It's a } Shape

What car now-a-days doesn't have cupholders? Let me tell you... mine doesn't. It is the only car in existence without the luxury of having a place specifically designed to hold beverage containers. It's a 2001, no less, so why does this have to be? I have found an alternative to this missing link between my car and all others in society: the infamous wedge between the e-brake and the passenger seat. But please remember: this does not work if the seat is too far forward or too far back. The perfect six-inch-range must be occurring to make this space usable.

So, in looking for a new vehicle, I need to take the advice of Miss Pam Beasley in a season three episode of "The Office" ["Grief Counseling", if I'm not mistaken] when she says of her new car, "It was the cupholders that sold me." And if I haven't already mentioned it, I am looking to get me a sweet SUV sometime soon. Although I made a grown up decision to spend my savings and tax return on paying off my car loan, I am looking to save up for an SUV and maybe get one in the summertime. After careful consideration, I have narrowed it down to a few models and generations:

1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner


1990-1995 Toyota 4Runner


1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder


1998-2004 Isuzu Rodeo


1998-2002 Honda Passport

1993-1997 Honda Passport

I've got a pretty wide selection, considering I like all of these models, but all I know is that it HAS to have cupholders. I really don't care if it's manual or automatic, dark or light... just gotta have the cupholders. And I especially don't care if it has a cracked windshield because MY CAR HAS ONE! Oh dear Lord! It is absolutely symmetrical, started about a foot from the bottom center of the glass and shot across to be a } shape [turn your head to the right and you got it!]. And I got it from going to get white chocolate powder from an Everett stand because we almost ran out, finding out later that our order came in early and I didn't have to go down there anyway. Ahhh!

Whatever. With all the construction all around town, it wouldn't surprise me to get another crack. It's absolutely ridiculous! Highway 20's expansion, I-5's exit 230 [both northbound and southbound], College Way's expansion, I-5's exit 231 no longer having a connecting overpass?! It's all too much to handle at once. If they focused on ONE project at ONCE, they could get it done faster, and I wouldn't have to see it ALL DAY EVERYWHERE I GO!! And it's especially annoying when you see this:

*Notice my windshield. Anywho, you see TWO groups of construction workers just STANDING AROUND GOSSIPING BY THE WATER COOLER... er... water bottle. Haha but funny story about this picture: I took it and then a couple of them turned around and looked at me--as if they could hear the silent flash--so I pretended to be texting everyone I knew with the phone above my steering wheel while I waited for the light to turn green. I fooled them!

Once I got home, instead of coming home and stuffing my face with delicious chips that Andrew bought for me that sound amazing, or the yummy beef jerkey that he got at the store, I hopped on here and started blogging. That's right: no snacks until dinner! And my stomach isn't clenching either, so that's a good thing. It's probably because my delicious cheese omelet I made this morning before work filled me up good! I'm trying to cook more and more so that I can get better. How else are you supposed to get better at cooking? Just wish and wish and hope that a fairy comes by and waves her wand over you while you sleep and you wake up as the Iron Chef's number one competition? I don't think so. Anyway, today was my third day in a row making an omelet WITHOUT Andrew's help [haha!] and it turned out absolutely scrumptious! I love me a cheese omelet!

As for cooking, tomorrow night is Valentine's night and to be a romantic housewife--err--house girlfriend, I am going to cook a delicious meal: Olive Garden's Chicken Fettucine Alfredo! Ex-roomie, Sam, made it one night [sans chicken] and it was delish! So with the secret recipe still on the fridge, I will wander to the store tomorrow for groceries to make this feast possible! With a little wine / grape juice for Andrew, candles, and a romantic movie, I think this Valentine's Day night will be pretty good.

And to get in the Valentine's mood, I wore pink to work today! After discussing it with another barista earlier yesterday, I asked our manager if we could have pink day and it was approved! But, alas, I was the only one to wear the designated pink. My excuse: I'm not working tomorrow and wanted to celebrate early. Oh yes, that's it. Tomorrow will be another pink day [with the option of red] so I guess I wasn't really lying. I'll wear pink again tomorrow to the morning ZUMBA CLASS! Oh yea! Sweaty in my pink top and Aladdin-size sweat pants! Ha.

Speaking of work, poor Katie had the rudest customer last night. Let me educate you a little bit: at BFJ, a 20-ounce coffee beverage comes with a standard three shots of espresso. Our espresso machines have two heads that pour out two shots of espresso each. This customer [let's call her Bea, which is a lengthened version of the letter "B", which starts off what we all refer to her as... if you catch my drift] ordered a 20-ounce Mocha Breve with four shots, "Because you throw one of them away anyway." Makes sense, right? If you fill both heads with espresso grind and let the shots pour out, you get four shots, three of which you would normally put into the 20-ounce cup and the fourth would go into the machine's grated tray, down the drain, into the waste tank or wherever it really goes; Espresso Shot Heaven sounds good. So here Katie is, enthusiastically making Bea's drink. She puts in the chocolate, steams the half-n-half, pulls the four shots, and finishes making the drink [deliciously perfect, I might add]. She then rings up the drink [20-ounce Mocha + Breve + Extra Shot] and tells Bea her total, to which Bea replies, "That's fucking BULLSHIT!!" Katie is taken back and says, "Excuse me?" to which Bea replies, "What did you charge me for?!" to which Katie explains the extra charges for the breve and the fourth shot. "That shot was going down the drain! Why did you charge me for it?!" Katie replies, "Well, the shot went into your drink, so I have to charge you." "That's FUCKING BULLSHIT!" I don't know what I would have done in that situation, but I doubt she's coming back, because we don't just give things away for free, because we are a business trying to stay in business in these hard economic times. So sorry that you are unhappy with how much your drink costs; the charges are noted on the menu for extras. Holy cow!

Well, now that I ran out of items of note that I texted myself while waiting by the construction workers, I'd like to end this blog with an image of what JUST happened to me. I opened MSN Messenger for the first time in months and I had a contact add me to their list. I didn't know who it was, so I added them and asked nicely, "Who the hell is this?" Well, you can see for yourself what happened next.

...why??