So there was this one time that I used to blog every day. It was amazing and I always had something to say. Remember this one time? Yea, I can't either. Because I have only blogged once in A MONTH!! That is almost enough to put me in jail or something. I don't understand. I guess it's just that at the end of the day [when I end up doing most of my blogging], whether it be a boring-on-autopilot day or one full of crazy stories and definitely blog worthy, I get home and just kick back and doze off. Please explain this to me. I don't even know where I last left off on my previous blog! [*Opens in a new tab; thanks IE7!*]
Alright so here's updating on the last blog and I'll do a real blog after.
As far as the returning-drinks-for-free-ones goes, we haven't had much more of a problem since my last blog [13 days ago; shame shame shame]. About a week ago I had a woman bring back two 12oz hot drinks a few hours after getting them saying that instead of one shot in each, there was two in one and none in the other. They were obviously only missing the initial "Whaaaaat the..?!" drinks and we remade them for free. And yesterday I had a man bring back a 12oz eggnog latte, say "Can I trade this for a new one?" and claim that it was "too thick." I suggested cutting it with milk to make it not so thick and he agreed to give it a shot. I brought the finished drink to him, he gave me the money for it and drove off. Apparently he just didn't want his old one anymore. But those are the only two semi-remotely "want a free drink" post-blog scenarios.
Our work party went pretty well! Only three people didn't show up [which apparently was a great turnout compared to previous years] but it was due to the weather [which I will get to in a minute]. We ate our appetizers, played bingo for prizes [everyone got a prize, but we played to see who would get prizes in what order and such] and then drew numbers to see who would get the extra three prizes [sorry to those who didn't go, but that was part of the party!]. My bingo prize was a make-up utensil set with different brushes for liners, blush, shadows, and lashes, a mirror, a cute utensil cup to put them in, and a little traveler bag for them all. Mind you, I wrapped all the presents and remembered which most of them were and I spotted that one when it was my turn. Cheating? I don't think so. Plus, I needed a brush for my eyebrows. I'm sorry; I am NOT going back to the pre-sixth-grade bushy caterpillars perched above my eyes, and I needed a brush for trimming and making them look pretty. I was doing the world a favour by picking out a gift I knew. And I was also one of the three that won prizes out of the second round of prizes [NOT cheating to win!] and of the three left, I knew what two of them were and I already had two in the house [a 20 Questions handheld game--lost in the tree room-- and a Hangman handheld game--on the back of the toilet with Yahtzee!] so I picked the third one and it ended up being a set of massager tools [the wooden ones with wheels and such]. Kailey wanted one so I gave her one I already had, a reflexology roller bar that came with a reflexology kit I got at a bargain price at Borders. After games and gifts, we had spaghetti [delish!] and Secret Santa exchange. The girl who had me couldn't make it, and the girl I had couldn't make it either; par! So I watched everyone else open their gifts and I brought mine back to the stand for the recipient to pick up when she worked next [still there, Miss Caitlin! Get your butt to work PRONTO!]. We left shortly after the gift exchange and called it a night. Pretty fun little get together! I got my gift from my Secret Santa [Jeena!]: a delicious candy cane, cream colored slippers, and green plaid pajama bottom! A-MAZING! Have been wearing them every night!
I haven't been drinking my Americanos lately because I'm feeling more of a juice / water [I know!] / non-espresso thirst. I've been drinking Cranberry-Grape XS Energy Drinks on ice and they are pretty fricken good. Well, the first half of the drink is; the second half is all watered down and non-carbonated. Nasty! And I did try a new drink: an Italian Cream Soda made with our fruit smoothie mix instead of syrup, at the suggestion of our manager. Verdict: amazing!
Andrew and I opened our main Christmas presents early, as you already know, but we thought about it and all three of our schedules [his, Sam's, and mine] would conflict on Christmas Eve Eve, Eve, and Day, so we opened our presents and stockings last night [I KNOW!!]. I got lots of fun goodies including lots of socks, FIVE... count 'em... FIVE seasons of TV on DVD [Lost 1-3, The Office 4, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 3], tons of one of my favourite candies [Rafaello--a coconut and almond treat!], lots of knick-knacks, TONS of colored Sharpees [both thick AND thin tips], a sweet centerpiece vase with candle holders going around it, a dual paper cutter [a slider cutter as well as a guillotine side], and a sweet hat! With my Elliptical Machine in my room and Chi Straightener on it's way here, I'd say it was a pretty successful Christmas!!
Moses and Murphy got treats and toys in their stockings and they have been tearing up everything ever since! Murphy got a winter jacket that should have fit him but doesn't velcro like it should [my baby's growing up so fast!] but he wears it like a vest and love-love-LOVES it! And I'm not just saying that like the owners of those silly toy dogs that dress up in tutus and such; he actually enjoys being in coats and sweaters [as long as they aren't too big].
I rebooted my computer system the destructive way [don't know why it sounded so scary before, but it really seemed to help out everything! No more viruses, thank you!] and everything is smooth again. But when I tried to comment someone on MySpace TWICE and started to blog on here but couldn't unless it was on the HTML setting on my phone, I got kinda ticked. Which is why I am on my computer doing this [I also wouldn't want to be using that tiny little keyboard to type all of this... no thanks!].
I almost had a chance to blog a huge blog while I was waiting in my car at a red light tonight. Let's get into why this was almost possible. A week and a half ago on a Saturday, it started snowing. I can't remember the last time it truly snowed in our area, but it was so long ago that everyone was freaking out and calling it a "BLIZZARD!" I worked a 4am-10am and a 4pm-10pm that day, allowing for the morning customers to say, "Nah, it won't snow!" and allowing for the evening customers to literally throw snowballs into the stand while I make their hot cocoas. It was an odd day. I drove home on the boulevard, providing for a basically straight shot with no scary turns in the fresh snow. The next morning, I had Andrew drive me with his truck because it had snowed about eight inches and none of the roads were plowed. I think our town needs to get its act together and get prepared for these kind of weather changes. It was forcasted as a snow storm and when it came, no one was ready. Then all of a sudden, all stores in the three surrounding towns are sold out of snow shovels, ice scrapers, and snow toys. There are chains on every other car, people sliding around on the slush in the intersections, and me in my low-clearance 2001 Nissan Sentra scraping the middle pile of waste in the lanes where the tires don't ride and barely making it into the work parking lot because of the nasty "sidewalks"; thanks construction workers for conveniently working to tear up everything and cancel all work a few days before the storm was even predicted. Thanks.
So anyway, my big thing was having to go to stores for everyday things like groceries or batteries or what not because A.) Christmas shoppers are nut jobs on crack, B.) apparently this town is the shopping hub of the county and everyone in the world decides to start driving all at once to go to the exact spot I need to go to, taking the exact back roads and everything, and C.) the extreme weather provides for idiots who think they can either drive like it's completely sunny and snow-free or drive like there is five feet of ICE everywhere and go one mile-per-hour on a busy street, blocking all traffic because he or she is a pansy. I went to get a regular customer a gift today and was going to go to GoodWill to get some books [because I've been into reading more and more lately] and I had to go to GoodWill first because the line to turn into the place I was going to get the gift at was the same line to turn to get to... guess where? ...WalMart.
WalMart. Now there's a blog of it's own. Did you know that out of the top ten richest people in the entire world, numbers five through ten are all Sam Walton's grandchildren, who didn't do ANYTHING BUT GET BORN?!?!?!? They are worth BILLIONS of dollars because of their grandfather, make up HALF of the top ten richest people in the world, and they didn't do diddly squat. I can hardly afford my bills and my outrageous Christmas shopping, and they can wipe their asses with gold-plated toilet paper. Not fair to those who actually have to make a living. Whatever though. I wouldn't complain if I was a Walton. But then again, I would have a live-in masseuse who would be massaging my lower back because the left side is hurting so incredibly fiercely that yesterday during my 12-hour shift, every 20 minutes I had to stop what I was doing, hold my back, and breathe deeply.
Anyway, so I went to GoodWill and got a ton of books! Of these is a cook book, Alive [the book before the movie], The Lovely Bones [which I've heard nothing but good things about], and basically a bunch of either murder mysteries or comedic romances. I'm reading The Lonely Girls Club right now about a group of girls who know a secret about their murdered headmistress and 20 years later it risks exposure. I am about 3/4 of the way done and I still don't have a clue who killed her, but there is a little bit of sexual tension, and if I had a period of time where I had no other obligations or tendencies to fall asleep [not due to the book], I wouldn't be able to put it down!
After here I was going to swing by and get pizza and go home, no big deal, right? Yea, everyone on the roads is still stupid. I saw at least four different heavy duty SUVs and trucks with old and rickety people driving and an adult in his or her late twenties to late thirties in the passenger seat. This is not okay with me. There is an age where you should stop driving and OLD is where it's at. Get someone else to drive you, ESPECIALLY if that someone else that could be driving is sitting in the passenger seat!
Ahhh! Oh, and the main point about me grumbling about weather and traffic was to explain that I had to go to Haggen to get some parsley for my Salmon Bites that I was going to make for my family's Christmas Eve get together [and I just realized I might not have enough tortillas... go me for being prepared!] and on the way TO the store, I passed a row of 15 vehicles waiting for a green light to leave Haggen. When I went to LEAVE the store, I ended up in that same line waiting for ten minutes for the light to change. The line ended up going around the curve and back up into the Haggen parking lot by the time the light changed to green. And only seven cars were allowed through at that light change. Stupid idiots with the traffic controls.
Ugh! Well, I'm about burnt out on blogging right now. I didn't blog about going sledding / tubing and I didn't blog about Christmas bonuses or the fact that we now own Twins and I am super excited to watch it all the time, but maybe I'll get into it next time.
But probably not. I need to go make some Salmon Bites and if I don't have enough tortillas, venture out into the world yet again. Cross your fingers and wish me luck!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
A Listy Blog
This is a little unacceptable; not blogging in over two weeks?! Let's see if anything new and exciting has happened.
Work:
Work has been pretty alright. I have been working so much and covering so many shifts that two weeks ago, I finally got three days off in a row [like I'm scheduled to have every week] and it was pretty amazing. I am in the middle of another three days off in a row and it is filled with errands and fun things to do.
We did, however, run into a little bit of a problem scenario with customers trying to rip us off. At PacSun, the policy was to always make sure the customer was happy. If he or she threw a bitch fit because we wouldn't return their dirty and worn sneakers without a receipt or a box, we would end up giving them some kind of credit for it and they would get their way. Last Sunday around 7:00 in the morning, a man walked up to Jackie's window and his wife pulled up beside him in the car. He shouted, "We made it!" which doesn't really make any kind of logical sense to shout out to complete strangers. He ordered himself and his wife two 24oz hot mochas. Jackie rang them up because they were at her window and I made the drinks at my station. Note, I made them exactly how I make any of my 24oz hot mochas. I have constantly been trying to produce the best tasting coffee drinks and compared to how I was doing it in the past, I have definitely found a way to combat the bitter taste of the weirdly-timed and un-fixable espresso shots. By not leaving a whole lot of space between the time you pour your shots in and the time you pour at least a little bit of steamed milk in, the shots will not lose their rich flavour. With 24oz coffee drinks, three shots go into each one. With two heads on each machine, you can only pull four shots at a time. The two drinks required a total of six shots, meaning there was going to be another time gap between the time I put the four shots in until the time the last two shots were added to the cups. I stirred the two shots in each drink to melt the chocolate, added a splash of milk to each to prevent the bitter taste from arriving, and pulled two more shots. I finished the drink like normal and handed them to Jackie to give to the customer. I started cleaning my utensils so that everything would be ready for the next customer and I saw the customers drive away. Jackie asked me, "Did you see that?" "What?" "They started making out through the window." Mind you, this couple was in their 40s and extremely unattractive. To each his own, I guess, but PDA is something I am not really all about and it grosses me out to see people going at it. "Good thing I didn't see it," I say back and we went about our business.
About a half an hour later, the man backed his car up to my window [odd enough as it is] and said to me, "I need to talk to you about those mochas you made about a half hour ago." "Alright..." "They were completely undrinkable!" "...I'm sorry, what?" "The coffee tasted bitter, the milk was completely burnt, it was absolutely disgusting, and I want my money back." Knowing that this man's claim was completely false, I offered [like we always do] to remake the mochas for him. "I don't want another disgusting drink, I want my money back!" I tried to calm him down and explained, "I'm not sure exactly how to do something like that but I will give my manager a call and see if she can walk me through it." I walked to the back, picked up the phone, called Honora, and explained the situation. She said to just pull the correct amount of cash out of the drawer and give it to him, writing down on my shift report AND the complaint log what happened with the dollar amount logged. So this is what I do. I pulled out the $9.07, handed it to him, and said, "I'm sorry about that," to which he replied, "Call it a learning experience," and sped off. Jackie asked me what was going on and I told her what happened. She said, "Are you kidding? He handed his wife the drink through the window and she started chugging it. Then he got in the car and she chugged it as they pulled away."
The thing that bothered me the most was his final comment, "Call it a learning experience." Because, apparently, I don't know how to make coffee or something.
Honora called back a couple hours later to find out what ended up happening. I told her everything, including what Jackie said about his wife drinking the drink as she sped away, and she asked if I had taken the drinks back. "I didn't know I was supposed to!" She said that if it were more than 1/4 gone to never give a refund and that we're not supposed to do refunds anyway. I told her what he said before he sped off and she said, "WHAT AN ASSHOLE!!" So I was upset over the whole situation all day and about eight hours later or so, I got a call from Jackie, who was doing a double, saying that another man wanted a refund. Turns out, he got a drink for his wife, brought it home to her, and she didn't like the way it tasted, so they came back and demanded a refund. A few days earlier, something happened to Kailey when a customer ordered a blended mocha and after drinking a lot of it, came back for a refund because they didn't like the ice cream base.
So we are going to seriously crack down on these refunders and kick 'em in the nuts. "In the nuuuuuuuuts!"
And my drink of choice right now has been an Iced Americano with white chocolate powder, hardly any ice--just enough to make it cold, and about 3/4 of an inch or so of cream. Oh, and Toddy shots. Heaven.
Our work Christmas Party is going down in a little over a week. I wrapped all the gifts last night and it's looking like it's going to be a splendid time! I can't wait to see what happens!
Home:
So Andrew and I both got our big Christmas presents early. I have been trying to use the elliptical every day but knowing how HARD it works my body out even on the easiest level makes it hard to keep getting back on it! I love love LOVE using it and I am so so so super thankful that I have it, I just need to MAKE myself get on it every day. It is such a wonderful thing to have and I am so lucky to have one!
Andrew's plasma cutter has provided for some extreme motivation to work on his car projects more and more. He cut up an old tool box that he blew up on the 4th of July and is making a decorative mantle piece with trees, a snowman, and a sleigh. It is looking really good! I love that he is so crafty. He also started up again with his glass etching and he etched a picture of Murphy onto a glass cup for me. What a craftster!
My computer has been experiencing some extremely annoying things, like my virus protection claiming it's out-of-date, pop up windows for virus protection that I did NOT click on, slow loading speeds, the keyboard not reading up correctly to the monitor [typing this blog has been a real trial this time...], and many many many instances of frozen programs. I don't get it! Looks like it's time to reboot the system YET AGAIN! Good LORD! If I have to keep doing this, the motherboard is going to be fried and I won't have a system LEFT to reboot! Ahhh! Someone who knows a LOT about computers and this kind of thing should seriously come help me out. I'll hemp them a cool necklace in return. Or make them pizza bites.
I have been trying to read more and more and with the huge book selection at my folks' place, I will grab a random book and start reading it. The one I was first trying to read was the one I started on my flight back home from California, the book with Jennifer Crusie and some other guy writing together. I still couldn't get into it and I just KNOW it's because it's not just her writing. Ahhh! So then I picked up a book at my folks' place called Carrie Pilby and it has been a slow read so far. It's about a girl who is completely anti-social and her therapist has been trying to get her to change her ways, so it's a book I can relate to, without the therapist part. There was a part in it where he has her make a list of things that she loves and after she does, he tells her to pick at least one thing a week and make it happen. Last night, I made my own little list but didn't include family, friends, Andrew, or animals, because those would be on there without a doubt and I make these things happen almost every day! So far I have the following things:
-Floating in water
-Taking backroads and listening to soft music
-Spaghetti
-Pink clouds
-Blankets
-Reading a book I can't put down
-Giving someone something they really wanted
-The moment that I'm done cleaning
-A freshly rebooted computer system
My list is so odd compared to hers:
-Cherry soda
-Street sounds
-My bed
-The green-blue hue of an indoor pool
-Starfish
-The Victorians
-Rainbow sprinkles
-Rain during the day (makes it easier to sleep)
The therapist also says something about always having five things that you are looking forward to. I've heard something like this before, but more like "having one thing in the next week that you are looking forward to." Either way, I am looking forward to:
-Christmas and giving everyone their presents
-The work Christmas party and all of it's food and fun
-Seeing a movie with Jeena!
-Working on Christmas Eve and Christmas
-Going to the casino for my birthday this year
But most importantly, I am looking forward to eating something because I am STARVED and am in need of sustenance. Plus, I can't stand this keyboard any longer, I want to put all my files onto discs and reboot my system, and I want to finish the book I'm reading and start another one.
...and I want an Iced White Chocolate Americano, STAT!
Work:
Work has been pretty alright. I have been working so much and covering so many shifts that two weeks ago, I finally got three days off in a row [like I'm scheduled to have every week] and it was pretty amazing. I am in the middle of another three days off in a row and it is filled with errands and fun things to do.
We did, however, run into a little bit of a problem scenario with customers trying to rip us off. At PacSun, the policy was to always make sure the customer was happy. If he or she threw a bitch fit because we wouldn't return their dirty and worn sneakers without a receipt or a box, we would end up giving them some kind of credit for it and they would get their way. Last Sunday around 7:00 in the morning, a man walked up to Jackie's window and his wife pulled up beside him in the car. He shouted, "We made it!" which doesn't really make any kind of logical sense to shout out to complete strangers. He ordered himself and his wife two 24oz hot mochas. Jackie rang them up because they were at her window and I made the drinks at my station. Note, I made them exactly how I make any of my 24oz hot mochas. I have constantly been trying to produce the best tasting coffee drinks and compared to how I was doing it in the past, I have definitely found a way to combat the bitter taste of the weirdly-timed and un-fixable espresso shots. By not leaving a whole lot of space between the time you pour your shots in and the time you pour at least a little bit of steamed milk in, the shots will not lose their rich flavour. With 24oz coffee drinks, three shots go into each one. With two heads on each machine, you can only pull four shots at a time. The two drinks required a total of six shots, meaning there was going to be another time gap between the time I put the four shots in until the time the last two shots were added to the cups. I stirred the two shots in each drink to melt the chocolate, added a splash of milk to each to prevent the bitter taste from arriving, and pulled two more shots. I finished the drink like normal and handed them to Jackie to give to the customer. I started cleaning my utensils so that everything would be ready for the next customer and I saw the customers drive away. Jackie asked me, "Did you see that?" "What?" "They started making out through the window." Mind you, this couple was in their 40s and extremely unattractive. To each his own, I guess, but PDA is something I am not really all about and it grosses me out to see people going at it. "Good thing I didn't see it," I say back and we went about our business.
About a half an hour later, the man backed his car up to my window [odd enough as it is] and said to me, "I need to talk to you about those mochas you made about a half hour ago." "Alright..." "They were completely undrinkable!" "...I'm sorry, what?" "The coffee tasted bitter, the milk was completely burnt, it was absolutely disgusting, and I want my money back." Knowing that this man's claim was completely false, I offered [like we always do] to remake the mochas for him. "I don't want another disgusting drink, I want my money back!" I tried to calm him down and explained, "I'm not sure exactly how to do something like that but I will give my manager a call and see if she can walk me through it." I walked to the back, picked up the phone, called Honora, and explained the situation. She said to just pull the correct amount of cash out of the drawer and give it to him, writing down on my shift report AND the complaint log what happened with the dollar amount logged. So this is what I do. I pulled out the $9.07, handed it to him, and said, "I'm sorry about that," to which he replied, "Call it a learning experience," and sped off. Jackie asked me what was going on and I told her what happened. She said, "Are you kidding? He handed his wife the drink through the window and she started chugging it. Then he got in the car and she chugged it as they pulled away."
The thing that bothered me the most was his final comment, "Call it a learning experience." Because, apparently, I don't know how to make coffee or something.
Honora called back a couple hours later to find out what ended up happening. I told her everything, including what Jackie said about his wife drinking the drink as she sped away, and she asked if I had taken the drinks back. "I didn't know I was supposed to!" She said that if it were more than 1/4 gone to never give a refund and that we're not supposed to do refunds anyway. I told her what he said before he sped off and she said, "WHAT AN ASSHOLE!!" So I was upset over the whole situation all day and about eight hours later or so, I got a call from Jackie, who was doing a double, saying that another man wanted a refund. Turns out, he got a drink for his wife, brought it home to her, and she didn't like the way it tasted, so they came back and demanded a refund. A few days earlier, something happened to Kailey when a customer ordered a blended mocha and after drinking a lot of it, came back for a refund because they didn't like the ice cream base.
So we are going to seriously crack down on these refunders and kick 'em in the nuts. "In the nuuuuuuuuts!"
And my drink of choice right now has been an Iced Americano with white chocolate powder, hardly any ice--just enough to make it cold, and about 3/4 of an inch or so of cream. Oh, and Toddy shots. Heaven.
Our work Christmas Party is going down in a little over a week. I wrapped all the gifts last night and it's looking like it's going to be a splendid time! I can't wait to see what happens!
Home:
So Andrew and I both got our big Christmas presents early. I have been trying to use the elliptical every day but knowing how HARD it works my body out even on the easiest level makes it hard to keep getting back on it! I love love LOVE using it and I am so so so super thankful that I have it, I just need to MAKE myself get on it every day. It is such a wonderful thing to have and I am so lucky to have one!
Andrew's plasma cutter has provided for some extreme motivation to work on his car projects more and more. He cut up an old tool box that he blew up on the 4th of July and is making a decorative mantle piece with trees, a snowman, and a sleigh. It is looking really good! I love that he is so crafty. He also started up again with his glass etching and he etched a picture of Murphy onto a glass cup for me. What a craftster!
My computer has been experiencing some extremely annoying things, like my virus protection claiming it's out-of-date, pop up windows for virus protection that I did NOT click on, slow loading speeds, the keyboard not reading up correctly to the monitor [typing this blog has been a real trial this time...], and many many many instances of frozen programs. I don't get it! Looks like it's time to reboot the system YET AGAIN! Good LORD! If I have to keep doing this, the motherboard is going to be fried and I won't have a system LEFT to reboot! Ahhh! Someone who knows a LOT about computers and this kind of thing should seriously come help me out. I'll hemp them a cool necklace in return. Or make them pizza bites.
I have been trying to read more and more and with the huge book selection at my folks' place, I will grab a random book and start reading it. The one I was first trying to read was the one I started on my flight back home from California, the book with Jennifer Crusie and some other guy writing together. I still couldn't get into it and I just KNOW it's because it's not just her writing. Ahhh! So then I picked up a book at my folks' place called Carrie Pilby and it has been a slow read so far. It's about a girl who is completely anti-social and her therapist has been trying to get her to change her ways, so it's a book I can relate to, without the therapist part. There was a part in it where he has her make a list of things that she loves and after she does, he tells her to pick at least one thing a week and make it happen. Last night, I made my own little list but didn't include family, friends, Andrew, or animals, because those would be on there without a doubt and I make these things happen almost every day! So far I have the following things:
-Floating in water
-Taking backroads and listening to soft music
-Spaghetti
-Pink clouds
-Blankets
-Reading a book I can't put down
-Giving someone something they really wanted
-The moment that I'm done cleaning
-A freshly rebooted computer system
My list is so odd compared to hers:
-Cherry soda
-Street sounds
-My bed
-The green-blue hue of an indoor pool
-Starfish
-The Victorians
-Rainbow sprinkles
-Rain during the day (makes it easier to sleep)
The therapist also says something about always having five things that you are looking forward to. I've heard something like this before, but more like "having one thing in the next week that you are looking forward to." Either way, I am looking forward to:
-Christmas and giving everyone their presents
-The work Christmas party and all of it's food and fun
-Seeing a movie with Jeena!
-Working on Christmas Eve and Christmas
-Going to the casino for my birthday this year
But most importantly, I am looking forward to eating something because I am STARVED and am in need of sustenance. Plus, I can't stand this keyboard any longer, I want to put all my files onto discs and reboot my system, and I want to finish the book I'm reading and start another one.
...and I want an Iced White Chocolate Americano, STAT!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Some Disturbing Images
I'm sick of MySpace. No, it's not drama. No, it's not spam or anything. It's the advertising. I understand that the media has a huge hold over what people these days consider "fat" or "overweight," but literally, EVERY SINGLE PAGE I LOADED had an advertisement of some weight loss program of sorts:
So basically, I'm annoyed. And disgusted. But the most disturbing image of all came in my Junk E-Mail folder today:
...wow.
So basically, I'm annoyed. And disgusted. But the most disturbing image of all came in my Junk E-Mail folder today:
...wow.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Lead the Way
So I actually have something to blog about! Being a Lead Barista means taking care of business, especially when that business requires $50 paid-outs and dealing with phone calls from corporate offices. With the paid-out situation I am thinking of, I got a back-room "build-a-cabinet" for our manager that she wanted so that A.) there would be more room for storage, and B.) so that the fax machine wasn't seven feet up on a shelf, no exaggeration. So I got it, the ClosetMaid 2 Door Organizer:
No big deal. I pretended it was an elliptical and followed the instructions TO THE TEE. I separated the wood pieces and the tiny accessory bits in alphabetical order according to the instruction booklet so that when the time came to use piece F on wood part B, I would know what it meant. I started hammering and piecing together everything and when it came time to do Step Four, I started scratching my head.
Does anyone else notice something weird about the placement of the magnetic squares verses the knob hole on the cabinet door to the right? I laughed because I am assuming that the designer of this instruction booklet thought he or she could save time by just somehow flipping the other image before adding the magnetic square, but forgot to before sending it to the printers. So I drilled the hole for the left cabinet door and did the same for the right cabinet door.
...the exact same.
I ended up with a drilled hole in the wrong spot on the cabinet door. I shouldn't have laughed at the drawing because I ended up putting it basically in the exact spot it showed. So much for following the instructions TO THE TEE. Thank goodness it was on the inside. No one's going to notice a hole on the inside of a cabinet door... right?
...right?
So after fixing this hilarious mistake, I make my way to Step Five.
I didn't mess this one up; this is probably because it actually came with pre-drilled holes for the knobs.
And now to Step Six.
So I thought I was missing this huge piece of wood called "G" but apparently everyone in the world but me knows that the back of a cabinet is simply a thick piece of paper NAILED to it! Oh, and did I mention it's an un-even piece of paper? It's like this on both sides:
Perfect. So I nailed it as best as I could--paper to wood-- and then went to put the cabinet doors on, only to discover that I accidentally put the bottom part of the cabinet upside down [LIKE AN IDIOT] so that the wood side was facing up on the inside and the finished side was touching the ground. That meant that A.) there were no "holes" for the "hinges" to stick into, B.) I had to flip it over, and C.) this meant taking out some of the nails... that are in PAPER. So I ended up ripping the paper, unscrewing the bottom part, flipping it over, and re-nailing it as best as possible to the piece of wood. Still was un-even, but now had rips in it. No one looks at the back of a cabinet...
...do they?
After fixing my mistake [which I came to realize was shown correctly in the image on the booklet... surprisingly], I put the cabinet doors in and took a look at my masterpiece:
After fixing my mistake and the mistakes of the designer, and putting it together EXACTLY how it was described, the doors didn't end up being level and now look like horseshit.
I was so proud.
At least now we can use the fax machine without being on a rickety ladder. Oh, that is if you make sure to plug in the phone line CORRECTLY when you move it down and not sit there for at least a half an hour dialing the vendor's number and wondering why it's not going through [oops!].
Yay me!
As for the second situation described earlier, I got to work today to learn that our computers were down, no credit, debit, or gift cards could be processed, and only one register was working for cash only. After talking to our manager for about 45 minutes, I finally understood what had happened but couldn't understand how to fix it. We went through stuff with the modem, the back computer, both registers, rebooting and re-plugging in all of them, and after all of that, ended up with the conclusion that no register should be touched so that it could "think" and fix itself.
Free drinks for everyone.
Finally, around 3:30 in the afternoon [a half hour before I'm supposed to leave], I get in touch with our corporate systems guy and tell him what's going on. We walk through stuff on the computer and he tells me he'll call me back. A DIFFERENT guy from the same corporate system place calls and asks what's going on. I talk to him and he says to call corporate to get a password from the CEO.
...from the CEO.
So I call and talk to the CEO's assistant, she says she'll call me back with the password [after trying like five different ones with different combinations of CAPS LOCK and regular], and I get another phone call from yet ANOTHER guy from the same corporate system place asking me what's going on. This guy talks me through everything and we get it fixed completely. All we had to do was delete some files and restart the computer again. Sounds simple, right? Well, it really did help to delete those files because they were
45 GIGABYTES IN SIZE!
I don't know if you know anything about computers, but my entire computer is about three times that. So it was like deleting 1/3 of my computer's entire file storage capacity. I only have about 57 GB of used space on here... and I have a LOT of stuff on here. How ridiculous is that?? So as my shift ended, we fixed the crisis and ended the day of free drinks.
Yay me!
After work I swung by Sears to check out the ellipticals. I tried them out, talked to the lady working there about different features, and decided on the Nordic Track E5 Si, which is going on sale on Black Friday:
The one on the right. No big deal. And Andrew's going to get his Hobart 250A Plasma Cutter:
No big deal.
So now I've got two days off and then I'm working Thanksgiving, Black Friday, doing a double Saturday and Sunday, work Monday, and have the 2nd off. These two days HAVE to be the most relaxing days EVER. I will have to take a long and hot bubble bath, play lots with the dogs, spend all of Wednesday with Andrew doing something extra fun [his day off too], and eat lots of junk food. I'll have it to remember during the work week.
Happy Shopping, ya'll! [And P.S. ... I found this neat website, BFAds.net, and yes, they have Black Friday ads already. Might be where I got the price for the soon-to-be-"my" elliptical. Might be where I looked at WalMart's ads EARLY, before they were even posted on the WalMart website. No big deal].
No big deal. I pretended it was an elliptical and followed the instructions TO THE TEE. I separated the wood pieces and the tiny accessory bits in alphabetical order according to the instruction booklet so that when the time came to use piece F on wood part B, I would know what it meant. I started hammering and piecing together everything and when it came time to do Step Four, I started scratching my head.
Does anyone else notice something weird about the placement of the magnetic squares verses the knob hole on the cabinet door to the right? I laughed because I am assuming that the designer of this instruction booklet thought he or she could save time by just somehow flipping the other image before adding the magnetic square, but forgot to before sending it to the printers. So I drilled the hole for the left cabinet door and did the same for the right cabinet door.
...the exact same.
I ended up with a drilled hole in the wrong spot on the cabinet door. I shouldn't have laughed at the drawing because I ended up putting it basically in the exact spot it showed. So much for following the instructions TO THE TEE. Thank goodness it was on the inside. No one's going to notice a hole on the inside of a cabinet door... right?
...right?
So after fixing this hilarious mistake, I make my way to Step Five.
I didn't mess this one up; this is probably because it actually came with pre-drilled holes for the knobs.
And now to Step Six.
So I thought I was missing this huge piece of wood called "G" but apparently everyone in the world but me knows that the back of a cabinet is simply a thick piece of paper NAILED to it! Oh, and did I mention it's an un-even piece of paper? It's like this on both sides:
Perfect. So I nailed it as best as I could--paper to wood-- and then went to put the cabinet doors on, only to discover that I accidentally put the bottom part of the cabinet upside down [LIKE AN IDIOT] so that the wood side was facing up on the inside and the finished side was touching the ground. That meant that A.) there were no "holes" for the "hinges" to stick into, B.) I had to flip it over, and C.) this meant taking out some of the nails... that are in PAPER. So I ended up ripping the paper, unscrewing the bottom part, flipping it over, and re-nailing it as best as possible to the piece of wood. Still was un-even, but now had rips in it. No one looks at the back of a cabinet...
...do they?
After fixing my mistake [which I came to realize was shown correctly in the image on the booklet... surprisingly], I put the cabinet doors in and took a look at my masterpiece:
After fixing my mistake and the mistakes of the designer, and putting it together EXACTLY how it was described, the doors didn't end up being level and now look like horseshit.
I was so proud.
At least now we can use the fax machine without being on a rickety ladder. Oh, that is if you make sure to plug in the phone line CORRECTLY when you move it down and not sit there for at least a half an hour dialing the vendor's number and wondering why it's not going through [oops!].
Yay me!
As for the second situation described earlier, I got to work today to learn that our computers were down, no credit, debit, or gift cards could be processed, and only one register was working for cash only. After talking to our manager for about 45 minutes, I finally understood what had happened but couldn't understand how to fix it. We went through stuff with the modem, the back computer, both registers, rebooting and re-plugging in all of them, and after all of that, ended up with the conclusion that no register should be touched so that it could "think" and fix itself.
Free drinks for everyone.
Finally, around 3:30 in the afternoon [a half hour before I'm supposed to leave], I get in touch with our corporate systems guy and tell him what's going on. We walk through stuff on the computer and he tells me he'll call me back. A DIFFERENT guy from the same corporate system place calls and asks what's going on. I talk to him and he says to call corporate to get a password from the CEO.
...from the CEO.
So I call and talk to the CEO's assistant, she says she'll call me back with the password [after trying like five different ones with different combinations of CAPS LOCK and regular], and I get another phone call from yet ANOTHER guy from the same corporate system place asking me what's going on. This guy talks me through everything and we get it fixed completely. All we had to do was delete some files and restart the computer again. Sounds simple, right? Well, it really did help to delete those files because they were
I don't know if you know anything about computers, but my entire computer is about three times that. So it was like deleting 1/3 of my computer's entire file storage capacity. I only have about 57 GB of used space on here... and I have a LOT of stuff on here. How ridiculous is that?? So as my shift ended, we fixed the crisis and ended the day of free drinks.
Yay me!
After work I swung by Sears to check out the ellipticals. I tried them out, talked to the lady working there about different features, and decided on the Nordic Track E5 Si, which is going on sale on Black Friday:
The one on the right. No big deal. And Andrew's going to get his Hobart 250A Plasma Cutter:
No big deal.
So now I've got two days off and then I'm working Thanksgiving, Black Friday, doing a double Saturday and Sunday, work Monday, and have the 2nd off. These two days HAVE to be the most relaxing days EVER. I will have to take a long and hot bubble bath, play lots with the dogs, spend all of Wednesday with Andrew doing something extra fun [his day off too], and eat lots of junk food. I'll have it to remember during the work week.
Happy Shopping, ya'll! [And P.S. ... I found this neat website, BFAds.net, and yes, they have Black Friday ads already. Might be where I got the price for the soon-to-be-"my" elliptical. Might be where I looked at WalMart's ads EARLY, before they were even posted on the WalMart website. No big deal].
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Eleven Days... An Update?
Eleven days is a long enough break from Blogger. I'm not quite sure why I haven't blogged sooner, but let's see if I can't update on what's going on in my life.
Andrew and I "exchanged" Christmas gifts early because we couldn't wait to tell each other. I am getting him this bad boy. It's a Plasma Cutter and it will make working on his cars super easy and fun! And he's getting me a Chi straightener and an elliptical. I'm gonna look secksi with super straight hair! Yay! And this way I'll actually get back into shape because, as you may have guessed, I still haven't gone to the gym.
Surprised? Thought so.
Andrew also bribed Sam with some delicious burgers so that he could have his Christmas present early; it worked. We now have Mario Kart for the Wii on the video screen at all times. Let me tell you: using the wheel is way harder than it looks. Over-correcting is something that you have to avoid! Something that you have to practice... until 2:00 in the morning... every morning.
Work has been okay. Made an organized binder to help keep all ordering, cleaning tasks, specialty drink recipes, and other miscellaneous stuff in a neat place, hired a new girl for the weekend graveyard shift, and I requested my birthday off [21, here I come! I don't really care about drinking, but you WILL see me at the casino! Cha CHING!!]. Learned how to make a blended flavoured lemonade, found out that we are going to need some new flavours in stock, and learned a sweet new drink: the Black and White Mint Macchiato. I haven't tried it, but I made it with Rochelle and she loved it.
How to make an iced one:
-Use the regular amount of Peppermint Syrup for whatever size drink you are making.
-Add ice
-Add milk
-In a separate cup, mix about 3/4 the amount of Chocolate Sauce and 3/4 the amount of White Chocolate Powder.
-In this cup, add espresso shots and stir thoroughly.
-Pour espresso/chocolate mixture on top of the iced drink
-Enjoy!
I don't understand the concept of a stacked Macchiato though. I mean, a lot of people order it that way, but--coming from someone who hasn't tried it--it doesn't sound all that appetizing. "Hello sip of syrup! Hello milk! Hello coffee! Hello syrup!" etc. I would rather have it all mixed and be saying, "Hello Heaven!" ...but that's just me.
I haven't tried White Chocolate Sauce yet, so I don't know if it's as appetizing with that substituted for the White Chocolate Powder. Actually, I don't really try all that much stuff. I'll just drink hot or iced tea, hot or blended chai, or a blended Caramello Mocha with Toddy shots. No switching it up, ever.
...Is that really all that has happened in eleven days? I know I got sick and am now feeling better, I got a tea pot and have been drinking tea regularly, got a food chopper and a food slicer, and a refresher of chips [Spicy Nacho Doritos and Hickory BBQ from Lays]. That's it! Have a good day!
Andrew and I "exchanged" Christmas gifts early because we couldn't wait to tell each other. I am getting him this bad boy. It's a Plasma Cutter and it will make working on his cars super easy and fun! And he's getting me a Chi straightener and an elliptical. I'm gonna look secksi with super straight hair! Yay! And this way I'll actually get back into shape because, as you may have guessed, I still haven't gone to the gym.
Surprised? Thought so.
Andrew also bribed Sam with some delicious burgers so that he could have his Christmas present early; it worked. We now have Mario Kart for the Wii on the video screen at all times. Let me tell you: using the wheel is way harder than it looks. Over-correcting is something that you have to avoid! Something that you have to practice... until 2:00 in the morning... every morning.
Work has been okay. Made an organized binder to help keep all ordering, cleaning tasks, specialty drink recipes, and other miscellaneous stuff in a neat place, hired a new girl for the weekend graveyard shift, and I requested my birthday off [21, here I come! I don't really care about drinking, but you WILL see me at the casino! Cha CHING!!]. Learned how to make a blended flavoured lemonade, found out that we are going to need some new flavours in stock, and learned a sweet new drink: the Black and White Mint Macchiato. I haven't tried it, but I made it with Rochelle and she loved it.
How to make an iced one:
-Use the regular amount of Peppermint Syrup for whatever size drink you are making.
-Add ice
-Add milk
-In a separate cup, mix about 3/4 the amount of Chocolate Sauce and 3/4 the amount of White Chocolate Powder.
-In this cup, add espresso shots and stir thoroughly.
-Pour espresso/chocolate mixture on top of the iced drink
-Enjoy!
I don't understand the concept of a stacked Macchiato though. I mean, a lot of people order it that way, but--coming from someone who hasn't tried it--it doesn't sound all that appetizing. "Hello sip of syrup! Hello milk! Hello coffee! Hello syrup!" etc. I would rather have it all mixed and be saying, "Hello Heaven!" ...but that's just me.
I haven't tried White Chocolate Sauce yet, so I don't know if it's as appetizing with that substituted for the White Chocolate Powder. Actually, I don't really try all that much stuff. I'll just drink hot or iced tea, hot or blended chai, or a blended Caramello Mocha with Toddy shots. No switching it up, ever.
...Is that really all that has happened in eleven days? I know I got sick and am now feeling better, I got a tea pot and have been drinking tea regularly, got a food chopper and a food slicer, and a refresher of chips [Spicy Nacho Doritos and Hickory BBQ from Lays]. That's it! Have a good day!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Rebuttal
So in a nice way, someone commented on my last blog saying I had turned into a "snobby barista." By all means, everyone has their own opinions and freedom to express them to me and to anyone else without recourse, but I just want to set the record straight.
I am not a snobby barista. I am not a snobby person. I am super nice, loads of fun, and 99% of the time have an energetic and upbeat attitude [minus the 1% because nobody's perfect]. I enjoy my job soooo soso much that I can't even explain it so that anyone can fully understand. It's not about the money; if it was, I wouldn't be there. Yes, on an okay day when you add the minimum wage and the tips made, I would have made more than my previous job, but weekly I am scheduled 16 hours less here than there. With my rent going up $200 and my phone bill going up at least $20, the wage decrease and loss of hours kind of prove that it's not about money.
The only stresses at my job are when there is a shortage of something, be it cups or flavours or what have you. When you have to improvise and make alternative suggestions and decisions, especially when it's busy, it's kind of stressful. But with the recent promotion and comparing it to corporate bullshit at PacSun, the stress level is slim to none. If I had any gray hairs, the color has been reversed with the change in stress level.
I still am excited to go to work everyday [and would work everyday if I could because it's so fun and I thoroughly enjoy it] and I get excited to make the customers' drinks, regardless of their attitudes and behaviours toward me. My all time favourite is still making Iced Americanos when you pour in the cream-- so beautiful! I have been working at measuring the exact amount of milk to steam based on drink size, extra or less shots, whipping cream or not, etc. And I've been working at making it so that there are no left-overs with blended drinks. Perfecting what I love is what I do...
...and that's not something a snob would do, right?
The only reason that I blog about the weird customers is just that: they are w-e-i-r-d!!! I won't write a blog about the nice customer that opens up and tells you his or her life story and everytime they pull through you chit chat for at least ten minutes before making their drink [that you know by heart because you actually care about personalizing the experience as much as possible] because it's personal. If someone is a jackass and extremely rude and I want to vent about it, that's when I open up a New Post. This doesn't mean I'm a snob. A snob would be rude back to the jackass, and regardless of how rude the customer was, I would never EVER be rude back. Fight fire with love.
Not a snobby thing to do, right??
I just figured I would voice a response that wasn't snobby to show that however I seem to be on the Internet is not how I am in person, let alone in the window of the stand. I am blogging from a car on the way to our corporate meeting and am getting sick. Didn't help that I ate the stick of my lollipop and now have a disgusting taste in my mouth. ...I'm done.
I am not a snobby barista. I am not a snobby person. I am super nice, loads of fun, and 99% of the time have an energetic and upbeat attitude [minus the 1% because nobody's perfect]. I enjoy my job soooo soso much that I can't even explain it so that anyone can fully understand. It's not about the money; if it was, I wouldn't be there. Yes, on an okay day when you add the minimum wage and the tips made, I would have made more than my previous job, but weekly I am scheduled 16 hours less here than there. With my rent going up $200 and my phone bill going up at least $20, the wage decrease and loss of hours kind of prove that it's not about money.
The only stresses at my job are when there is a shortage of something, be it cups or flavours or what have you. When you have to improvise and make alternative suggestions and decisions, especially when it's busy, it's kind of stressful. But with the recent promotion and comparing it to corporate bullshit at PacSun, the stress level is slim to none. If I had any gray hairs, the color has been reversed with the change in stress level.
I still am excited to go to work everyday [and would work everyday if I could because it's so fun and I thoroughly enjoy it] and I get excited to make the customers' drinks, regardless of their attitudes and behaviours toward me. My all time favourite is still making Iced Americanos when you pour in the cream-- so beautiful! I have been working at measuring the exact amount of milk to steam based on drink size, extra or less shots, whipping cream or not, etc. And I've been working at making it so that there are no left-overs with blended drinks. Perfecting what I love is what I do...
...and that's not something a snob would do, right?
The only reason that I blog about the weird customers is just that: they are w-e-i-r-d!!! I won't write a blog about the nice customer that opens up and tells you his or her life story and everytime they pull through you chit chat for at least ten minutes before making their drink [that you know by heart because you actually care about personalizing the experience as much as possible] because it's personal. If someone is a jackass and extremely rude and I want to vent about it, that's when I open up a New Post. This doesn't mean I'm a snob. A snob would be rude back to the jackass, and regardless of how rude the customer was, I would never EVER be rude back. Fight fire with love.
Not a snobby thing to do, right??
I just figured I would voice a response that wasn't snobby to show that however I seem to be on the Internet is not how I am in person, let alone in the window of the stand. I am blogging from a car on the way to our corporate meeting and am getting sick. Didn't help that I ate the stick of my lollipop and now have a disgusting taste in my mouth. ...I'm done.
Monday, November 10, 2008
3 Customer Stories + 1 Promotion
Today I made $10 in tips. It's not like it was an abnormally slow day [pretty slow, but not as dead as some days] and literally, Shelley and I SPLIT $20. I guess it's kind of a good thing that we only have one machine to use because we would be wasting our time cleaning it near the end of every shift. I did get an interesting phone call today when it was semi-busy [aka "when we had a customer"]. It was from our manager asking if I wanted the Lead Barista position.
Exhale. The wait is finally over!
Basically it means that both Shelley and I [the two leads] will get $1.00/hr raise and after 60 days will get $1.50. I'm not sure if it means TOTAL $1.50 over what we're making now or if it's an ADDITIONAL $1.50 after 60 days, totalling $2.50. ...I've barely been at the stand 60 days. A little over two months and I get a promotion. Hard work really does pay off.
That and being one of only two people who applied for the two open positions.
The promotion also means that we will have more responsibility when it comes to ordering things, making decisions, keeping people on top of getting tasks done, etc. This way, we aren't constantly running out of everything. We are now almost out of Mango Jet Tea. Ahhhh!
There wasn't much activity today, other than receiving the promotion and being asked to go down south on my day off tomorrow to train with the other Leads. Yesterday on the other hand was slim pickins as well. There were two weird customers and, coincidentally, they were my first two of the day:
Customer Story 1: A 4-door sedan pulls up with four Mexicans inside. I greet them and ask what I can get started for them. They pause, look at each other confused, and then turn to me and say, "One Frappuccino." [A.) Am I wearing green? Am I the only one that didn't get the memo that "BigFoot Java" now meant "Starbucks"? If you want a robot-made "Frappuccino," go to Starbucks. If you want a delicious and delectable blended mocha, come to BigFoot Java and order it right. B.) When you order, be specific! When I hear "One Frappuccino," am I just automatically supposed to make the perfect size and the perfect amount of shots and add or not add whipping cream because I'm psychic? Like I said before, "Certified Barista" does not mean "Mind Reader."] So I have to pry details out of them. I ask, "What size?" "Sistine," [just like the chapel; sorry]. There is a pause and I ask, "Is that the only drink?" "No..." They look around at each other confused again and say, "...One Frappuccino." Once again, I have to pry details. "What size?" "Uhhh.... sistine." "Okay so we've got two 'Frappuccinos.' Anything else?" Once again, they look at each other confused and the person behind the driver peeks his head between the driver's seat and the side of the car and says, "One Mocha." And again with the details. "Do you want it hot?" "Yis." "Is this a 16 as well?" "Yis." "Okay... is there a fourth drink?" I don't even have to say what they did, and then I hear, "One Frappuccino." "Is it a 16???" "Yis." "Okay, so we have three 'Frappuccinos' and one hot Mocha, all 16s. Right?" "Yis." So I get the blender out, put the chocolate into it for theFrappuccinos Blended Mochas, put the chocolate into a 16oz. hot cup, and pour some milk into a pitcher to steam while I pulled the shots for the blended drinks. The passenger who ordered the mocha said, "Mis. Mis!" I walked over to the window and he said, "Is that hot?" "Yes..." "I wanted a cold one." It took everything I had to not scream in his face. "Okay, do you want it on ice or do you want it blended?" "Blendid." So now I have all four drinks being made in the blender. I poured them into the cups, lidded them, whipped three of them, told the customers the total, handed them two of the drinks, and they asked, "Is this the mocha?" Ahhhh!!! "All of them are the same." They all furrowed their brows as I exchanged the rest of the drinks for their money. Good lord!
Customer Story 2: An Asian man pulls up to the other window shortly after this car leaves. I walk over to it [other side of the stand that my register and the functioning machine and fridge are at] and take his order. "Iced Latte." Easy enough, but I have to pry a little. "What size?" "Trip... uhhh... a 16." "Did you want to make it a triple?" "Yea." So I have a triple 16 Iced Latte. No big deal. I made it, lidded it, rang it up, walked across the stand to his window, and told him his total. He then asks, "Can I get some Marb Reds?" Now that I'm done getting everything ready for you, you ask for more? Just ask at the beginning!! So I had to go get the cigarettes [opened a new carton from the back], re-ring the items, walk over, and tell him his new total: $10.36. He hands me a $10 bill and I ask, "Do you have 36 more cents?" "No. Do I have to pay it?" OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO PAY IT!! "Yes, I still need 36 more cents." He shuffles around and says, "I don't have anything else." I say, "We can take debit or credit cards too," and after a minute he hands me a card. Of course he doesn't tip and I'm not surprised because A.) I made his drink perfect, B.) I got him his cigarettes after he DIDN'T order them at the beginning WITHOUT being rude or anything, and C.) it took everything I had to not scream at him about the 36 cents. Sarcasm anyone?
Oh, there was a Customer Story 3 from today that I just remembered: I took this girl's order, "A 5-shot Americano with Sugar Free White Chocolate and whipping cream." I asked for the size and if it was hot or iced. "20oz. Hot." So I made it. I wanted to double check that she DIDN'T want cream and DID want whipping cream so I went to the window while I stirred in her shots, asked if it was correct, and she said, "No cream, yes whip cream, but it's iced." Honestly, she watched me make her entire drink HOT and waited until the end to say that I got the type of Americano wrong, AKA she changed her mind and blamed it on me for not reading her mind. Jeena said that the girl had done it to her before as well with another drink. Do people get off on this kind of stuff?
Who cares. I am not making coffee for anyone but myself between now and Thursday morning at 4:00am when I cover Tana's shift. And I might not even have that because my throat hurts. I drank water all day at work today to no avail. Time for some soup and a TV show, no? Lost comes tomorrow [first two discs of Season 1] so I might just watch a movie to not get into the middle of more than one thing. We finished the Harry Potters in three days, so that won't be interrupted.
Whatever. Soup time.
Exhale. The wait is finally over!
Basically it means that both Shelley and I [the two leads] will get $1.00/hr raise and after 60 days will get $1.50. I'm not sure if it means TOTAL $1.50 over what we're making now or if it's an ADDITIONAL $1.50 after 60 days, totalling $2.50. ...I've barely been at the stand 60 days. A little over two months and I get a promotion. Hard work really does pay off.
That and being one of only two people who applied for the two open positions.
The promotion also means that we will have more responsibility when it comes to ordering things, making decisions, keeping people on top of getting tasks done, etc. This way, we aren't constantly running out of everything. We are now almost out of Mango Jet Tea. Ahhhh!
There wasn't much activity today, other than receiving the promotion and being asked to go down south on my day off tomorrow to train with the other Leads. Yesterday on the other hand was slim pickins as well. There were two weird customers and, coincidentally, they were my first two of the day:
Customer Story 1: A 4-door sedan pulls up with four Mexicans inside. I greet them and ask what I can get started for them. They pause, look at each other confused, and then turn to me and say, "One Frappuccino." [A.) Am I wearing green? Am I the only one that didn't get the memo that "BigFoot Java" now meant "Starbucks"? If you want a robot-made "Frappuccino," go to Starbucks. If you want a delicious and delectable blended mocha, come to BigFoot Java and order it right. B.) When you order, be specific! When I hear "One Frappuccino," am I just automatically supposed to make the perfect size and the perfect amount of shots and add or not add whipping cream because I'm psychic? Like I said before, "Certified Barista" does not mean "Mind Reader."] So I have to pry details out of them. I ask, "What size?" "Sistine," [just like the chapel; sorry]. There is a pause and I ask, "Is that the only drink?" "No..." They look around at each other confused again and say, "...One Frappuccino." Once again, I have to pry details. "What size?" "Uhhh.... sistine." "Okay so we've got two 'Frappuccinos.' Anything else?" Once again, they look at each other confused and the person behind the driver peeks his head between the driver's seat and the side of the car and says, "One Mocha." And again with the details. "Do you want it hot?" "Yis." "Is this a 16 as well?" "Yis." "Okay... is there a fourth drink?" I don't even have to say what they did, and then I hear, "One Frappuccino." "Is it a 16???" "Yis." "Okay, so we have three 'Frappuccinos' and one hot Mocha, all 16s. Right?" "Yis." So I get the blender out, put the chocolate into it for the
Customer Story 2: An Asian man pulls up to the other window shortly after this car leaves. I walk over to it [other side of the stand that my register and the functioning machine and fridge are at] and take his order. "Iced Latte." Easy enough, but I have to pry a little. "What size?" "Trip... uhhh... a 16." "Did you want to make it a triple?" "Yea." So I have a triple 16 Iced Latte. No big deal. I made it, lidded it, rang it up, walked across the stand to his window, and told him his total. He then asks, "Can I get some Marb Reds?" Now that I'm done getting everything ready for you, you ask for more? Just ask at the beginning!! So I had to go get the cigarettes [opened a new carton from the back], re-ring the items, walk over, and tell him his new total: $10.36. He hands me a $10 bill and I ask, "Do you have 36 more cents?" "No. Do I have to pay it?" OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO PAY IT!! "Yes, I still need 36 more cents." He shuffles around and says, "I don't have anything else." I say, "We can take debit or credit cards too," and after a minute he hands me a card. Of course he doesn't tip and I'm not surprised because A.) I made his drink perfect, B.) I got him his cigarettes after he DIDN'T order them at the beginning WITHOUT being rude or anything, and C.) it took everything I had to not scream at him about the 36 cents. Sarcasm anyone?
Oh, there was a Customer Story 3 from today that I just remembered: I took this girl's order, "A 5-shot Americano with Sugar Free White Chocolate and whipping cream." I asked for the size and if it was hot or iced. "20oz. Hot." So I made it. I wanted to double check that she DIDN'T want cream and DID want whipping cream so I went to the window while I stirred in her shots, asked if it was correct, and she said, "No cream, yes whip cream, but it's iced." Honestly, she watched me make her entire drink HOT and waited until the end to say that I got the type of Americano wrong, AKA she changed her mind and blamed it on me for not reading her mind. Jeena said that the girl had done it to her before as well with another drink. Do people get off on this kind of stuff?
Who cares. I am not making coffee for anyone but myself between now and Thursday morning at 4:00am when I cover Tana's shift. And I might not even have that because my throat hurts. I drank water all day at work today to no avail. Time for some soup and a TV show, no? Lost comes tomorrow [first two discs of Season 1] so I might just watch a movie to not get into the middle of more than one thing. We finished the Harry Potters in three days, so that won't be interrupted.
Whatever. Soup time.
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