move on...I'm trying to say I personally never felt touched by God in the Catholic church. Going to church was something that I was forced to do by my parents, whether I liked it or not. And I can honestly say I'm glad they made me go, but in the end, I was never happy with it. I felt like it was way too old-fashioned and traditional. I'll agree, some people feel closest to God when they are worshiping in that type of scene, and that is awesome! But for me, I needed to be emotionally moved. I feel closest to God when I see people's lives dramatically change. I believe in miracles and I strongly believe God intended for us to have those amazing gifts, to help bring everyone closer to His love. For me, the Catholic church meant an hour where you went inside of a building, sat down and shut up while you did the same thing every weekend in the same order. Sit down, kneel, stand up, sing a hymn, sit down, be quiet, get the body of Christ, then leave. I don't mean to bash anybody reading this who is Catholic, this is just how I felt while going to church at the time. All I can say is that I never felt spiritually changed or closer to God in this place of worship, and it made me really upset that I couldn't feel the love of God there. Sometimes, I would walk in the church and feel judged just for wearing jeans that Sunday, as if God really cared what I was wearing, or (with a family like mine), we would almost always be 2 minutes late for mass, and as we would walk in, I would feel some hate or disgust radiating off of peoples' faces.
MY CHURCH
For the last 2 years, I have been apart of Granger Community Church. To me, it is one of the most spiritually filled places I have ever been. It is called a "community church", but if you want to get technical, its a Methodist church. It is a very large church and is filled with people immensely inspired by God. In the Catholic church, you would never find someone raising their hands as they worship God, but at GCC, it's not very unusual. Art and music are a huge part of their worship, and for a person like me, it emotionally steers me towards Jesus Christ everyday. No one is perfect, and no one ever will be, except for Jesus, but that place feels like home. When people ask me what religion I am, I sometimes get that "aww crap" feeling because I have to tell the people, who a lot of the times are Catholic, that I was raised Catholic but am now Methodist. I know as a follower of Christ, I shouldn't get ashamed of being..well, not Catholic, but it happens. I'm working on that. Sometimes I don't even like to put a label on what type of follower I am. I believe in God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. I believe in miracles. I believe in loving each other. And I believe the devil exists the screw us up.
I have been reading a book called "The Me I Want To Be", and it was describing how people have completely different ways of worshiping God and different ways in which they feel closest to Him. Some people feel closest to Him in nature, some while listening to music, some while in church, some when they are surrounded by lots of people and some when they are all alone.
Again, I wasn't really sure where I was going with this. Just needed to vent a little bit.
"It's impossible to let God down, because you were never holding Him up."
I think I'm suffering from a winter depression...AHHH. I love the winter up until New Years is over and I can't look forward to another holiday for awhile.
"Isn't it the time when our lives seem the darkest that God's glory shines the brightest."
====================
For awhile now, I keep getting an urge to write about religion. Not entirely sure where this will lead, but I'll give it a shot.
As I grew up, I was raised Catholic. It's pretty obvious, just look at the size of my family. (9 children) But I never felt like it was right for me. I'm not trying to describe it like coffee, some people love bold coffee, others hate it, so we move on...I'm trying to say I personally never felt touched by God in the Catholic church. Going to church was something that I was forced to do by my parents, whether I liked it or not. And I can honestly say I'm glad they made me go, but in the end, I was never happy with it. I felt like it was way too old-fashioned and traditional. I'll agree, some people feel closest to God when they are worshiping in that type of scene, and that is awesome! But for me, I needed to be emotionally moved. I feel closest to God when I see people's lives dramatically change. I believe in miracles and I strongly believe God intended for us to have those amazing gifts, to help bring everyone closer to His love. For me, the Catholic church meant an hour where you went inside of a building, sat down and shut up while you did the same thing every weekend in the same order. Sit down, kneel, stand up, sing a hymn, sit down, be quiet, get the body of Christ, then leave. I don't mean to bash anybody reading this who is Catholic, this is just how I felt while going to church at the time. All I can say is that I never felt spiritually changed or closer to God in this place of worship, and it made me really upset that I couldn't feel the love of God there. Sometimes, I would walk in the church and feel judged just for wearing jeans that Sunday, as if God really cared what I was wearing, or (with a family like mine), we would almost always be 2 minutes late for mass, and as we would walk in, I would feel some hate or disgust radiating off of peoples' faces.
MY CHURCH
For the last 2 years, I have been apart of Granger Community Church. To me, it is one of the most spiritually filled places I have ever been. It is called a "community church", but if you want to get technical, its a Methodist church. It is a very large church and is filled with people immensely inspired by God. In the Catholic church, you would never find someone raising their hands as they worship God, but at GCC, it's not very unusual. Art and music are a huge part of their worship, and for a person like me, it emotionally steers me towards Jesus Christ everyday. No one is perfect, and no one ever will be, except for Jesus, but that place feels like home. When people ask me what religion I am, I sometimes get that "aww crap" feeling because I have to tell the people, who a lot of the times are Catholic, that I was raised Catholic but am now Methodist. I know as a follower of Christ, I shouldn't get ashamed of being..well, not Catholic, but it happens. I'm working on that. Sometimes I don't even like to put a label on what type of follower I am. I believe in God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. I believe in miracles. I believe in loving each other. And I believe the devil exists the screw us up.
I have been reading a book called "The Me I Want To Be", and it was describing how people have completely different ways of worshiping God and different ways in which they feel closest to Him. Some people feel closest to Him in nature, some while listening to music, some while in church, some when they are surrounded by lots of people and some when they are all alone.
Again, I wasn't really sure where I was going with this. Just needed to vent a little bit.
"It's impossible to let God down, because you were never holding Him up."
Thursday, January 27, 2011
LAZY DAY
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!
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!
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
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