I was a closer last night, which means it was a late night. No need to prolong my beauty sleep to try and post a blog that would probably be on the incoherent side anyway. Actually, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about when I got home as I had about five different ideas swirling in my head. I need to keep my little sketch pad in my pocket so I can jot down stories as they happen and that way I don’t get them all confused in the evening.
The weirdest thing happened as I was drifting off to sleep last night. I kept repeating drinks in my head. I am not kidding. I had the HARDEST time reaching my REM cycle…I was thinking “Decaf Soy Light Foam Grande Caramel Macchiato, start the milk, brew the espresso…DANG…DECAF espresso, wait on the shot, pour it out, start again, DECAF this time…milk’s done…vanilla syrup in the bottom of the cup, add the milk, add the DECAF shot, grande gets one shot not two, add the light foam…person’s watching, tells me LIGHT foam can you scrap some off? Yes, scraping off…add the caramel drizzle…add the lid, foam squirts through lid on cup, double cup so it doesn’t get on their hand… Next drink, Mocha Frappe…add the coffee base, add the milk…” on and on and on until the actual THOUGHT of all the coffee was caffeinating my dreams enough to keep me awake…
It was like when we would go on a skiing vacation and I would lay down after skiing all day and I would still feel my body moving in a downward trajectory… That was last night minus the downward trajectory.
The day at work- I noticed something of a phenomenon. Starbucks is like a match.com or eharmony commercial in real life. We witness relationships in the making all the time. Well, sometimes the relationships are merely business professional, but I like to think that for every ten encounters and meetings that happen at our Starbucks, nine of them started online, and of those nine, eight were “matches reviewed for free and guaranteed to be chemistry balanced based on deep levels of compatibility.” (I’ve seen too many commercials! Haha!)
For example, there might be a man or woman walk in alone, look around awkwardly, at which point I will have my radar on high alert for matchmaking observation overload. More than likely, being the social butterflies that we are trained to be, a Starbucks partner will have greeted them loudly with a shout so that everyone will turn and look at the door to isolate them even more in the spotlight and now they feel completely detached from their environment; however, they will more than likely have this look of indifference on their face as they assess the other people in the coffeeshop, taking stock of their potential future mate among the ravenous horde of jittery coffee drinking singles…who might be the mother or father of their future children? The best part of the movie, I mean, experience is when eye contact is made with someone who may hold the key to their heart, a slight head turn of…maybe…recognition? They think, “Should I point with my palm facing up to say, ‘Are you the girl/guy that I have been emailing all my private thoughts and dreams to?’ or should I just assume and walk over and hug?” The weird handshake/hug is always funny to witness and then the walk to the line to order their drinks before they get down to the nitty-gritty conversation part of the date.
The drink orders tell us a lot about the how the date is going to go. If the couple orders both hot drinks, then they are digging one another and are probably going to sit and SIP for a while. If they both order cold drinks, then they are more than likely not interested in something serious and definitely don’t want to sit and chat for a prolonged period, but will have a fun date nevertheless. If one orders hot and the other orders cold, then it is definitely not a match.com made in “deep compatible” heaven and it remains doubtful that they met on a website that is very “e-harmonic.” That’s just my observation up to this point. I’ve been wrong before but never that I can ever remember.
I should start my own dating website. The first rule would be describe yourself as a Starbucks drink and keep in mind the person that has to make it needs to get her REM level sleep so- K.I.S.S!! (Keep It Simple Stupid!!)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Two Skinny Vanilla Lattes to Go!!!!
Yesterday was interesting because I had an opportunity to go to a “job fair” at another area Starbucks and do some recruiting. I met many of the other managers from the North Dallas locations and I realized something- people that work at Starbucks come from ALL walks of life (including the side streets and alleyways!)
I met a couple people from other parts of the country, which is always cool, hearing stories about what brought them to Dallas. I even met a guy who used to be a “dancer” (and in his words, “not the kind of dancer that would make your mom put a picture of you in your outfit up on the refrigerator”…). Just when I was about to ask him how he puts that on his resume, turns out, this Starbucks manager was also a “jokester” in his former life and he told us all that he was kidding. (I, personally, don’t think he was joking, but the look of horror on all our faces made him change his story…haha!)
These stories prompted me to reflect on my own journey of hills and valleys that has led me to Starbucks (no dancing in my past…except that kind that did get pictures passed out to aunts and uncles of me in my little red shiny penguin outfit that my mom won’t let me live down even to today…I think I have burned all the evidence, but I’m sure she has hidden pictures of me posing in that horrific outfit from when I tried my hand at jazz and tap at the young and ambitious age of 13.)
The last couple years have been especially interesting in my life. And by “interesting” I mean volatile, arbitrary, capricious, and, most importantly- blessed. This morning, I was MOST inspired to find this verse, waiting for me, in my daily devotion-
“The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.” Colossians 1:5 (The Message). The devotion continued to read- “[Hope] refuses to extrapolate either desire or anxiety into the future, but instead believes that God’s promise give the proper content to it.” Wow!!! Anxiety and desire have driven a lot of decision I made in the past couple years…I wasn’t relying on God to just provide me with the direction and clarity that I needed to make my decisions based on the faith that I knew He would put me in the right place at the right time. I was trying to control my own destiny and I didn’t have the HOPE that I used to have when my dreams were evident and filled every part of my heart.
Just like when I was visiting with the other managers- we were talking about our past dreams, what we “wanted to be” when we grew up… And we were all laughing at how those dreams are changed and shaped based on our circumstances or external things that happen to us. I was a person of BIG dreams, and when my dreams took a shot in the heart, they were dead to me, and in my confusion and frustration, I lashed out at the one person who could help me reshape and restructure new and BETTER dreams- God.
Now, I know that the HOPE for which I live is in Him alone, not in my own power or control. He has put me in a wonderful position to talk to people all day, to change lives doing something fun. I am surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses,” and I am, spiritually, in a place of humility so that I can (as my mom reminded me yesterday) live “free” under that daily Grace that I am saved by!!
Oh the blessings that God can bestow when we allow Him! I am blessed to have a family that never says “quit!” and that has taught me that the “lines of purpose in my life never grow slack!” My purpose is clear, and today it is:
“Would you like whipped cream on that?”
I met a couple people from other parts of the country, which is always cool, hearing stories about what brought them to Dallas. I even met a guy who used to be a “dancer” (and in his words, “not the kind of dancer that would make your mom put a picture of you in your outfit up on the refrigerator”…). Just when I was about to ask him how he puts that on his resume, turns out, this Starbucks manager was also a “jokester” in his former life and he told us all that he was kidding. (I, personally, don’t think he was joking, but the look of horror on all our faces made him change his story…haha!)
These stories prompted me to reflect on my own journey of hills and valleys that has led me to Starbucks (no dancing in my past…except that kind that did get pictures passed out to aunts and uncles of me in my little red shiny penguin outfit that my mom won’t let me live down even to today…I think I have burned all the evidence, but I’m sure she has hidden pictures of me posing in that horrific outfit from when I tried my hand at jazz and tap at the young and ambitious age of 13.)
The last couple years have been especially interesting in my life. And by “interesting” I mean volatile, arbitrary, capricious, and, most importantly- blessed. This morning, I was MOST inspired to find this verse, waiting for me, in my daily devotion-
“The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.” Colossians 1:5 (The Message). The devotion continued to read- “[Hope] refuses to extrapolate either desire or anxiety into the future, but instead believes that God’s promise give the proper content to it.” Wow!!! Anxiety and desire have driven a lot of decision I made in the past couple years…I wasn’t relying on God to just provide me with the direction and clarity that I needed to make my decisions based on the faith that I knew He would put me in the right place at the right time. I was trying to control my own destiny and I didn’t have the HOPE that I used to have when my dreams were evident and filled every part of my heart.
Just like when I was visiting with the other managers- we were talking about our past dreams, what we “wanted to be” when we grew up… And we were all laughing at how those dreams are changed and shaped based on our circumstances or external things that happen to us. I was a person of BIG dreams, and when my dreams took a shot in the heart, they were dead to me, and in my confusion and frustration, I lashed out at the one person who could help me reshape and restructure new and BETTER dreams- God.
Now, I know that the HOPE for which I live is in Him alone, not in my own power or control. He has put me in a wonderful position to talk to people all day, to change lives doing something fun. I am surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses,” and I am, spiritually, in a place of humility so that I can (as my mom reminded me yesterday) live “free” under that daily Grace that I am saved by!!
Oh the blessings that God can bestow when we allow Him! I am blessed to have a family that never says “quit!” and that has taught me that the “lines of purpose in my life never grow slack!” My purpose is clear, and today it is:
“Would you like whipped cream on that?”
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right!
Two wrongs DON’T make a right…
I debated today on which story to share…mainly because I don’t want to monopolize the time of my followers. I don’t expect anyone to devote more than a couple minutes a day to reading my stories (this is the part where I imagine everyone saying, “aw shucks, Kara, share what you need to share…even if takes up more of our time, we’ll read it!”). Reality check- if people get impatient standing in line for decadent, whipped-cream topped caffeinated delishocity (a made-up word by yours-truly) then I know that they will get impatient reading stories about said people.
Okay, so the story I choose for today is the one about the homeless guy. A homeless guy walked into the coffeeshop (no, this isn’t the start of a bad joke), and he stood at the bar side of the counter. Now, most seasoned Starbucks attendees know where to go for their order, they go to the register. Some of them, they don’t have to order because we know what they want, but they still have to pay, even the regulars know that. Maybe, once in a blue moon, if no one else is in line or in the store, we won’t make the regulars pay because they come in once, sometimes twice, a day; so we think they deserve a free treat now and then.
The homeless guy, he stands at the bar as I am “assessing” the bar and this is a never-ending task (there is always milk to be restocked, cups to be refilled, counters to be wiped, containers to be refilled, tea to be re-brewed, etc…) so I am busy, but not so busy that I haven’t been noticing this guy wandering around our store, inside, outside (looking through the trash), he’s been around the block (literally) for the past two hours. So, when he walks up to the bar, I am not surprised, nor do I remind him to place his order at the register because I knew he wasn’t “ordering” anything.
I don’t mean to be unsympathetic or pitiless by not offering him something free but the first thing he mentioned when I made eye contact with him was that someone had stolen his Starbucks card and it had $6 on it. Now, I give him credit for making the story more credible by not saying it had some lucrative amount like $300 on it but I know he is fishing for a free drink. I fill up a cup with ice and water and I give him a little sample cup of passion tea. However, I don’t entertain his conversation about the stolen card even as he continues to lean on the bar. Plus, just like with an animal, I don’t want him to expect free stuff every time he walks in the store.
Finally, he gives up as I start making a drink for the next “paying” customer, and I (feeling sorry) watch him as he goes over to the condiment section as he pours the sample of passion tea into the ice water, adding about 30 sugar and honey packets. Resourceful little booger, I think, as I shake my head. I get a little bit teary when I look at his too-small muscle tank basketball shirt and dress shorts. I get slightly wistful for a second and think about the movie the Blindside and how much it can mean to just ONE if we are willing to help change their life.
Anyway, the day went on, hours went by, and right before the GM left for the day, she was at the register and who should walk up but old passion tea himself. Before I can warn her (and TRUST ME, I am trying to stare daggers at her as in we have ALREADY been down this road with him…he has been back in 3 times since I helped him and he has mooched off of everyone), he starts in about the card. Well, our GM, she’s a savory gal, she didn’t waste any time- she gave him the number to corporate, said if the card was registered then they could stop the card and send him a new one. Well, he didn’t like that because of course the “card” (it was a $4 card now instead of $6 like earlier, so he must have had some premonition that the perpetrator spent $2 that day on drinks) wasn’t registered…shocker.
He argued and yelled a couple times, loudly, about how we KEPT telling him about this registration and what-all…and in keeping with policy…neither of us said anything back except that we were extremely sorry and that he was right. He was right…even though he was wrong. Arguments with someone homeless aren’t won even if they are won. Arguments with customers aren’t won if they are won. Arguing is lose-lose when dealing with customer complaints, or in this case, noncustomer complaints.
So, he storms out amidst much staring and gawking…things of which I am sure are forms of admiration for him…I guess he finally got what he wanted. To be heard, seen, felt. I think today, passion tea man just wanted to be experienced. He accomplished that for sure!
I debated today on which story to share…mainly because I don’t want to monopolize the time of my followers. I don’t expect anyone to devote more than a couple minutes a day to reading my stories (this is the part where I imagine everyone saying, “aw shucks, Kara, share what you need to share…even if takes up more of our time, we’ll read it!”). Reality check- if people get impatient standing in line for decadent, whipped-cream topped caffeinated delishocity (a made-up word by yours-truly) then I know that they will get impatient reading stories about said people.
Okay, so the story I choose for today is the one about the homeless guy. A homeless guy walked into the coffeeshop (no, this isn’t the start of a bad joke), and he stood at the bar side of the counter. Now, most seasoned Starbucks attendees know where to go for their order, they go to the register. Some of them, they don’t have to order because we know what they want, but they still have to pay, even the regulars know that. Maybe, once in a blue moon, if no one else is in line or in the store, we won’t make the regulars pay because they come in once, sometimes twice, a day; so we think they deserve a free treat now and then.
The homeless guy, he stands at the bar as I am “assessing” the bar and this is a never-ending task (there is always milk to be restocked, cups to be refilled, counters to be wiped, containers to be refilled, tea to be re-brewed, etc…) so I am busy, but not so busy that I haven’t been noticing this guy wandering around our store, inside, outside (looking through the trash), he’s been around the block (literally) for the past two hours. So, when he walks up to the bar, I am not surprised, nor do I remind him to place his order at the register because I knew he wasn’t “ordering” anything.
I don’t mean to be unsympathetic or pitiless by not offering him something free but the first thing he mentioned when I made eye contact with him was that someone had stolen his Starbucks card and it had $6 on it. Now, I give him credit for making the story more credible by not saying it had some lucrative amount like $300 on it but I know he is fishing for a free drink. I fill up a cup with ice and water and I give him a little sample cup of passion tea. However, I don’t entertain his conversation about the stolen card even as he continues to lean on the bar. Plus, just like with an animal, I don’t want him to expect free stuff every time he walks in the store.
Finally, he gives up as I start making a drink for the next “paying” customer, and I (feeling sorry) watch him as he goes over to the condiment section as he pours the sample of passion tea into the ice water, adding about 30 sugar and honey packets. Resourceful little booger, I think, as I shake my head. I get a little bit teary when I look at his too-small muscle tank basketball shirt and dress shorts. I get slightly wistful for a second and think about the movie the Blindside and how much it can mean to just ONE if we are willing to help change their life.
Anyway, the day went on, hours went by, and right before the GM left for the day, she was at the register and who should walk up but old passion tea himself. Before I can warn her (and TRUST ME, I am trying to stare daggers at her as in we have ALREADY been down this road with him…he has been back in 3 times since I helped him and he has mooched off of everyone), he starts in about the card. Well, our GM, she’s a savory gal, she didn’t waste any time- she gave him the number to corporate, said if the card was registered then they could stop the card and send him a new one. Well, he didn’t like that because of course the “card” (it was a $4 card now instead of $6 like earlier, so he must have had some premonition that the perpetrator spent $2 that day on drinks) wasn’t registered…shocker.
He argued and yelled a couple times, loudly, about how we KEPT telling him about this registration and what-all…and in keeping with policy…neither of us said anything back except that we were extremely sorry and that he was right. He was right…even though he was wrong. Arguments with someone homeless aren’t won even if they are won. Arguments with customers aren’t won if they are won. Arguing is lose-lose when dealing with customer complaints, or in this case, noncustomer complaints.
So, he storms out amidst much staring and gawking…things of which I am sure are forms of admiration for him…I guess he finally got what he wanted. To be heard, seen, felt. I think today, passion tea man just wanted to be experienced. He accomplished that for sure!
Did I Catch a Niner in there???
One of mine and my sister’s favorite movie lines is from Tommy Boy (I haven’t even seen the whole movie through, I just know the line). The line occurs when Chris Farley is giving a number over the phone and doesn’t really know the number so he just mumbles and David Spade calls him out and says, “…you’re trailing off…did I catch a NINER in there?”
It reminds me of something (probably) all of us do every day. I know I am certainly no exception, even since I have been at Starbucks. I “dumb things down,” play situations down to a level that I expect them to go, I pull a "niner" now and then. I don’t give each encounter with another person the benefit of the doubt. I think that everyone does this because of our own “busyness,” not necessarily on purpose or that we think we are more important, but we miss out on the real important message of each day because we fill our days with “niners.”
Today, I am writing a preface to my actual work-day (in regards to working hours) because I want to start my day looking for opportunities to “play up” each encounter- to get the most from everyone that I meet today. I have met some amazing people by “chance,” by God’s timing, and they have been influential relationships that have changed me and my perspective on life.
Just two days ago, I was at a gas station and my starter went out, just flat went out…my car wouldn’t start. The guy behind me in a pick-up was a mechanic on classic cars and said that maybe he could try to help even though he didn’t know much about electric engines. I was on my way to meet my grandfather, so I had to call him and tell him to drive on to Dallas, that I’d be late. Well, this old boy starts looking in my engine, says it was my starter, said if we could go get a starter at Autozone he could put it in the engine. He stays there with me while I wait on my grandfather, waits while we go get the part, replaces the starter, and absolutely refuses to take one dime for his services. He was more than rough around the edges and he had lived a pretty hard life, but his benevolence saved the day and made me realize that acts of kindness are the simplest form of human connection. They draw a line between hearts that can showcase love on every level, in any situation.
I hope that in some way, I am able to repay Willie for his kindness by spreading my own compassion to someone else- even if it is simply through a smile and unexpected excellent service in a world of “niners.”
It reminds me of something (probably) all of us do every day. I know I am certainly no exception, even since I have been at Starbucks. I “dumb things down,” play situations down to a level that I expect them to go, I pull a "niner" now and then. I don’t give each encounter with another person the benefit of the doubt. I think that everyone does this because of our own “busyness,” not necessarily on purpose or that we think we are more important, but we miss out on the real important message of each day because we fill our days with “niners.”
Today, I am writing a preface to my actual work-day (in regards to working hours) because I want to start my day looking for opportunities to “play up” each encounter- to get the most from everyone that I meet today. I have met some amazing people by “chance,” by God’s timing, and they have been influential relationships that have changed me and my perspective on life.
Just two days ago, I was at a gas station and my starter went out, just flat went out…my car wouldn’t start. The guy behind me in a pick-up was a mechanic on classic cars and said that maybe he could try to help even though he didn’t know much about electric engines. I was on my way to meet my grandfather, so I had to call him and tell him to drive on to Dallas, that I’d be late. Well, this old boy starts looking in my engine, says it was my starter, said if we could go get a starter at Autozone he could put it in the engine. He stays there with me while I wait on my grandfather, waits while we go get the part, replaces the starter, and absolutely refuses to take one dime for his services. He was more than rough around the edges and he had lived a pretty hard life, but his benevolence saved the day and made me realize that acts of kindness are the simplest form of human connection. They draw a line between hearts that can showcase love on every level, in any situation.
I hope that in some way, I am able to repay Willie for his kindness by spreading my own compassion to someone else- even if it is simply through a smile and unexpected excellent service in a world of “niners.”
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Excuse me, Ma'am, but Your Scrubs are Showing!!
For some reason, I feel the need to put everyone in a social circle. I like having categories. It makes everything easier to understand as far as how the world works. Oddly enough, I get the opportunity to do this compartmentalization all day at Starbucks. This morning was no exception. However, I have to make a strong note that not everyone thinks like I do, and again, this morning was no exception.
I noticed, during the early shift, that we were getting a lot of hospital workers all wearing a very recognizable shade of blue scrubs (residents, nurses, surgeons, etc…). At one point, I was at the register when a lady in the now familiar blue shade of scrubs came up to order. I decided to put my social circle skill to work. I told her, “Hey, you would be shocked at how many of you all from the same hospital come in on Saturday morning…you should start a little morning group meeting…that’d be cool.”
She looked at me like I had just told her that I was her illegitimate child. You would have thought I had tried to mug her. I thought I was doing her a favor…you know, giving her a chance to make friends…maybe meet a man or something, I mean, she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring or anything (which doesn’t mean she wasn’t married because maybe she took it off for work or maybe she doesn’t want to be married…but it’s not like I said, “get a date, lady…” or something rude like that…I just made a suggestion).
Well, she proceeded to say, “I don’t work at a hospital…I mean, can a person not just wear scrubs?” and I’m thinking, No, not really. I mean, I guess she CAN wear scrubs, but the obvious person is going to think she does something medical. And I didn’t ask her to perform surgery on me or anything, I just made a very reasonable assumption that scrubs aren’t exactly an outfit that a person would pick out of their closet to wear by choice. If I was wearing a Starbucks green apron in public, I wouldn’t exactly be offended or even surprised if someone asked me if I worked at Starbucks. And if I ever wear my apron in public, it probably means that something is wrong with me. Haha.
So, at this point, I just have a sappy grin pasted on my face and I start jabbering about the community board on the wall behind her and how we have all kinds of things that can be posted on the board, including signs for any causes she may support as long as they aren’t blatantly prejudice against any ethnic or religious group (I was babbling at this point, trying to reign her back in from the “angry place” she had gone…). Whew…I think I just ended up making her think that I was a “special” person that had somehow landed a job at a coffeeshop. I am sure she felt sorry for me. She gave me her order real slow and I just nodded and kept smiling that sappy smile. Oh wow. No more compartmentalization except in my internal dialogue…which I will keep to myself from now on. Haha.
The day ended great as I clocked out at 12:30 and met my grandfather for a late lunch in celebration of Independence Day! It was a wonderful time of fellowship with one of my favorite men in the world- I love my papa!
I hope that the fireworks shows are able to take place tonight despite the drizzling rain! Seems like I have my own fireworks in some way or another every day at work! Happy 4th Everyone!
I noticed, during the early shift, that we were getting a lot of hospital workers all wearing a very recognizable shade of blue scrubs (residents, nurses, surgeons, etc…). At one point, I was at the register when a lady in the now familiar blue shade of scrubs came up to order. I decided to put my social circle skill to work. I told her, “Hey, you would be shocked at how many of you all from the same hospital come in on Saturday morning…you should start a little morning group meeting…that’d be cool.”
She looked at me like I had just told her that I was her illegitimate child. You would have thought I had tried to mug her. I thought I was doing her a favor…you know, giving her a chance to make friends…maybe meet a man or something, I mean, she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring or anything (which doesn’t mean she wasn’t married because maybe she took it off for work or maybe she doesn’t want to be married…but it’s not like I said, “get a date, lady…” or something rude like that…I just made a suggestion).
Well, she proceeded to say, “I don’t work at a hospital…I mean, can a person not just wear scrubs?” and I’m thinking, No, not really. I mean, I guess she CAN wear scrubs, but the obvious person is going to think she does something medical. And I didn’t ask her to perform surgery on me or anything, I just made a very reasonable assumption that scrubs aren’t exactly an outfit that a person would pick out of their closet to wear by choice. If I was wearing a Starbucks green apron in public, I wouldn’t exactly be offended or even surprised if someone asked me if I worked at Starbucks. And if I ever wear my apron in public, it probably means that something is wrong with me. Haha.
So, at this point, I just have a sappy grin pasted on my face and I start jabbering about the community board on the wall behind her and how we have all kinds of things that can be posted on the board, including signs for any causes she may support as long as they aren’t blatantly prejudice against any ethnic or religious group (I was babbling at this point, trying to reign her back in from the “angry place” she had gone…). Whew…I think I just ended up making her think that I was a “special” person that had somehow landed a job at a coffeeshop. I am sure she felt sorry for me. She gave me her order real slow and I just nodded and kept smiling that sappy smile. Oh wow. No more compartmentalization except in my internal dialogue…which I will keep to myself from now on. Haha.
The day ended great as I clocked out at 12:30 and met my grandfather for a late lunch in celebration of Independence Day! It was a wonderful time of fellowship with one of my favorite men in the world- I love my papa!
I hope that the fireworks shows are able to take place tonight despite the drizzling rain! Seems like I have my own fireworks in some way or another every day at work! Happy 4th Everyone!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Blend, Whip, Frappe...Liquefy...
I wasn’t going to do this…on my blog…I wasn’t going to get on a soapbox, but I just have to. It will be a little one.
It’s my blog, so give me my soapbox moment.
I was going to go to an interview this morning at another business. It was a good job opportunity initially, meaning, more money and a little less responsibility. Also, there was the chance that I would be able to move up in the company quickly. After some deliberation and some Godly counsel from my father, I decided not to go…much to the happiness of all the readers that are vicariously receiving their mocha frappuccino fix from my blog. Plus, the culture at Starbucks for management is wonderful and I think that my opportunities here are going to be really exciting, as well.
So, instead, this morning, I went to my neighborhood Starbucks (ironically enough, it’s not the same one where I work). I went to Starbucks for the same reason that most people go- for the ambience, the people watching, the contemplation of something greater than me. I didn’t go to be alone (which I don’t know why people do that anyway and act annoyed when there are actually other people around...I mean, it’s a public place- shocker!)…if I wanted to be alone, I’d have gone home. No, I wanted some chatter (not to be confused with cheddar which we do sell on the “protein plate”) and some spontaneity (which is available with every person that walks in the door as I overheard someone singing opera this morning).
I was sitting at a table, looking at a paper and listening to the workers banter back and forth. Ahhh, feels so familiar. I started reflecting on my devotional from this morning. I couldn’t help but be stuck on the word irrevocably. In the devotion, it said, “When we think seriously about what it will cost if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean…” and then the author of the devotion basically said, “Get over yourself- He DOES know.” I mean, He invented obedience, right? “God doesn’t tell us what He is going to do, He reveals to us Who He is!” and every morning we have a new chance to “build our confidence” in Him and His Will.
Back to irrevocable- I kept hearing the blender for the frappuccino machine and I think, on a personal level (and I am sure that most everyone can relate to this in some way), God has walked me through some crisis in my life, I have been through the blender of crisis…meaning, He has been with me through these times, not that He pushed me into them. I did that myself. However, just as sometimes crisis are unavoidable, our Faith in God is irrevocable (unchangeable, unalterable, irreversible, and most importantly- PERMANENT). When I have been poured out of the blender of crisis, I am a mix of experiences that God can use to make me into a delicious drink. Our times in the blender can be a little disorienting, but we now have all these ingredients in our life that point to the Grace and Wonderful Mercy of God that has saved us. Irrevocably.
Anyway, that’s my soapbox. Liquefied for God .
It’s my blog, so give me my soapbox moment.
I was going to go to an interview this morning at another business. It was a good job opportunity initially, meaning, more money and a little less responsibility. Also, there was the chance that I would be able to move up in the company quickly. After some deliberation and some Godly counsel from my father, I decided not to go…much to the happiness of all the readers that are vicariously receiving their mocha frappuccino fix from my blog. Plus, the culture at Starbucks for management is wonderful and I think that my opportunities here are going to be really exciting, as well.
So, instead, this morning, I went to my neighborhood Starbucks (ironically enough, it’s not the same one where I work). I went to Starbucks for the same reason that most people go- for the ambience, the people watching, the contemplation of something greater than me. I didn’t go to be alone (which I don’t know why people do that anyway and act annoyed when there are actually other people around...I mean, it’s a public place- shocker!)…if I wanted to be alone, I’d have gone home. No, I wanted some chatter (not to be confused with cheddar which we do sell on the “protein plate”) and some spontaneity (which is available with every person that walks in the door as I overheard someone singing opera this morning).
I was sitting at a table, looking at a paper and listening to the workers banter back and forth. Ahhh, feels so familiar. I started reflecting on my devotional from this morning. I couldn’t help but be stuck on the word irrevocably. In the devotion, it said, “When we think seriously about what it will cost if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean…” and then the author of the devotion basically said, “Get over yourself- He DOES know.” I mean, He invented obedience, right? “God doesn’t tell us what He is going to do, He reveals to us Who He is!” and every morning we have a new chance to “build our confidence” in Him and His Will.
Back to irrevocable- I kept hearing the blender for the frappuccino machine and I think, on a personal level (and I am sure that most everyone can relate to this in some way), God has walked me through some crisis in my life, I have been through the blender of crisis…meaning, He has been with me through these times, not that He pushed me into them. I did that myself. However, just as sometimes crisis are unavoidable, our Faith in God is irrevocable (unchangeable, unalterable, irreversible, and most importantly- PERMANENT). When I have been poured out of the blender of crisis, I am a mix of experiences that God can use to make me into a delicious drink. Our times in the blender can be a little disorienting, but we now have all these ingredients in our life that point to the Grace and Wonderful Mercy of God that has saved us. Irrevocably.
Anyway, that’s my soapbox. Liquefied for God .
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Do Not Try This At Home, I Am A Professional Coffee-Maker
I didn’t blog yesterday, and I apologize for my laziness. It was my first time to “close” which means it was a late night…actually later than anticipated as SOMEONE was completing the last task of the evening for closing shop which is to empty the mop bucket into the drain (a task so easy that my 6 year old nephew could do it) and SOMEONE pulled the handle up as hard as she could and caused the whole shindig to tip over onto the JUST shined floor of the back storage room. In effect, causing a all-hands-on-deck new cleaning of the back room and everything that got soaked by the dirty water from the bucket (which included MY….I mean HER…pants)… Yes, confession time for a clear conscience, it was me that tipped the bucket (as if you didn’t know) which caused us all to leave about thirty minutes later than necessary.
In the evening shift, I made a discovery- a smile can go a lot further in the evening than it does in the morning or rush hour of afternoon. In the morning, people are too distracted, too many “to do’s” on the invisible list in their brain to really want to pay attention to someone that they are giving orders to. And in the afternoon, people are irritable and often don’t even CARE that you are smiling. But in the evening, people are in this “floating” stage of the day…they are usually more casual and personal with conversation and they notice little things. Everyone seems to have a “chillaxed” vibe in the evening. I like it a lot.
Today was just a normal afternoon shift. I had a lot of time to look over my shift manager information. I even explored a little bit on the world portal for Starbucks on our computer. It is so vast, I am just barely even touching on the knowledge that I can possess from this company. I still have so much to learn about the coffee and the general effect of Starbucks on the local community. You think I’m crazy, but there is a reason that Starbucks is so successful. Once I get to the bottom of it all, I will be extremely jittery from all the coffee, but business savvy beyond belief!!!!
A funny story- I wore a watch for the first time today. It doesn’t work, but it looks great with my outfit. When I pump syrup into a flavored latte, for some reason or lack of skill, I always get a little bit on my wrist. I noticed this the first day when I got home, I had quite a collection of vanilla syrup (the most popular), along with some caramel and cinnamon dolce caked up just above my palm. It’s too high up on my wrist to get cleaned when I wash my hands (and I do wash my hands religiously because I heard a rumor that the coffee beans will stain my fingernails for life and it’s like the whole “your eyes are gonna get stuck like that” thing parent tell kids that cross their eyes).
So, I was on my break, sitting at a table and talking on the phone. I noticed that my watch had goop all over it, and I knew it was syrup, so I licked it. I licked my watch. I thought it was no big deal until I looked over at the table next to mine and this lady was STARING at me like I was crazy. I mean, she was, literally, staring at me because she had seen me lick my watch. Instead of saying, “I spilled syrup on my watch and it’s good tasting” like the a crazy person she already thought I was. I said, “Flavored watches, what next...?” And then I took off because she looked like the kind of woman that would have a kid the age that would want a flavored watch to lick and I didn’t feel like having to make up a store where I got it. That was today. In a nutshell.
In the evening shift, I made a discovery- a smile can go a lot further in the evening than it does in the morning or rush hour of afternoon. In the morning, people are too distracted, too many “to do’s” on the invisible list in their brain to really want to pay attention to someone that they are giving orders to. And in the afternoon, people are irritable and often don’t even CARE that you are smiling. But in the evening, people are in this “floating” stage of the day…they are usually more casual and personal with conversation and they notice little things. Everyone seems to have a “chillaxed” vibe in the evening. I like it a lot.
Today was just a normal afternoon shift. I had a lot of time to look over my shift manager information. I even explored a little bit on the world portal for Starbucks on our computer. It is so vast, I am just barely even touching on the knowledge that I can possess from this company. I still have so much to learn about the coffee and the general effect of Starbucks on the local community. You think I’m crazy, but there is a reason that Starbucks is so successful. Once I get to the bottom of it all, I will be extremely jittery from all the coffee, but business savvy beyond belief!!!!
A funny story- I wore a watch for the first time today. It doesn’t work, but it looks great with my outfit. When I pump syrup into a flavored latte, for some reason or lack of skill, I always get a little bit on my wrist. I noticed this the first day when I got home, I had quite a collection of vanilla syrup (the most popular), along with some caramel and cinnamon dolce caked up just above my palm. It’s too high up on my wrist to get cleaned when I wash my hands (and I do wash my hands religiously because I heard a rumor that the coffee beans will stain my fingernails for life and it’s like the whole “your eyes are gonna get stuck like that” thing parent tell kids that cross their eyes).
So, I was on my break, sitting at a table and talking on the phone. I noticed that my watch had goop all over it, and I knew it was syrup, so I licked it. I licked my watch. I thought it was no big deal until I looked over at the table next to mine and this lady was STARING at me like I was crazy. I mean, she was, literally, staring at me because she had seen me lick my watch. Instead of saying, “I spilled syrup on my watch and it’s good tasting” like the a crazy person she already thought I was. I said, “Flavored watches, what next...?” And then I took off because she looked like the kind of woman that would have a kid the age that would want a flavored watch to lick and I didn’t feel like having to make up a store where I got it. That was today. In a nutshell.
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