The Only Job I'll Ever Miss

I had a bad night last night. And you know what happens when you go to sleep angry? You wake up angry. I guess that's why the Bible tells us not to huh? Unfortunately there's nothing that Austin or I could do to make me un-angry last night, so the only option was to fall asleep. But then, just as I knew I would, I woke up angry. And you know what happens when you wake up angry? Nothing goes right. First of all, Reagan's morning howls for food were unbearable. I've dealt with them for 5 years now but on mornings like this, they are just too much. Then clothes don't look good, your hair won't work, there's nothing for breakfast...its just a long spiral downwards.

However, as I was walking towards the door to leave, my eyes caught a glimpse of something that had the potential to make my day better: my new Taylor Swift cd! It was in my stocking on Christmas and I loaded it on my computer that day but I hadn't listened to it yet. Taylor Swift can put a smile on anyone's face I think (or at least mine) so I grabbed it and decided that she was going to turn my day around. She was going to brighten my mood so I wouldn't walk into work with my head hung down. I inserted the CD, got all excited for the upbeat music on track 1, and about 1.5 minutes into the song I realized there were no lyrics. Tried track 2. Same problem. Track 3, 4...ok I give up. Not even Taylor Swift can work for me today.

At this point I wished I were standing rather than driving, and I wished there were someone standing in front of me to witness my emphatic decision, complete with crossed arms and a stomped foot, to go to Starbucks and get a white chocolate mocha. 500 calories or not, no one was going to stop me. But, I had to just envision myself playing that out because I was, in fact, already driving.

While at Starbucks I realized something: I miss working at Poor Yoricks. Being a coffee barista is by far my favorite job - not that I've had boat loads of jobs or anything. But it was a blast! In order to get through the rush all the baristas are on hyper-mode, which for us occurred in between classes all day...so on monday/wednesday/friday our rush came every 40-45 minutes and lasted 20-30 minutes. Tuesday/Thursdays were a little easier because classes were 25 minutes longer. Running around, singing along to fun music on the radio, steaming endless pots of milk, shouting out various coffee drinks that I never understood how we were able to remember...it was all part of the fun. And the best part: the customers. Customers love their coffee makers...its like they think you're a miracle worker if you can produce the perfect latte/cappuccino/mocha/etc. If they didn't come in with a smile on their face, the frown is instantly turned upside down when you hand them the warm cup o' joe (or whatever it is that they ordered).

The BEST customers are regulars. Like Professor Casey, for example. Set aside my and Alexis's crushes on him - we were juvenile(and he wasn't a REAL proffessor, he was a grad student so back off) :) Despite the crushes, he was a delight as a customer. He'd wait in line no matter how long it was, never letting go of his morning optimism, then he'd greet us all by name as he approached the counter. He already had his change counted out, Luis already had it rung up, and Alexis and I already had his large skim cappuccino, lots of foam with 2 sweet n low packets, prepared for the taking. Some days we'd even deliver it out to him as he waited in line (that part MIGHT be attributable to the crush)

Regulars or not, grumpy or not, the customers made the job enjoyable. To be able to bring that sort of happiness to people on a daily basis made Poor Yoricks a very rewarding job. Even if I was working for a measly $8.50/hour (which, at the time, was BANK)

So this morning as I watched the Starbucks employees mimicking the scenario I just described for you, I made a decision; If Austin makes it big in the business world, or if we win the lottery or in some other way come across money, I am going to be a coffee barista from 5am-10am. Then I can go home, relax, do crafts or some other hobby to occupy myself while Austin and the kids are gone and get ready to serve hundreds of warm cups of joy the next morning. And that thought, in itself, had the ability to slightly turn my morning from sour to ok.