Communication is Key

It's 5:34am right now and I'm laying in bed next to the most amazing person I will ever know. We spend a whole bunch of time together and yet, I am always excited to see him; whether it'd been four days apart on a mini-vacation to California or four minutes when he's making a sandwich in the kitchen and I'm in the living room. This man is simply amazing. We've been together not even eight months, but it's been the happiest time of my life and I think that I've finally found someone who honestly and truly makes me feel that everything--all of life's ups and tremendous downs--is worth it. And I think the thing that makes it work is simply this:

Communication.

We don't have any secrets, we voice our opinion about stuff when it happens and don't spend time stewing over something and wondering when we should mention it, and we don't hold anything back. We're not afraid to hurt each other's feelings--though oddly enough, it really hasn't happened yet--and we're not afraid to be honest.

I think that's the secret to any relationship and people need to realize that. Whenever I hear people complaining about their "significant other" [whomever it may be to them], I want to just scream, "Then talk to THEM about it!! What good is complaining to me about something when it could all be fixed by having this conversation with them?" No one will know if they are bothering you or doing something to upset you in any way unless you straight up tell them. Body language is basically a foreign language to 99% of the population and chances are, you're not ever going to meet that 1% in your entire life.

Plus, the time you spend not stressing about the "what if"s and the things that drive you nuts is time spent not tearing your body down from the inside. You don't feel guilty for thinking, "God, this person just keeps doing the same shit over and over and not changing! Here we go again with the emotional manipulation. Why am I even with this person?" ...or whatever your case may be. You don't have the fat elephant in the room all the time digging his tusk into your guts every now and then.

And being honest means you don't have to remember any false truths to keep yourself in the clear, which is nice.

So basically, everyone should learn to communicate. Not just with your personal relationships either, but with day-to-day interactions as well. I went to Wal-Mart on Friday to get a prescription filled; sounds like an everyday event, right? Well, apparently not. I have the beginnings of a bladder infection. No big deal; half of women will get one [many get more] in their lifetime. Some are just more susceptible than others. Blah blah blah, I have one. I got one about four years ago and when I took the medication for it, I broke out in hives.

Haha, I know. Gross.

...finding out that I'm allergic to the stuff to fix it. We went a round-about way with another drug and it worked fine. This time, they started me out with a different drug because I'm allergic to the main one to fix it, and apparently this drug is super out-of-the-ordinary because no pharmacy in Burlington or Mount Vernon had it in stock. I didn't find this out until waiting two HOURS at Wal-Mart, them telling me it wasn't there, going to Rite-Aid, waiting another half hour, them calling all the pharmacies, and then telling me they had to order it and it would take two days for it to even arrive.

Well, great; two days--that I could have been correcting my little problem--down the drain, pun intended. Oh, and to top off the lack of communication WASTING my day, my insurance decided to make a mockery of the situation and only pay for a smidge of the cost, so I have to pay a "co-pay" of forty some-odd dollars, when normally it's $6 or $10.

The medical profession is a crock. That's my opinion, I'm voicing it, and keeping the lines of communication present.

Oh, and you know what lines of communication I would have loved to have been present? Those about a family get-together that went down yesterday. It was my grandparents' anniversary and the whole family was getting together in Bellingham at a park to celebrate. My mom suggested I request the day off so that I could go, take candid pictures, and have a good time [with the family that I see maybe twice a year?], so I did. I ended up only switching shifts going from the 4:00am-noon [where last week I made $76 in tips] to the 2:00pm-10:00pm [where I ended up making a SURPRISING $42]. The family get-together was supposed to be at 10:00am and last until 1:00, leaving me plenty of time to get home and get to work on time.

I recall getting some e-mails from my aunt about the event but because I hardly ever talk to this woman, I didn't have her in my address book, resulting in the messages going to my Junk Mail folder and getting deleted [P.S. why is it that when you delete a message in Hotmail that it doesn't go to the trash can anymore? It is quite literally disintegrated into the depths of cyberspace, unable to re-appear even when the Back button makes the message and subject re-appear in the list, seeming able to open]. I asked my sister if she had gotten anything and she said, "Nope." So I assumed it wasn't important.

Sister and I were going to take her senior pictures before the get-together and planned on leaving at 7:00am to allow for enough time to get some different locations and outfits. She cancelled at the last minute [which is totally fine; sleeping in is a privilege that many aren't able to appreciate] so I planned on leaving at 9:30am. I texted my mom to make sure it was still at 10:00 and didn't hear back. Around 9:20, I called. My youngest sister answered and through bouncing conversation between me, her, and my dad, I learned that those "Junk" e-mails ended up notifying people that the time was changed from 10:00-1:00 to 1:00-4:00. My senior-picture sister found out only the night before.

Thanks everyone for making sure that people actually knew. Not everyone checks Junk Mail messages from awlkejrpoi1324@aol.com [not really the e-mail address, but basically with all the letters and numbers].

So great. A.) I could have worked my original shift, making more tips and being able to go to the whole thing, B.) I could have been done with work at noon, and C.) AHHH! Why don't people know how to properly communicate?

I guess it was a good thing I didn't go because I was expecting this big ol' potluck deal with lots of finger foods and pasta salads when it was actually just cookies and cake [yuk probably]. AND my senior-picture sister texted me when she got there saying my aunts were setting everything up and were snobby and rude. Looks like I reallllyyyyy missed out on a fun time.

I didn't, actually, because even though I missed my amazing morning shift, I got to sleep in with my amazing boyfriend, have delicious lemon poppyseed muffins for breakfast that we baked the night before, sneak a chopped up cucumber with ranch into a matinee showing of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and have time to relax and watch some South Park before going to work.

[Longest sentence ever].

By the way, N&N'sIP wasn't as good as expected, although it didn't have that smash hit appeal that some movies do [like I'm feeling that Zack and Miri Make a Porno has, but that might just be that Seth Rogan is in it--but almost at the bottom of the cast list? All movies on this website should have the cast in order of role relevance, not alphabetical! That's horse shit. Oh, and this thread on IMDb.com about the movie is pretty funny]. It had Michael Cera playing the trademark nerdy teenager, which was as good as to be expected, and Kat Dennings [the rich, spoiled little brat from an episode of Sex and the City] who ended up being okay. But the girl they chose for the ex-girlfriend, Alexis Dziena, no offense, has the face of a botox-gone-wrong accident to the extreme. She is supposed to be the beautiful and popular girl, but she's just an every day "butterface" as they are called, and it was a horrendous time when she was on screen. I cringed a lot.

Oh, and there was an "orgasm" that happened in literally five seconds with a hand-down-the-pants move. Tell me how that is humanly possible, please.

I'm also surprised that it was humanly possible that the 2:00-10:00 shift wasn't that bad yesterday. It was super slow for a while and then we would get six or seven steady cars and then it was super slow again. I literally cleaned every syrup pump above one of the counters, inside and out, with a bristle wire. They looked marvelous. But yesterday was officially the day not to tip. Our drinks were amazingly delicious, but apparently there was a memo sent out [that didn't go into the Junk Mail folder] telling people to order a lot of drinks and not tip. I got three cents from a lady though, and she looked like she expected it to brighten my day.

Just keep the fricken three cents. I'll be flicking them at your car later.

I don't mean to sound bitter or unappreciative, but when someone orders a lot of drinks and doesn't tip, it is kind of a slap in the face. I mean, yea, it's not required or anything, but we are taking the time to make sure that it has the right amount of ingredients to taste delicious and be worth the money that you pay. Yes, our prices went up. Yes, the economy is down. But that doesn't mean that our drinks have lost any of their quality. If anything, they're getting better with me working more and getting into my groove, which I have, if I do say so myself. I'm not sure if I wrote this in a previous blog [don't think I did] but I arranged the syrup bottles so that I, miss shortie-short, can reach them without using the step stool.

Big deal.

So your order will be taken without having to write it down, made as fast as possible without losing sight of the perfect amount--and the specific type--of ingredients, and will be delivered with a smile and a conversation, if the noise level and customer traffic permits. I'm here to listen to whatever problems you have going on in your life with no judgment, I'm here to give advice when asked, and basically here to just let you vent if needed [and sometimes it's extremely helpful to just LET IT OUT to someone].

I'm your barista therapist, and it only costs you the price of your drink and the optional-but-very-much-appreciated tip.

One lady did tip us $4 for two blended drinks. And when I was alone, one couple tipped me almost $4 for two hot drinks and told me to be safe, and another couple [who talked to me about my dogs--Murphy most because they were interested in getting a Corgi] tipped me $3. I'm pretty sure there's at least one karma camera of the 14 that we have at the stand, and these nice people are going to get what they deserve, which is a big ol' pile of good things to come.

Before I left for work, I went to the Torani website and the DaVinci website [most of our syrups are from these two companies] and found some pretty cool recipes to try. I printed the DaVinci's Seasonal Recipe Calendar and brought it to work. Andrew stopped by on his way home from work and I used one of the recipes to make him a new flavour of Italian Cream Soda [who wouldn't have the cream inside? It's amazing]: Cherry Lime-illa. I tasted it and it was actually pretty amazing. A regular customer came through around 10:00 [when my relief got there] and ordered an I.C.S. He didn't know what flavour and I recommended that he try the new one from the recipe calendar. He said he would and he said it was pretty dang good as well.

I love making new things!

And SPEAKING of new things, I have AMAZING news: I found my drink. The drink. I'm not sure what to call it yet, but it'll have a name soon. I've only tried it blended, but I have a strong feeling it'll be good any way we can make it. It's a basic Pumpkin Pie Latte [oh my; something is wrong with my "M" key. Soon I'm going to find out just how often I use it] with an extra half-pump or so of flavouring, a dash of spiced chai powder [depends on the size; probably 1/8 of a teaspoon for a 12oz], and half-way between Ristretto and normal shots. I love coffee; I just would rather have more flavouring than the actual coffee flavouring, but still be able to tell it's there. If I had my drink hot, I would add a bit of whipping cream and a dash of cinnamon on the top, otherwise I skip that part and just add the lid. Oh my! It's just a little bit of a spicier version of the Pumpkin Pie but it just so happens to be perfect.

I was talking to a customer about it. He ordered a 16oz Americano with "Five raw sugars and extra cream." How did he come to find that five was the perfect amount of raw sugars for a 16oz? It's also odd to have the orders like, "Triple grande sugar-free vanilla soy latte with the vanilla syrup AND the vanilla soy, 130°, no whip, no straws, no accessories." How LONG did it take for you to perfect that? You even know the degree in which you want it to end up being at. I know I can't have my hot drinks super hot or else my tongue and palate become in a dismal state and I know that I like my hot drinks no hotter than 120°, but that's because I know what I'm heating the milk up to and I can figure with the espresso and flavours and all what it'll end up being. Did these customers at one time make coffee? Did these customers at one time sit down with their barista and say, "Make a drink at this temperature and this temperature and this temperature and let me try all three. I'll decide from there what to do." It always fascinates me to hear what people's signature drinks are. This one guy gets a white on white with macadamia nut; I assume he likes cookies. Another guy gets a Kahlua latte; I assume he's a recovering alcoholic. I'm sure I'm not 100% correct, but I'm still curious.

This "M" key thing is bothering me. I'm going to wrap it up, I suppose. Almost two hours of blogging and I've got a little over one more until my alarm is supposed to go off. It's getting light outside, my tummy is rumbling, and my hair is parted way too far to the right.

Looks like it's going to be an okay day.