Grounds for your Garden, Grounds for your Heart!!!

I’ll try to be unbiased as I write this evening. I will think about sweet things, like cupcakes, ponies, flowers, cute puppies that don’t poop indoors. I will take a deep breath and I will think about that moment in the day when I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Then I will think about the moment when I finally got in my car to go home, stopped by the WalMart in the good part of town, mainly because I didn’t feel like being on pins and needles, on edge like the bad neighborhood WalMart can make me feel, in fact, for the sake of reference, I'll call it the off-the-WalMart because it’s one of those locations that just seems like someone could go crazy at any given moment, like hold someone hostage with a banana in the produce section.

So, I think about that moment at WalMart when I was approached by not ONE but TWO people asking for directions to certain parts of the store…and the sad part of this little story is that I didn’t realize what was going on until the second unassuming WalMart patron proclaimed, excitedly, “I didn’t even KNOW there was a Starbucks in here!” Really, Kara? You wore your APRON into the WalMart?!? It was that kind of day… But it gets even better, because I started looking around and said to the guy about Starbucks, “For real...Where is it?!” (I mean, we ARE in the good part of town) and then the lightbulb went off as I looked down at my familiar green apron…I had forgotten to take it off when I left in a haste and I was advertising shamelessly. I untied it and was carrying it wadded in my hand in such a guilty fashion that the lady at the checkout, after scanning my folders, glanced at it suspiciously, until I told her, “No, I came in with this…I know it doesn’t have a smiley face sticker on it…but…long day, long story…” and she just laughed…she got it. She works with crazy customer demands all day.

It wasn’t just the customer demands today. It was ME. I was making lists from the “get-go” of the day at 4:30a.m., and I’m not a list maker. I don’t like lists because they are a time waster- case in point. Don’t make the list, eliminate a step. (ah-ha, another book idea, “Less List Construction, More Production!” Okay, so I will work on that title…) But my point is- I was doomed for a chaotic day because I knew I was going to accomplish very little of my list.

This kind of thing happens in a customer satisfaction industry. They call it the tyranny of the urgent, aka- customer comes first. Fall decorations, school preparation, inventory stocking, all of that takes a backseat to that next guy in line that is ordering drinks that sound like something from outer space. Sometimes, when a young kid comes in and orders a “Venti Solo Extra Caramel One Shot Mocha No Whip Caramel Frappuccino” I want to say to him/her, “What would your grandmother say about that?!” haha. Mainly because our generations are becoming so accustomed to these personalized customer demands that THEY are forgetting about the important part, the part that was created to be ENJOYED. Not just the delicious, creamy, foamy blended drink, but the human aspect of it all. I mean, at what point do we stop and say to ourselves, “Has this indulgent part of our day become an INTEGRAL part of our day?”

I think that is why I still have a soft spot for the small town Starbucks. Small town people have to make an EVENT of going to Starbucks. When I see a family walk into our store, a travel beaten weary family, I am always SO HAPPY to make their experience “neat” or “special” which are some of the terms that I have heard them say that make the job so much more rewarding. Not that I don’t like the regulars that come in every day, because for the most part, they are the easiest and most pleasant customers, which is why they keep coming back. It’s the “Joe cools” and the “Too Diva for your Time” peeps that spout off their order and make comments like, “MY STARBUCKS does it better…” or, between phone texts, “This tastes gross” (insert wave of the hand, a slight swirl of the fingers, starbucks sign language for make it again, RIGHT this time! And this actually happened today with a lady that was on her phone and wouldn’t ONCE look up to make eye contact, or to see the sympathetic look I was trying to offer her. My sympathy quickly turned to apathy and all I wanted was to get her the perfect drink and get her walking perfectly out the door.) Behind this bubbly exterior, despite the fact that we remain highly caffeinated, we have feelings, too!!! Haha.

The Fall decorations are up, halfway, in our store. We are beginning to look a lot like an Autumn Jubilee. I am sure my spirits will soon be soaring for all the wonderful new aromas that will be floating around the store, and the cheer that will infect my soul because of the closeness of the holidays, with the evidence encasing every smiling face, every school spirit clad customer, every student that comes in to order shots of espresso to stay up studying late for exams…

Yes, this evening, right now, I am not focusing on that moment at the espresso bar when I was ready to put my head in my hands and cry because we were out of supplies, I was being reprimanded by a customer who was dissatisfied, and I felt like my list had long ago given up on me and walked next door to CVS to check out the make-up or anything that would be more productive than to wait on me to start checking things off…

Today was not about lists that didn’t get accomplished, it was about comprehending the coming and going of seasons. A new season is upon me…and with a new season comes the shedding of the old to make room for the new. People come in all the time to get the old grounds from our espresso machines to use as fertilizer for their gardens. I love this idea of growth, of being fertilized from someone’s white mocha (extra hot, no foam)…haha. What a simple concept, using all our resources to fertilize our future. Using our experiences to ENRICH our next steps in life. Duh, Kara, like looking down at the apron I’ve been wearing all along, thanking God that He has given me this life opportunity to be the best ME possible. Taking every talent, quirk, capability, and blessing to do something AMAZING tomorrow. Lightbulb! “There is a time for everything…and a season for everything under Heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Grinch May Have Stolen Christmas, But He Loves Pumpkin Lattes!!

There’s a romance element to Starbucks. Some people sense this when they walk into the door, whereas some people walk right through the lovely fog, never even realizing that they have been misted with the romance of the bean. (If not the element of romance, then at least know that if enough time is spent in the store, the coffee bean smell will stay in one’s hair, clothes, fingernails, nostrils, even shoelaces if Febreeze is not brought into the matter immediately upon arriving home…Let me tell say this- after having worked there for a couple months, I can vouch for the fact that the coffee bean smell is something to be reckoned with. I know why they were sleepless in Seattle…being THAT close to the birthplace of Starbucks can’t be good for much except insomnia…)

The romance of Starbucks is something that HAPPENS to us. And sometimes it is hard to “feel” it…the romance gets forced when there are distractions…

Maybe life is just too “real” for me right now. It’s hard to let my imagination run rampant with the idea of romance when I am thinking about school, schedule correspondence, new fall merchandise, bills, etc… I lose myself in the every day and I am forgetting about the every minute in every day. Not wasting a minute! Not wasting a moment of life to the mundane. Not forgetting that God gave me RIGHT NOW just like He gave me duties which to accomplish. But, inevitably the RIGHT NOW is a gift. I can sip my coffee and let the bean soak into my nose hairs and warp my sense of smell to the extent that if I don’t smell coffee, I don’t smell. Kind of like a near-sighted person. I need “glasses” but for my nose…like, nostrils, or something…where everything I smell goes through a little coffee filter that is holding grounds of beans. Okay, I have wasted way too much brain activity thinking about that and I should be embarrassed. (But it is a good idea- inventions.com- call me!)

Anyway, more about the romance…and about aside from invention ideas…I do have the desire to fill my time with passion and love and creativity! I am bursting with longing for noise and stillness at the same time- that unattainable, unchartered territory of the “in-between” (a creative and spiritual balance…and I’m not talking about any weird new age hooey)…

How do we hold on to those moments that stop us in our “life” tracks? A perfect conversation with a guy we like…lots of laughter, some teasing…30 minutes with our family, just being together…chillaxin, safe and healthy and happy. Maybe that in-between moment that tries so hard to slip between our fingers is a break, a holiday from the madness. Like me- putting up the Pumpkin Spice and Toffee Nut signs, all the fall decorations…knowing, that with the colors of red, yellow, orange, and brown and the pictures of falling leaves will come a time of reflection, Thanksgiving, and my birthday in October. Haha. I’m kidding. But, on a side note, we do have all the new drinks coming out this next week, so go in and try a Salted Caramel Mocha or Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate…or if caramel isn’t your favorite, try a Toffee Mocha Latte or Pumpkin Spice Latte. All for those who like to drink the Thanksgiving colors in a cup. These new drinks are absolutely delectable…and one of each will suffice for me for the whole season. I have had my fill of Pumpkin today, now comes the Pepto!

What comes with the romance of fall…aside from pepto? The courting of Christmas, the cool air that draws us outside, breathing a little deeper and walking a little taller. Sports, family get-togethers, holidays! Christmas is just around the corner…and I know it frustrates my dad to no end when I start celebrating early, I think it’s important to remember that Jesus’ may have been born in December, but He’s Alive EVERY day in our hearts!! Amen and light up the Tree!!!

The Hills are Alive...with the sounds of Archie comics!

There are several things about Starbucks that I love. One of the main reasons that I enjoy the company is because I am proud of the environment that we create. I’ll talk more about this in a second, but first, since I am sitting in the café, listening to some killer bluegrass tunes over the Starbucks stereo (that’s code for good music), I want to bring up a topic that I haven’t talked much about in my blog- the Starbucks Music…

Ahhhhh, sweet music …it’s like the peanut to my butter…aka, I love music. It’s also a HUGE part of the Starbucks culture…we practically INVENTED coffeehouse music (which is now a setting on such things as Sirus and XM Radio…they call it coffeehouse music because it’s music inspired by Starbucks). Music has an entire link from the website AND furthermore, Starbucks has it’s own tab in ITUNES which is a branch of Apple (being recognized as a music inspiration by Apple is a pretty big deal).

All this to say, I don’t like ALL the music we play in our store, but I understand the importance of harmonic diversity. Who am I to change the playlist every time a song comes on that I don’t like…? Good music is like a relationship. It can brighten a mood, lift a spirit, and offer condolences in the gentlest and the most tender of ways. Music is like a voice that touches the inmost parts of our soul.
Okay, so I am being melodramatic…but music MOVES me, and BAD music moves me in a negative way. Sometimes I wish I could tell people that walk into the store, “Hey, I didn’t CHOOSE this song to be playing…” (especially if it sounds like elevator music) and other times, when Johnny Cash is on, people are lucky enough to hear me belting out lines from “I fell innnnto a BURNIN’ Ring of Firrrrrrre! I went down, down, down, as the flames went higher…..!!!!!!” And then I like to follow it up with, “And I’ll be here all week, people…allllll week! And I do take requests and dedications…”

The other thing about Starbucks culture- the donations. Starbucks GIVES BACK! I knew, working for a company like this, if I presented a good idea, it would be approved and supported by the higher ups.

So, after some coordinating and emailing back and forth with a marketing director, today was the first of what will be monthly visits to an assisted living center in our neighborhood. And let me just say, it was an ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC experience!!
My GM and I were off today, so we prepped the pastries that we were bringing, and the morning barista crew prepared our coffee and off we went! We were going to serve Starbucks VERONA blend coffee in to-go Starbucks coffee cups and hand out pastries and talk about the company and even give out some door prizes to people who could answer some trivia about Starbucks.

We had about 35 senior citizens (and center workers) attend our little get-together. A couple of them had gone online and done research about the company and EVERY SINGLE one of them had either heard of Starbucks or tried it before. And several of them had been to a Starbucks shop with their families.
We let them tell us stories, and we tried to keep the focus on the company and what we try to do to help the community and how we set ourselves apart from other companies.

There were a couple instances that made me laugh from the bottom of my soul! One occurred when we were quizzing them. I was standing over towards the back as the GM was asking some questions, and when we asked them to tell us what kind of coffee we had served today (I had discussed the coffee, Verona, earlier to them, about the region from which it came and what it tastes good with) and one of the ladies raised her hand, and shouted out- “Veronica!” and then one of the guys next to her said, “That’s not it! It’s VERONA! VeroniCA, that’s a character from the ARCHIE comics, you stupid old lady!” I started laughing so hard! Some of the side conversations going on were so funny, I wish I had recorded them all!

The last thing, right before we left- a couple walked in as we were cleaning up the mess. The man was kind of looking me up and down, not even trying to hide that he was checking me out. I kind of laughed because my GM noticed it, too. The woman was oblivious to his staring, she just wanted me to get him his coffee and pastry. He finally said to me, “Just beautiful you are….just beautiful…but why do you dress like a boy??” We started laughing so hard as he continued to stare at me, waiting on an answer.

I told him, “well, sir, I’m in dress code…we have to wear shirts like this…” I really wasn’t dressed very tomboyish today, I sure thought my necklaces and bracelets lent me a perception of girlishness. It was classic because he just shook his head when I handed him his coffee and said, “What a waste…” and walked away…
The things kids say… haha. All in all, it was a great day! A lot of fun and I can’t wait to do it again!

Don't Worry! Drink Coffee!!

I’m not necessarily in the mood to make “lists,” but after working mornings at Starbucks, it’s hard not to. By this, I mean, I have communicated all morning in such a short, succinct manner, that any extraneous words seem indulgent and unnecessary. I have said things like "Iced Grande Unsweet with room Iced Coffee" or "Decaf Tall Nonfat 5 pump Hazelnut Latte." I forget how to communicate in normal terms and end up saying things like "Take. Trash. Outside. Now." Oh yeah, "Please. Thanks."
Let me elaborate. Picture an fairly “empty” Starbucks (customer wise), give or take three people sitting casually in the café, enjoying their already made drinks and offering occasional chitchat to the workers (who are frantically dumping old grounds, emptying trash cans, cleaning the condiment bar, brewing coffee, cleaning the espresso bar, and sorting the pastry case, all while simultaneously watching the door like snipers ready to drop EVERYTHING in lieu of seeing a customer and greeting aforementioned customer with a personalized and heartfelt greeting…)…so, picture that…the workers doing their thing, I’m doing the money stuff…the inventory…the big stuff that really is just the same grunt work as the baristas…and I usually end up helping them more in their work as they have more to do than I do anyway…

So, the environment is electric for a “rush” and true to form…in the morning…in walks two, three, four, five…no wait, SIX people. All at once. I am immediately in crisis mode. Let me define crisis mode. It means- stop everything I am doing, get to the register, BE CHARMING, take orders, and get payment on EVERY single drink, get cups marked for EVERY single drink, and get my tail over to the bar to help the barista get those people OUT THE DOOR. A. S. A. P. For real. (which is ASAPFR…not a word, but a state of mind…my mind)

In the morning, the rushes are different. The conversations are SHORT because the people are. Not in stature but in time. They want to get in and out. Literally, in and out, as fast as they can and they could care less that YOUR fee t are hurting or that one espresso machine is OUT for the count because of a plumbing malfunction or that you are running low on grande ice cups and are calling around frantic to find some before the noon rush and have to send your extra barista to pick them up asap so now YOU are the fallback man on the espresso bar and you are STILL not 100% positive if a Grande Americano gets 2 shots of espresso or 3. So you put 3 to be on the safe side (after all, it’s morning after all and who COULDN’T use a little kick in the pants.)

So, yeah, mornings are tough. Tough in a mental sense of- I’m GOING to look at the glass half full and smile and talk with EVERYONE that walks through that door. Can’t lie, though…one or two slip through the cracks. Let’s say, after a “rush” a ASAP-for-real rush…I am spent…I feel like I have given it my all, been charming and nice and GENUINALLY interested in conversation, and in comes someone…someone kind of generic…you know, her name could be Jessica or his name could be Mike. He or She could be wearing something very nondescript. They could be very ordinary. I would probably say the “company line” which I usually don’t say…and I could probably NOT be singing along to the radio and I could probably NOT ask them where they got their cool watch or their interesting necklace… I wouldn’t ask them where they worked, what they did… And you know what? I feel like I missed out. I will look back on the interaction and know that I didn’t give them ANYTHING to better their lives. I didn’t make their day any better except by giving them a little caffeinated boost of delicious-ocity that they could have bought from 7-Eleven for a lot cheaper. I feel bad about it, too. Because if ANYONE considers themselves to be an “entertainer,” it is me. I feel like I make “connections” like I make carbon dioxide (isn’t that what we produce when we breath?? If not, disregard that last statement…)…

So, today…I’m glad that I get to go home early when I work mornings…I am home by 2ish p.m. in the afternoon…even though I was up at 4 a.m., it is still good to get to enjoy the afternoon.

I like working closings better, though…because people have a slower pace of life…they are more apt to stay and visit for a while, to “care,” if that is possible, about what is going in life…as opposed to in the mornings when Starbucks is just a necessary pit stop in life…it is a choice in the evening to spend time at the coffeeshop...

Don't get me wrong- the morning people are interesting in their own, quirky, grumpy, weird way…but the evening people are precious jewels, like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room- they help remind us why we love our jobs.

It’s not the storm of chaos that lights of the fire of doing a good job at my job…it’s the flower that survives that storm and brightens the whole garden!!

ESPRESSO Yourself!!!

What Does Not Belong in This Starbucks Picture?

A. Woman with two purses because she said, laughing, that one wasn’t big enough for all her stuff. At least they didn’t clash with one another. (Survey says, “Time to downsize baggage, lady!”)

B. Man wearing a puma t-shirt under a very nice suit jacket and pants. The suit was NICE, seriously, I saw it up close, not tattered or worn out, and he was wearing nice shoes, too! It was one of those moments where he got dressed, with the t-shirt and thought that it looked edgy and cool, that it lent him an air of “hip and young…” But, I mean, he WAS wearing a cowboy hat with it all, so it was a mess from the get-go! (Survey says, “Tax free weekend, buddy, go buy a button-down shirt and dress your age...!)

C. Teenage girl wearing boots and a hoodie…and black jeans…and fingerless gloves. I mean, I understand goth and emo to an extent…but unless she works in the artic tundra, she needs to shed some layers in this weather(Survey says, “Less is more…and it's not labor day yet, so a little white wouldn't hurt!)

D. Four ladies sitting at one of the big tables in the store, knitting. Yes, they are knitting. They meet here every Friday and knit to their hearts content…I’m expecting a new hat and mittens by Christmastime! (Survey is speechless…)

Drinking Komodo Bold with the Pope...

So, no, I didn’t fall off the face of the Starbucks planet…I am still employed by the fine coffee-brewing establishment and my loyal readers need not worry, I am in FULL GREEN APRON form, as always!

Today was my off day, and I should have posted earlier, as I was on a hot rant after visiting the neighborhood Starbucks location by my apartment. But now, I have calmed down considerably, after a day full of errands and relaxation, and I am opting to let my frustration fly into the winds of inconsequence...

[because this morning doesn’t really matter…that I had my laptop, my “for there” coffee mug, and a backpack full of heavy things and every single chair, table, outlet was being used…even an empty table for four, the outlet had two things plugged into it…and to top it off, a man walks out of the bathroom just at the moment I’m eyeing the table, sits down and proceeds to talk on the phone while reading the paper (must have been a FASCINATING conversation)…and, NNNNOOOO, man-sitting-by-yourself, don’t bother getting up from that table for FOUR or letting me borrow the outlet where you’re CHARGING YOUR PHONE and IPOD simultaneously…we have HOMES for that, by the way…and even after I POLITELY say I don’t need to plug in my computer, but I’d like to sit down to use the “desk” space since that table is big enough for us both including his HUGE ego…he said, into the phone (that is plugged into the wall, mind you…I hope he gets zapped for talking on a phone that is plugged in…), “Just a sec…” and to me, “What was that, again?” and when I repeat my question, he says tentatively, “Well, if you just need to log on real quick…” as he eyes my backpack…because OBVIOUSLY I wasn’t there to just “log on” real quick…I wanted to use the coffeehouse to be INSPIRED since I write a BLOG about it…and my BLOG readers NEED me to WRITE!

So, I sigh, loud enough for the people in Oklahoma to hear me…and then I just smile real big and goofy like and before I walk off, I say, “I bet you don’t tip well either…” Just kidding, I don’t say that, but I did tell him, “Your fly is unzipped” because it was…

And then I had to walk back into the store, after I had walked out so triumphantly, because the coffee mug wasn’t mine…]

But, nope, I’m not going to vent about rude people tonight. Haha. Too late for that!

When I am working, I like to consider these rude, weird people as high-maintenance. I know, now having worked a couple different customer service jobs, that it’s not a personal attack when people are rude. Also, I know that I, myself, am demanding, and there are probably more than a couple places that dread seeing me walk in the door. I always have “special requests,” like extra sauce or extra dressing or no bacon bits or “on the side.” And very rarely do I want to have to wait in a line.

So, I get it when people seem rude or weird at Starbucks. There is oftentimes a short line or a wait. So, I’m glad that the kind people outweigh, in importance and numbers, the rude ones!

Interestingly enough, yesterday I went to a training at our corporate office. It was about coaching new partners, baristas, and basically, the training sums up as- being uniform. Not being IN uniform, but being consistent. Making each drink the SAME, to the specifications, ultimately, of the drinker, so that they know what they are getting every time they visit a Starbucks. We can provide the witty banter, the fun conversations, the “warm welcoming environment,” but the drink has to TASTE the SAME…so the coaching in making the drink has to be very specific. If the drink can be like clockwork for the barista, then they can eventually be comfortable enough to engage the customer…and they can help create a different environment for the customer than any other “drink” establishment.

I take that part of my job seriously- the engaging part. I don’t care about the drink part. I KNOW that I will make the customer a good drink, one that they will enjoy because I will make it until it is right. And I believe in our product enough to know that Starbucks drinks take care of themselves- they are addicting to a fault, trust me…I am addicted. But it is in the LISTENING that I learn about how to create a satisfied customer, a REPEAT customer.

Our store went to Six Flags the other day, as a prize and team building, all the workers except like two. And, guess what? The people I work with are amazingly NICE people. They are easy to be around because they, too, like people. They are kind and thoughtful. Talk about an easy work environment in which to be successful at customer service.

One more thing, in the class at the corporate office, we had to answer a question, “Who would we like to have coffee with (dead or alive) and what would they drink??” I love these kinds of questions…and there were some great answers at the class…one guy said, “Winston Churchill” and he’d had tea…another person said “Jesus and he’d had Sumatra…” I mean, really? Would Jesus like Sumatra? Whatever, just thought it was funny, that’s one of our boldest coffees. Drinking Sumatra with the J.C. (sounds like a bad title to a book…would make an interesting devotional… “Building a Bold Faith, one Sumatra at a Time”)

I got to thinking about it…and since I can still have coffee with those people that are living, and I consider it a blessing when I get to spend time doing that, I’d choose two people who aren’t living. I know they both drank coffee, don’t know what kind they would necessarily enjoy, but I’d have coffee with my grandpa (my mom’s dad) and my granny (my dad’s mom) and we’d have a coffee misto which is regular brewed coffee with steamed milk. I’d grind up Organic Shade Grown blend (it’s my favorite right now) and brew it in a press so we could get the prime flavors, then I would steam up some half-and-half which makes a rich, thick foam, pour a little on the coffee, and top it all off with some cinnamon. That’s how I drink it when I’m in the store, on break. We’d talk and hang out and just enjoy the coffee and the company. I think we would have the best time! I’m sure they’d like anything I brewed them.

Life imitates art imitates coffee

To know what inspires people is to understand where they want to go in life. Since I’ve never been much of a “small talker,” I usually delve right into serious questions to avoid banter that is a waste of time when interacting with people throughout the day. I know that small talk has a time and place, for example, at work, if I don’t have a couple minutes to visit with a person that is standing in line, I don’t need to ask them a question about who is their hero today (even though I have gotten several interesting answers to that question including, “You, if you get me my coffee quick…” haha! True story).

For the most part, I small talk as a means to an end, simply for customer service reasons, it’s good to be “nice” and to ask questions about “How are you?” and “Can you believe this weather…?!” Even if I don’t really want to know the answer. It’s easy to appear to interested in small talk because it takes no investment.

As I sit here today, in the coffeeshop, about to go on my shift, I am listening to two girls have a conversation about a relationship. One girl just said, “Allow yourself to be human, but surround yourself with people who point you towards Christ…” Hmmm, good advice…but the girl giving the advice seems bossy (and appears to be single by the clues she is giving to her own personal journey), and myself and the man sitting at the table by me have been listening to her for the past twenty minutes as she is not exactly whispering her advice. At least she is giving decent advice…and it’s good to know that other people have relationship issues, too. This is actually the second relationship conversation I have overheard in the past week, so it must be an epidemic. Haha.

In addition to the girls and the man and myself, there is one other couple in the cafe that appears fairly “normal” (a guy and a girl) at a larger of our tables…they have been walking back and forth to each other’s computers, giving advice, pointers, with books and papers strewn about all over the table. Apparently, I find out from the other M.O.D that their internet is down at home and they are doing “work” from Starbucks today. When I go on my shift, I notice something- the guy has a prosthetic leg. Literally, his whole “leg” is a skinny metal brace that fits into a fake ankle and a matching tennis shoe. I would have NEVER known if the guy wasn’t wearing shorts. The couple stays doing their work until we lock the door, at which point they move to the tables outside to sit until I go outside to gather the outdoor furniture so I can bring it in to secure it for the night. I watched them throughout the day, on my shift, as I swept or wiped down the tables, asking a couple times if they wanted refills or pastries. As they leave, after I apologize for our early closing on the weekend, I watch the guy walk off with the girl, thinking, “He never once gave any indication of the inconvenience of the prosthetic,” and I was extremely grateful all the sudden for my working body parts. For everything. For not having to go home at night and deal with something so HUGELY different from the rest of the human population. A fake leg. A prosthetic.

My mom recently had surgery and has a bandage on her right hand. She has had to alter her life because of this recent handicap. What if we had to go through life with a handicap? I would be unprepared for anything that stopped me from living a normal life, but what if? It’s always good to come across someone who lives a life “inspired” that is different.

I am inspired by people that live through adversity. Adversity is something very inspiring because it comes in many different forms and it helps us to be more aware of our surroundings in a sense of gratefulness and thankfulness for simple things. I am so grateful for my abilities. I suddenly want to go climb a mountain, just because I can. But maybe I should just make the next the cup of coffee for a customer and be thankful that I have two legs on which I can stand and two hands of which I can grasp together and offer up a prayer of thanks for a “normal” life- whatever that might be!
By the way- this is a picture of me being "fierce!"

If life hands you lemons, make COFFEE!

Sorry, peeps, I know I have been a little hit and miss lately. Now that I am “bona-fide” (haha, code for I actually know what I am doing), my hours are a little more extended and I am even working at other locations around Dallas. Well, okay, one other location…and I haven’t even worked it yet, but after tomorrow, I will be able to make that statement backed by complete truth.

The other day, I drove up to visit my sister and her family, it was a great break away from the job, even though I visited Starbucks twice to “treat” my niece and nephew to the addictive power of coffee (kidding- I got them vanilla bean frappuccinos with coloring to make them fun)… On my long drive, I was able to assess how my job has been going, what I am doing well, what I need to improve.

I went over my strengths, of which are many and this blog is not long enough to list them all… If you know me, you know I am not kidding when I make that statement and that I truly believe this blog is not long enough to list them all. Haha. However, I am not so proud to admit that even more so, my weaknesses would fill up a list just as long if not longer. I know that I can be moody and short sometimes, especially if I'm making mistakes consistently, like mismarking cups or wrong orders (a biggie that is SO FRUSTRATING!)…my short temper usually doesn’t last but for a second and I can mask my aggravation, for the most part, by just becoming rather introverted and quiet, but that, in turn is a very “boring” Kara experience, I mean, Starbucks experience, for the customer. Ha!

I also realized that I must have learned my communication skills from Survey 101 because I find myself asking every other customer, in my attempt to make conversations, “Are you having an above average day?” or I’ll tell them, “On a scale of one to ten, my day is a quickly rising eight…” and I will mentally beg them to ask me why…just so I can give them some off-the-wall answer like, “I finally found the matching sock to one of my favorite pairs this morning!” or “The apartment maintenance finally came and got the crocodile out of my closet!” and I can usually make people laugh pretty hard with the stuff I will come up with to say. I want to leave them with an impression that will not easily be forgotten and it usually works. Usually.

There was one lady today that I had never seen before, mid-forties, looked nervous, when we were very busy with a long line stretching way to the back of the store. She was trying to tell me her drink order in a strange, thick, and VERY QUIET accent. She was talking so quiet and I was all the way on the other side of the pastry case…I even walked down to be closer to her and nada…I couldn’t catch any of it…I can’t think of too many things more annoying than someone that is a whisperer and expects people to be able to hear them over a music playing, people talking incessantly, milk steamers steaming, coffee beans grinding, (and a partridge in a pear tree), and even after being prompted to “Please repeat that, ma’am, I couldn’t hear you…” twice, she still doesn’t raise her voice ONE IOTA. I mean, even talks quieter this time and kind of waves her hands. She even points at the line behind her. My face probably showed some annoyance because I was THINKING, “Yeah! There is a long line behind you, and you are causing everyone behind you to wait because no one understands what you are saying…” and I was increasingly getting more angry, so instead of taking it out on her or being impatient, I checked myself, thought, “If this was one of MY family members, I would want someone to be AS PATIENT AS possible and to take every necessary step to offer the best service no matter what and to GET THIS ORDER STARTED RIGHT!”

So, by default, I went into survey mode and said, “If you could raise your voice, maybe six decibels then I may be able to get your drink order started…” [which I have no idea what decibels are or even if raising a voice six decibels is humanly possible or if that’s like getting into dog hearing range…but it sounded good at the moment and it calmed me down and I wasn’t showing stress]. Right then, the lady pointed, lucky for me, I’m tall, I was able to reach up to our menu sign, touching each one as she shook her head…finally at “Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino,” she nodded excitedly. Right then, I notice a person had walked from a table at the end of the line where the lady had motioned to earlier and was standing next to her.
A light bulb went off and I touched my chin with my fingertips and dropped them down towards the lady, which is “Thank you” in sign language and the only thing I know. Her face ERUPTED into a smile. She was deaf. She hadn’t heard a word I said in the first place. I looked at her translator and told her I was sorry, and the translator said that SHE was sorry but she had been on her phone and yet she hadn’t wanted them to lose their place in line. I spelled my name in sign language and T-I-N-A spelled hers back.
It was a humbling moment and not one that I will forget soon, because I just about had BLOWN it and it would’ve taken a while to get over doing something that stupid and irreversible. An opportunity that led to me getting to visit with them for a second could have been me making that poor lady feel stupid and neglected. All because of my moodiness and desire to “keep the line” moving…

Thank the Lord that I knew better than to let my circumstances dictate my attitude. If there is one thing that I have learned the last couple years, it is that life is 80% what happens to us and 20% how we respond. Controlling our own little “checks and balances” emotionally helps our outlook positively affect our output!

I even taught Tina how to ask for extra whipped cream, well, actually, we kind of made up a signal for it but at least I’ll know it when she comes back next time.
When Tina and her translator moved on, the guy behind her said, “Actually, six decibels wouldn’t have helped you a whole lot, just for future reference." When he saw my skeptic look, he continued, "I used to study noise reduction techniques…”

Go figure…nothing surprises me anymore.

1+1 (always)= 2

I was reading a book by an author that I really enjoy. I noticed something about his writing that I particularly love is his ability to seamlessly weave his old memories with his present life condition. He never specifically notes that this is an effect he uses to emphasize certain emotions or highlight his reaction at any given moment, but as a reader, it’s easy to get caught up in reliving his memories as vivid interactions with his future.

I think that every encounter I have during the day is some sort of nostalgia for who I’ve been in the past or people I knew in the past. I am all for “shedding the skin” of yesteryear…but on the same token, this is one reason that I believe we all strive to have higher callings for our lives, each and every day, because today is simply going to build upon that foundation of who we have been in the days leading up to today, the decisions we make, they all culminate into our immediate reality.

The reason I bring this up is because I noticed some strange behaviors yesterday at work that play out this actualization. I am not talking run-of-the-mill strange things that are the epitome of social differences or quirky weird “I-can’t-make-eye-contact-because-I-haven’t-had-my-coffee” strange, I am talking strange in a sense of social trend that is so ordinary and common it’s almost indecipherable. I can’t believe I haven’t spent more time thinking about this.

We have a lot of TI (Texas Instrument) employees come in to get drinks or after lunch snacks as we are the closest Starbucks to their plant. These employees range from warehouse to security detail to corporate executives in suits and ties, it’s a gigantic corporation. Imagine the characters that play the staff on the TV hit, The Office, but on a much huger scale.

The TI technology people that come in, ALWAYS in groups, never alone, faceless, nameless “groups” with their nametag ids dangling down on necklaces decorated with flair, declaring them to be “so and so” from “so and so” technical department…I imagine them as middle schoolers, grade schoolers, high schoolers…and I think, as they talk about the encryption this or decode that, in their little clique language that is full of inside jokes that sound sidesplitingly boring. I only say this because they strike me as the kind of people that were kids that weren’t big enough for sports as a teenager and not social savvy enough to have been the class clown or helpful “geek for a day” best friend to the pretty cheerleader. They were probably the kid that got ignored, not even unique enough to have been made fun of… These were the kids that skated by, maintaining good enough grades and an intact enough self-esteem to make something fairly interesting and successful of themselves as adults. Having survived by never taking chances too risky or complex, as they wanted to stay just mainstream enough to never really do anything but blend in. These people are exactly like they were in high school, but legal now. Not that it would matter.
Not only do they not get speeding tickets (not that I would know anything about that), but they probably never scored a basket or ran in a touchdown to the cheers of hundreds of people. They probably never walked into a room to have everyone look at them and envy the clothes they wore or their fashion sense. They probably never dated the quarterback or cheerleader. They probably never won a contest except one of those Coca-colas with the winning lids for a free Coke that they never even redeemed because they forgot about it and it expired.

Their lives have been celebrated for normalcy.

I like my TI people because of this- they don’t change their drinks. They drink what we fix them. They don’t ask for frills or extra shots or caramel drizzle or dry foam or 180 degree milk… They are simple for Starbucks workers. Even if we never remember their drink, because the drink, like them, is very forgettable. I don’t know how many times I have asked (insert generic male name here) what his drink is (insert generic Starbucks drink here, as is on menu, nothing added) and then gone, “OH yeah! How could I forget?!? You’ve told me a hundred times!” and he says, “Maybe one-hundred and one.”

Oops.

Even if my TI people live life with a safety net, I still like them. They tip big and always smile. I can depend on them, even if they do kind of freak me out with their robotic like consistency. They are a lot like the calculators they manufacture at the plant- dependable, and useful on the SAT.

You Want Crazy? We Have An APP For That!

We are a coffeeshop, not an IHOP. But, I get it. Now that I have had a few days to think about it, I get it. People want to come in and sit down and enjoy their coffee, just as I encourage them to (just as I like to do), and somewhere between the four dollars they shell out for the coffee and the comfy chairs they sink into, they lose sight of the fact that we are not an all-night diner or 24 hour pancake joint. As much as I would love to stay another 12 hours so that all people (weary travelers and homeless panhandlers alike) could be ensured fantastic coffee at any hour of the day or night, I, too have places to go and people to see. So, while I now “get it,” the hard truth of our early closing hour that must be painful for some customers to swallow along with their smooth blend of arabica bean coffee that we serve, it does not excuse childlike behavior when I tell them they must leave our store because we are closed for the night.

The other night, after an ARDUOUS day…and I am not being facetious in that way of, “Oh, yeah, really tough day serving cup after cup of coffee…” No, this day was arduous for more reasons than finicky customers, 104 degree heat, and panhandling psychos. It was full of adventure, the kind reminiscent of villains and malevolence, not the kind of adventure of which Disney movies are made, unless you just count the scary parts, like when Mufasa dies on Lion King or when that horrible witch shows up in Snow White to offer the apple, a scene which in and of itself should have put the apple industry out of business for the rest of all time. So, yeah, the day was drawn out into a compilation of events that were a little less than fairytale, but it was almost over, and I was going to be driving home to see my parents, some fun in the sun, two good days of vacation, and I was feeling positive about the close, that all would go well. I would get on the road in good time!

The store had been pretty full all day, and the evening was no exception. We had about six people in the store, which doesn’t sound like many but is practically like a little army when I going around trying to straighten up and sweep, etc. I had the broom and was making “obvious” signs that we were winding down the minutes until it was “push em out the door” time. Everyone was gathering their stuff, unplugging computers, etc… One particular, inconsiderate lady was sitting at a table, punching furiously on the little keys on her phone. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. She had just come up to the counter and gotten a refill, so I already knew she was going to be a tough case to crack. Sitting, typing, sipping, typing, thinking, sipping, typing. She “sounded” mad, if one can sound mad while typing. Her purse was on the floor, and I was trying to sweep up the huge pile of crumbs she had created on the floor (I was wondering if ANY of that scone had ended up in her mouth or if the whole thing was crumbled on the floor). She glanced down to watch me sweep near her purse, telling me with her look that if I get my ratty broom so much as ONE INCH closer to her purse, she just might say something to me. We both eye the purse, in a standoff, I’m holding the broom (a much mightier weapon than her dinky cell phone, I might add) and I continue to maneuver dangerously close to the purse, getting every last crumb from around the chair and table legs. I am suddenly uninterested in the rest of the café and I want to get this area completely spotless. The lady, tap-tap-tap-tap, on her cell phone and my assumption is that she is writing about my careless sweeping as I can see her watching me through the corner of her eye. She then takes her right hand and in a flourish, she wipes the remaining crumbs off her table ONTO THE FLOOR. She looks at me, covers the mouthpiece of her phone (I guess out of habit because whoever she is TEXTING can’t HEAR her), and says, “Here…I’ll help.”

Nice, thanks lady. I look at her, and say SWEETLY, “Don’t worry about it. We have people we PAY to do that. Like me… By the way, we closed three minutes ago…” (So, if you can pick up your dirty purse from my clean floor, I can finish cleaning up after you…tap that in a message to your friends) haha. I’m kidding, but not about the story. People get so offended, and I just think it’s funny. I try to be lighthearted about it, because like I said, there have been times when I wanted to hang out somewhere and it’s closed, but that’s usually when I am visiting with my family or with friends. I can’t say that I ever get too mad if I am by myself or just on my phone. That’s what a residence is for…? Right? I guess when we create that inviting of an environment, it’s just hard to let go! Anyway, she left in huff, typing the whole way out the door.

Earlier that day, another homeless lady came in to try and get some money from us. I have a whole, elaborate story about her. I’m going to spare the details because I have told the story about six times, and despite the fact that it makes me laugh every time, the part that I keep remembering, even today, is what she said as she was walking off.

After all was said and done, I wouldn’t give her money (I was standing behind the counter with a long of customers and she had a whole big scheme), and she was gathering her bags to leave the store, she had to have one last hurrah, she proclaimed to the whole line of people, as if we had MADE her come in the store, “You act like this is the MOST IMPORTANT thing I am doing today…I have a LOT of more important things to do today.”

And by making that statement, out loud, without being prompted, she let’s everyone know, that IS the important thing she did that day. She wanted us to know that she was important, she was “busy,” she had a life to live somewhere else doing “important” people things. She watched people come and go, all day, into the store, most of them walking quickly, most of them in a hurry to complete all their tasks for the day, oblivious to the world around them. She had observed people doing that exact thing that on one of her “busy” days sitting outside our store.

What she doesn’t know or doesn’t realize is that I can guarantee that not ONE person would ever utter, “This is not the most important part of the day for me” when they buy their coffee (for a lot of them, it is the most important part of the day, as most addictions go). But, a small part of me, as I watched her walked out, literally waddling out of the store, balancing all those bags full of stuff panhandled from various businesses or pulled out of trash cans, “Good for you…”

And I realized that this was the second time in as many days that I had watched a homeless-type person walking out of the store, me staring at their back, daydreaming for a few seconds, wondering about the human condition and its delicacy- The fine line between crazy and normal and the spectrum of all the stages in the middle. How we can lose ourselves on the completion of the mundane, everyday tasks that make us function as a part of society and how we sometimes find ourselves crippled by the authenticity of real emotion when something grips us or changes our lives in a way we weren’t expecting. As much as we sometimes want to separate ourselves from the crazy people, it doesn’t hurt take a good long look at the person in the mirror and think about the things that help us achieve that amazing balance of living and surviving and thriving. It’s a blessing to know that God controls it all. I just have to trust that truth, and thank Him for the family and friends I have to keep ME from being crazy! Haha!

I turned to the next customer to get his order and he says, “Well, I bet you don’t see THAT every day…”
I said to him, smiling, “Speak for yourself…”

Ronald McDonald Called, He Wants His Gig Back.

I almost feel bad, like I need to pare this entry down…I feel like it’s going to be a long one, but maybe I can be succinct. Okay, for starters, I mentioned yesterday that people are weird (aka- clown guy, too strange). Well, people are amazing, sometimes too. Witnessing firsthand the strength of people doing amazingly resilient things, like surviving when all odds are against them.

A couple came in today and walked up to the counter, looking helplessly homeless and disgusting and WAY too close for comfort to my personal space, namely my olfactory receptors. Guests are guests, I guess, I immediately pasted on a shocked, eyes not blinking smile (Stepford wives fashion)…

(Shamefully I wanted them to get away from our counter, pronto! Because I felt like they were bad for business. I certainly didn’t want them touching anything…how horrible is that?). They asked if they could use the phone and then sit inside while they waited on a friend to come help them with their car. They motioned out the window and despite the fact that I didn’t expect to see a car, I did. If they could call it a car. No exaggeration whatsoever, this was like a flintstones car. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a dinosaur pet pop its head out the roof. The car had no taillights at all, not just missing the red part, but the bulbs and everything. Just gaping holes. One headlight, the other a gaping hole there too. Both doors were makeshift from another brand of car. The car didn’t have a color because there was no one surface area big enough to really justify being painted. All of the “car” was scraped together from different brands. The “trunk” (I use the term lightly) was being held to the car with rope, not good strong rope, but rope from a dumpster (rope that I actually saw in our Starbucks dumpster when I took the trash out yesterday). Anyway, I got a really good look at the car when I outside later on a break. There is no way that car could be legal. They barely had a windshield. The first thing I thought was, when they filled out paperwork on Make and Model and Year…what on earth would they write?!? I guess they wouldn’t have that problem as they probably didn’t deal with much paperwork. That wasn’t a car- that was four wheels and a running board. (lyrics from a song my mom’s dad used to sing)
My initial response was, “Sure, you can have a seat anywhere…” and I wanted to ask if they wanted some towels to wipe off their faces and hands and stuff so that they wouldn’t scare people away. Not surprised they could be dirty when they were practically pedaling that car down the street. Instead, I asked if they wanted cups of water, and as much as I wanted to offer them coffee, I wanted MORE for them to be out of my line of sight and smell. PLUS- I didn’t want them staying longer than necessary. We have our fair share of loiterers and panhandling, the last I wanted to have to do was ask them to leave if push came to shove and they tried to stick around all day…

The guy said, “Sure! Water’d be great! We haven’t had much good happen to us lately, so anything is appreciated. My wife just got through beating colon cancer.” Okay, so either this was a great feel-sorry-for-us story or these people had really hit a rough patch. So, I broke down, “Do you want to share a cup of coffee while you wait?” They said No…so I scratched off “panhandling” from the list. Whatever, maybe they were just broke down in their “car” and having trouble getting to wherever they were going… I went back to work, doing my MOD thing (manager on duty, but I prefer the initials, as it makes me sound incredibly hardcore and cool… “Ya down with M-O-D? Yeah, you know me…” Don’t act like you don’t know the song…)

Half an hour passed, the “friends” showed up, in a very nice, new car, gave the flintstones some gas from a container, didn’t bother to come in and get any coffee, didn’t even come in to say thanks for helping, just hugged the couple (yuck! Again, how horrible is it that I was thinking that?), handed them the red gas container, waited to make sure the car started (miraculously it did, as well as emitted about a day’s worth of smog into the air from the front and the back of the car in the process), and the friends left. The guy came back in and said “Thanks so much!” and he left. I walked over to the door, kind of waved, and kept that shocked, deer in headlights look on my face. I had nothing to say…speechless.

These people didn’t want my help nor need it. I wasn’t going to save them…they were stronger than me, even if they barely had a car and probably didn’t have a really nice, soft bed with super clean sheets and comfy pillows to sleep on, curled up in an air-conditioned room. I had never beat colon cancer, but I did have to call my roommate in college once to bring me gas, so maybe I’m stronger than I thought! Hhhmm?

As I was getting ready to come into my apartment tonight, I thought about the couple. My job isn’t exactly a “clean” job. (I’ve had the “clean” jobs before…where I could shower in the morning and still feel that clean after a full day of work because it was an office, sit down job). I mean, I’m not blue collar, doing construction in the heat or anything. And I’m certainly not working up a sweat all day, but even if I just make three drinks, I can guarantee that I will have some kind of concoction on my clothes, hands, and arms. And tonight was no exception as I unlocked my apartment door, I looked down at my forearms to notice dark brown streaks (not too dissimilar from self-tanning lotion gone horribly wrong) running from my elbows to my wrists.

In my show-boating of making three Frappuccinos for a family this evening somewhere between the homeless couple and closing time (at a time when I sent the barista to the back to do dishes), I got a little delirious and my confidence was running extremely high. Please imagine- me with two blenders, pouring espresso, milk, syrups, ice, all at warp speed while trying to spin the whipped cream metal containers on my fingers before I spray it on top. Then picture the whipped cream hitting the drinks, knocking them all three onto the counter while the customers watch, their smiles turning into looks of horror in what felt like slow motion, it was pandemonium for a brief moment. Needless to say, drinks were re-made all around and I sent myself to do dishes.

Where’s the clown when you need him???

C'est La Vie

People are weird. And if that’s new news for you, then spend a Sunday afternoon in a Starbucks sometime. You will leave knowing that I speak the truth.
Today (well, yesterday, at this point), me and my co-worker witnessed one of the weirdest of people to ever visit our store. I am not just talking about eclectic. I am talking about weird.

Let me play this out and the reader can be the judge:
A clown walks into a Starbucks. (This is not a joke, this is my reality) A clown walks into a Starbucks, talking on his cell phone. As if this isn’t weird enough, he actually puts his hand up to say, “Just a second” when I ask him what he would like to order. When he reaches a stopping point in his conversation, he cups his hand over the mouthpiece and whispers, “Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte” and I keep staring at him, waiting for the punch line…? I even say, “Is that going to be all for you today? Would you like a muffin or scone? Or perhaps an appointment with a shrink?” haha…ha? He just smiles and resumes his conversation, about airplane flights. And he is speaking in an English accent that is perfectly articulated and not at all overdone, in a very unclownlike manner. hhhmm?

He is not a “happy” clown, like, his clown face is smiling, but his real face is pretty wrinkly and the make-up is a little smeared and sweaty looking. He’s not channeling Joker from Batman or anything but I definitely wouldn’t hire him for a kid’s birthday party, unless I wanted to kids to be scared and crying. He had the clown shirt and clown make-up, as well as a weird hat, weird tie, but he was wearing regular pants and shoes. I would have thought, maybe, it was an accident, like he didn’t realize that his face was painted and he was wearing a red nose and a fluffy tuxedo shirt because his pants looked nice and the shoes were polished. He paid for his coffee with a credit card, which was even weirder, like I expected him to pay in Monopoly money or something.

I mean, we give free drinks to people in uniform, but this was a little much. I was dying to ask him what the deal was, but he made it clear with his “do not disturb” hand gestures, that he didn’t want to be bothered. The fact that the clown was on the phone the whole time was funny, because, seriously, how popular was the guy. It was the most bizarre of situations, made weirder by the fact that he acted nothing was out of the ordinary…maybe the joke was on us. And that is pretty funny after all!
So, yeah, Sundays are strange days in Starbucks. We have our church people coming in to spend $5 on coffee so that they can go to church and not tithe. Haha. I’m kidding, but probably right on the money.

I will have to see what today has in store. Mondays can be pretty interesting, too.