The title of this post takes me back to Highland Park Village, working at Starbucks, watching Dragan shrug and ask, "Why bother?" any time anyone ordered something with no fat, no sugar, and no caffeine - like a decaf tall sugar free vanilla nonfat latte, or a decaf tall nonfat no whip no foam mocha, or something like that. I guess his point was, if you're not going to do anything fun with it or depend on it for a spark, then why bother spending the $3-4? Beats me. I drink caffeinated black coffee like it's water.
But the "Why bother?" here refers to my complete lack of purpose, especially in New England. If someone here giving a shit about me at all is the caffeine in my beverage, making enough to support myself and pay bills is the whipped cream on top. Unfortunately, I have neither, and as I go through the daily grind (pun intended), I can't help but ask myself why I'm still in Boston or alive at all. Why do I work so hard when it isn't enough anyway? Why do I try to be conscientious at work when the people who will benefit from it snap at me? Why do I even leave the house when my chances of meeting anyone - literally anyone - nice are slim? Why do I do people favors when I know I can't get one in return? Why bother?
I am so tired of being snapped at, yelled at, and told "no." One of these days, I'm going to have had enough, and I'll give up. I just won't show at work, and I'll be gone.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
My laptop lives again!
...Though I have to say, I didn't miss being online much. Really, I only missed it the couple of times I needed driving directions and then, the night I figured out I didn't have a country CD anywhere in my book of CDs in my car, and I really wanted to come home and burn a new one. So, I'm taking some time now to catch up on e-mail (yeah, 800 new e-mails, it's going to take a while) and facebook (while listening to Amarillo By Morning and Texas On My Mind, of course).
A lot has happened lately, but I don't think I'll get around to talking about any of it. I haven't had much time to process the craziness that is my life right now. I work 70ish hours a week and spend whatever remains of my time sleeping or doing laundry. I went for a drive late last night after work to give myself time to think. It reminded me of the times I used to drive down Preston Road in Dallas, from my Starbucks in Highland Park all the way out to Celina, past the creepy graveyard and closed gas station. Unfortunately, the territory was foreign, not familiar, so it was not as relaxing as it would have been had I been on State Highway 289 in my beloved state of Texas.
Really, I miss Texas, and all of the Texans I love. I'm tired of being alone. Work at Starbucks has been going fine, but I have utterly failed at meeting people outside of work. I'm not used to having to try so hard. I will be coming home for one of the major holidays (I haven't decided which yet; all I know is I've been told I can take one holiday, and the Starbucks that hired me has offered to take me in while I'm home). I hope I make it that far. Life isn't easy right now, and it seems like it's just getting harder.
Other things to look forward to this fall... my Starbucks anniversary is December 4th, so I will be hosting some sort of dinner. The Head of the Charles is coming up, and I will be flying my mother up for either that weekend or the one right after. Hopefully, I will have furniture by then. Ha. But really, it would be nice to get off of this air mattress.
Well, I guess that's it for now. Hopefully, things will get better, and I'll feel like eating again. At least I now have a working computer again.
A lot has happened lately, but I don't think I'll get around to talking about any of it. I haven't had much time to process the craziness that is my life right now. I work 70ish hours a week and spend whatever remains of my time sleeping or doing laundry. I went for a drive late last night after work to give myself time to think. It reminded me of the times I used to drive down Preston Road in Dallas, from my Starbucks in Highland Park all the way out to Celina, past the creepy graveyard and closed gas station. Unfortunately, the territory was foreign, not familiar, so it was not as relaxing as it would have been had I been on State Highway 289 in my beloved state of Texas.
Really, I miss Texas, and all of the Texans I love. I'm tired of being alone. Work at Starbucks has been going fine, but I have utterly failed at meeting people outside of work. I'm not used to having to try so hard. I will be coming home for one of the major holidays (I haven't decided which yet; all I know is I've been told I can take one holiday, and the Starbucks that hired me has offered to take me in while I'm home). I hope I make it that far. Life isn't easy right now, and it seems like it's just getting harder.
Other things to look forward to this fall... my Starbucks anniversary is December 4th, so I will be hosting some sort of dinner. The Head of the Charles is coming up, and I will be flying my mother up for either that weekend or the one right after. Hopefully, I will have furniture by then. Ha. But really, it would be nice to get off of this air mattress.
Well, I guess that's it for now. Hopefully, things will get better, and I'll feel like eating again. At least I now have a working computer again.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Brownie mania!
I love to bake.
It's very therapeutic. It is very similar to cooking, but is more simple. So, I do a ton of it when I have a day off. Last weekend, I baked a total of 120 brownies, and delivered them to several different locations - Brookline fire stations, Starbucks locations in my district, and even the Chipotle where I know a good portion of the crew.
There's a secret recipe involved. They are delicious. Aaron at the Dedham Chipotle described them as "chocolatey wow". They go well with Paulaner Heifeweizen.
I have taken them to five Brookline fire stations (1, 4, 5, 6, 7), six Starbucks locations, and the Chipotle in Dedham. If you are a partner or a firefighter in the area and want my brownies delivered to your store or station, leave a comment with the location, and if it's within a reasonable distance, I will add it to my list. I have twelve locations on the list now; I try to hit about eight of them each week, between the two days I have off each week, which may or may not shift. I bake between 40 and 80 in each session; 10 brownies go to each location.
There is no charge. There are two requirements: 1) you and your colleagues must be willing and able to eat all brownies before they expire (I would hate for them to go to waste) and 2) anyone with allergies to milk, wheat, or soy products must refrain from consuming the brownies.
It's very therapeutic. It is very similar to cooking, but is more simple. So, I do a ton of it when I have a day off. Last weekend, I baked a total of 120 brownies, and delivered them to several different locations - Brookline fire stations, Starbucks locations in my district, and even the Chipotle where I know a good portion of the crew.
There's a secret recipe involved. They are delicious. Aaron at the Dedham Chipotle described them as "chocolatey wow". They go well with Paulaner Heifeweizen.
I have taken them to five Brookline fire stations (1, 4, 5, 6, 7), six Starbucks locations, and the Chipotle in Dedham. If you are a partner or a firefighter in the area and want my brownies delivered to your store or station, leave a comment with the location, and if it's within a reasonable distance, I will add it to my list. I have twelve locations on the list now; I try to hit about eight of them each week, between the two days I have off each week, which may or may not shift. I bake between 40 and 80 in each session; 10 brownies go to each location.
There is no charge. There are two requirements: 1) you and your colleagues must be willing and able to eat all brownies before they expire (I would hate for them to go to waste) and 2) anyone with allergies to milk, wheat, or soy products must refrain from consuming the brownies.
Friday, July 11, 2008
One more reason I do not like Boston.
Don't you hate watching your car roll down the street? Obviously, if you're watching, you're not in it, and when you own a car, you kind of feel like if it's ever going down the street, you should be pushing the pedals and holding the steering wheel.
I was walking back from Arcie's apartment last night. Said goodbye one last time. As I'm walking back to where I parked, I see a black tow truck going the opposite direction down Comm Ave, pulling a green 2004 Honda Civic. The popularity of this car helps me tell myself it's probably not mine. But it's the same shade of Acapulco green, which is moderately rare among 2004 Honda Civics. My stomach turns over, and I start running to where my car is parked.
...Or not parked. That was my car being towed. I parked at the Brookline Liquor Mart, where I've parked before for short periods of time without a problem. There is a sign stating that if the store is open and you are parked there for reasons other than purchasing items from the mart, you may be towed. The store was already closed, so I figured I would be fine for a little while, especially since I've parked there late at night without incident before.
So I called the towing company listed on the sign. I give the guy the car make, model, year, color, and plates, and he tells me they definitely don't have a Civic with Texas plates. I protest, telling him I just saw it going down the street a few minutes before, and maybe they just haven't gotten it in the system yet. He tells me they haven't gotten a call to tow from that location at all tonight, then suggests that I call the police and see if they have it.
So I call Boston Police. I get put through to the towing line, get put on hold for a few minutes, and finally they check for my car. He tells me they don't have a green Honda Civic with Texas plates. I beg him to check again, tell him I just saw it being taken down the street, they must have it. He tells me to hold on a minute, something just came in. I hear some commotion, and then, the guy gets back on the line and tells me my car was towed without clearance, which basically means it was stolen, and the company that towed it is going to try and make me pay the fee. He says he told the company to return my car to where it was towed from in fifteen minutes or less, and tells me to call him back if it's not back in that fifteen minutes.
So I wait, and exactly fifteen minutes later, a tow truck pulls up with no car attached to it. The large Hispanic man driving the truck asks me if the Honda Civic was my car. I take this opportunity to lose it, telling him everything the police just told me, telling him there's no way the owner of the store had it towed because I know her, telling him I want my car back, now. His story keeps changing. First, he tells me they were told to tow my car specifically. Then, he says
that they must have gotten confused, because they were told to tow all the cars by the owner of the liquor mart. I ask him why they didn't use the posted towing company, as is the law, and then he tells me that a guy who rents the spots overnight called him to have it towed, not the owner of the liquor mart. I tell him I'm calling the police back and pull out my phone. He tells me to just get in the truck, and he'll take me to my car. I get in the truck.
He takes me to a yard off North Beacon pretty far out in Brighton. There's my car. I go over to inspect it, and he tells me to just leave, not to pay anything. Other people having their cars towed turn to watch me pull the car off the lot without paying. They looked a little pissed.
The police still say it was technically stolen, because if the owner of the liquor mart had called a towing company, it had to be the posted one, and since that was not the company that towed my car, the owner of the liquor mart did not likely call anyone to tow the cars in the lot. I can press charges.
I was walking back from Arcie's apartment last night. Said goodbye one last time. As I'm walking back to where I parked, I see a black tow truck going the opposite direction down Comm Ave, pulling a green 2004 Honda Civic. The popularity of this car helps me tell myself it's probably not mine. But it's the same shade of Acapulco green, which is moderately rare among 2004 Honda Civics. My stomach turns over, and I start running to where my car is parked.
...Or not parked. That was my car being towed. I parked at the Brookline Liquor Mart, where I've parked before for short periods of time without a problem. There is a sign stating that if the store is open and you are parked there for reasons other than purchasing items from the mart, you may be towed. The store was already closed, so I figured I would be fine for a little while, especially since I've parked there late at night without incident before.
So I called the towing company listed on the sign. I give the guy the car make, model, year, color, and plates, and he tells me they definitely don't have a Civic with Texas plates. I protest, telling him I just saw it going down the street a few minutes before, and maybe they just haven't gotten it in the system yet. He tells me they haven't gotten a call to tow from that location at all tonight, then suggests that I call the police and see if they have it.
So I call Boston Police. I get put through to the towing line, get put on hold for a few minutes, and finally they check for my car. He tells me they don't have a green Honda Civic with Texas plates. I beg him to check again, tell him I just saw it being taken down the street, they must have it. He tells me to hold on a minute, something just came in. I hear some commotion, and then, the guy gets back on the line and tells me my car was towed without clearance, which basically means it was stolen, and the company that towed it is going to try and make me pay the fee. He says he told the company to return my car to where it was towed from in fifteen minutes or less, and tells me to call him back if it's not back in that fifteen minutes.
So I wait, and exactly fifteen minutes later, a tow truck pulls up with no car attached to it. The large Hispanic man driving the truck asks me if the Honda Civic was my car. I take this opportunity to lose it, telling him everything the police just told me, telling him there's no way the owner of the store had it towed because I know her, telling him I want my car back, now. His story keeps changing. First, he tells me they were told to tow my car specifically. Then, he says
that they must have gotten confused, because they were told to tow all the cars by the owner of the liquor mart. I ask him why they didn't use the posted towing company, as is the law, and then he tells me that a guy who rents the spots overnight called him to have it towed, not the owner of the liquor mart. I tell him I'm calling the police back and pull out my phone. He tells me to just get in the truck, and he'll take me to my car. I get in the truck.
He takes me to a yard off North Beacon pretty far out in Brighton. There's my car. I go over to inspect it, and he tells me to just leave, not to pay anything. Other people having their cars towed turn to watch me pull the car off the lot without paying. They looked a little pissed.
The police still say it was technically stolen, because if the owner of the liquor mart had called a towing company, it had to be the posted one, and since that was not the company that towed my car, the owner of the liquor mart did not likely call anyone to tow the cars in the lot. I can press charges.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Anonymous comments.
I received some anonymous comments (they seemed to be from the same person) on the post I put up about getting promoted.
I am sorry, but I am not going to allow those comments. I am not going to turn my blog into a place where people rant about Starbucks. The main point of that post was my growth with Starbucks, not the current state of the company. Whatever the stock price, whatever the roast being served, it is still a good company. Starbucks is my employer, and partners in all areas of the company, in high places and low places, have been good to me in many ways. I will not show them disrespect by allowing rants like that on here. There are web sites for people who want to argue about Starbucks.
I am sorry, but I am not going to allow those comments. I am not going to turn my blog into a place where people rant about Starbucks. The main point of that post was my growth with Starbucks, not the current state of the company. Whatever the stock price, whatever the roast being served, it is still a good company. Starbucks is my employer, and partners in all areas of the company, in high places and low places, have been good to me in many ways. I will not show them disrespect by allowing rants like that on here. There are web sites for people who want to argue about Starbucks.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Guinness burgers!
Alright, alright... I made these burgers weeks ago, and I promised I would post the recipe, so here you go.
GUINNESS BURGERS
Rich flavors saturating an American classic
Ingredients: bison meat (1/4-1/3 pound per burger, depending on how hungry you are), one can of chilled Guinness, aged English cheddar cheese, grainy horseradish mustard, whole wheat buns
This is a very basic play on the bison burger recipe I posted over a year ago.
Start by putting a sheet of wax paper down on a cookie sheet, covering most of the bottom. Pour the can of chilled Guinness into the cookie sheet. After creating flat, round bison patties of whatever size you like, place them in the Guinness on the cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet on a level shelf in the refrigerator so that the Guinness is saturating every burger. Allow the meat to marinate in just the Guinness for at least 3-4 hours.
Next, cooking methods. I decided to fry the burgers in a pan, because I wanted the burgers to cook in their own liquids, inside of grilling them, which would cause the Guinness to drip off into the grill, making the stout's flavor less potent than it would be if the burgers were cooked in the liquid naturally draining off of the cooking burger. I cooked mine for about 4 minutes on each side on medium heat, but I like my burgers on the rare side. You can adjust the heat and the cooking time to your own desires, but be careful to cook the burgers for roughly the same amount of time on each side.
While the burgers are cooking, prepare the bun. I used whole wheat buns, with grainy horseradish mustard, and it was delicious - it was just the right balance with the sharpness of the cheddar and the wholeness of the stout's flavor.
As the burger is finishing cooking, add grated aged English cheddar to the top of the burger. For the cheese to properly melt and add flavor to the burger, it should be put on the burger about 1.5-2 minutes prior to the completion of the cooking of the burger.
Voila. Guinness burger. The stout flavor stays, while the alcohol cooks off. I imagine it would be really good with potatoes.
GUINNESS BURGERS
Rich flavors saturating an American classic
Ingredients: bison meat (1/4-1/3 pound per burger, depending on how hungry you are), one can of chilled Guinness, aged English cheddar cheese, grainy horseradish mustard, whole wheat buns
This is a very basic play on the bison burger recipe I posted over a year ago.
Start by putting a sheet of wax paper down on a cookie sheet, covering most of the bottom. Pour the can of chilled Guinness into the cookie sheet. After creating flat, round bison patties of whatever size you like, place them in the Guinness on the cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet on a level shelf in the refrigerator so that the Guinness is saturating every burger. Allow the meat to marinate in just the Guinness for at least 3-4 hours.
Next, cooking methods. I decided to fry the burgers in a pan, because I wanted the burgers to cook in their own liquids, inside of grilling them, which would cause the Guinness to drip off into the grill, making the stout's flavor less potent than it would be if the burgers were cooked in the liquid naturally draining off of the cooking burger. I cooked mine for about 4 minutes on each side on medium heat, but I like my burgers on the rare side. You can adjust the heat and the cooking time to your own desires, but be careful to cook the burgers for roughly the same amount of time on each side.
While the burgers are cooking, prepare the bun. I used whole wheat buns, with grainy horseradish mustard, and it was delicious - it was just the right balance with the sharpness of the cheddar and the wholeness of the stout's flavor.
As the burger is finishing cooking, add grated aged English cheddar to the top of the burger. For the cheese to properly melt and add flavor to the burger, it should be put on the burger about 1.5-2 minutes prior to the completion of the cooking of the burger.
Voila. Guinness burger. The stout flavor stays, while the alcohol cooks off. I imagine it would be really good with potatoes.
You've come a long way, baby!
Tuesday afternoon. I am at the store, training a new partner, while my district manager looks on. I don't know it, but my highly anticipated promotion is on the table. I had been told my interview for my promotion would not be for another 2-4 weeks.
The district manager spoke with most of the partners in the store that day, one by one. So, when my store manager told me to go sit down and talk to Jon, I didn't really think anything of it. Yes, I was nervous, because I've spent the last month and a half trying to secure the promotion to shift supervisor, and every impression matters, but not nearly as nervous as I would have been had I known it was my actual interview.
So, it went really well... and I got the promotion. I was shocked. I did not even know I was interviewing right then and there... I just thought the district manager was quizzing me about Starbucks, which was fine with me, because I love to talk about Starbucks and coffee. This promotion is something I have wanted for over a year, and I think it came at just the right time for both the company and myself. If it had come earlier, I would not have been in the right state of mind to take it on properly, with the right amount of enthusiasm, knowledge, and maturity. If it had come much later, I would have started to become disgruntled, because my hard work and cultivated skills were being ignored. It is a good time for the company because, well, let's face it: the economy is not good right now, and that's not good for business. Starbucks, like many other businesses, is seeing a downturn in sales. On top of that, we are in the middle of restructuring our company. In my new position, I will have a greater capacity for sharing the passion I feel both about coffee and about Starbucks. As both my new store and the company turn the corner and go in a new direction, I will be able to contribute positively, and the company needs people who are passionate right now. I might say that we need passionate people as much now as we did when Starbucks was still a very young company.
I also recently celebrated my 18 months with the company. I cannot believe how much I have grown in the last eighteen, twelve, even six months. Obviously, I have learned volumes about coffee. Less obviously, I have learned even more about myself, leadership, and other people, both individuals and in general. As a result, I can deal with situations at work and in my personal life in a more constructive manner. I am better at taking things in stride. Just when I think I have grown more than I ever could in a particular period of time, I grow some more. I am a more mature, more professional, happier person. I have never loved a job this much or felt this comfortable with a company. It is a rare, beautiful thing to work for a company with values that match your own as intensely as the values of Starbucks match mine. I feel like I belong here. I guess the district manager feels the same way.
I cannot tell you how good it felt to repeatedly nail the questions he was asking me. Not only was I talking about two of my favorite things, Starbucks and coffee, but it felt good to instinctively know my answers were right. I can rely on the instincts I have because my values just matched with that of Starbucks so seamlessly and easily. Things just make sense. The logic in my brain can eat away at any piece of policy, and it always comes out making a lot of sense.
I am so excited about my promotion. This is going to be a long learning journey, and I cannot wait to get started. It could not have happened with a better company or at a better time in my life.
The district manager spoke with most of the partners in the store that day, one by one. So, when my store manager told me to go sit down and talk to Jon, I didn't really think anything of it. Yes, I was nervous, because I've spent the last month and a half trying to secure the promotion to shift supervisor, and every impression matters, but not nearly as nervous as I would have been had I known it was my actual interview.
So, it went really well... and I got the promotion. I was shocked. I did not even know I was interviewing right then and there... I just thought the district manager was quizzing me about Starbucks, which was fine with me, because I love to talk about Starbucks and coffee. This promotion is something I have wanted for over a year, and I think it came at just the right time for both the company and myself. If it had come earlier, I would not have been in the right state of mind to take it on properly, with the right amount of enthusiasm, knowledge, and maturity. If it had come much later, I would have started to become disgruntled, because my hard work and cultivated skills were being ignored. It is a good time for the company because, well, let's face it: the economy is not good right now, and that's not good for business. Starbucks, like many other businesses, is seeing a downturn in sales. On top of that, we are in the middle of restructuring our company. In my new position, I will have a greater capacity for sharing the passion I feel both about coffee and about Starbucks. As both my new store and the company turn the corner and go in a new direction, I will be able to contribute positively, and the company needs people who are passionate right now. I might say that we need passionate people as much now as we did when Starbucks was still a very young company.
I also recently celebrated my 18 months with the company. I cannot believe how much I have grown in the last eighteen, twelve, even six months. Obviously, I have learned volumes about coffee. Less obviously, I have learned even more about myself, leadership, and other people, both individuals and in general. As a result, I can deal with situations at work and in my personal life in a more constructive manner. I am better at taking things in stride. Just when I think I have grown more than I ever could in a particular period of time, I grow some more. I am a more mature, more professional, happier person. I have never loved a job this much or felt this comfortable with a company. It is a rare, beautiful thing to work for a company with values that match your own as intensely as the values of Starbucks match mine. I feel like I belong here. I guess the district manager feels the same way.
I cannot tell you how good it felt to repeatedly nail the questions he was asking me. Not only was I talking about two of my favorite things, Starbucks and coffee, but it felt good to instinctively know my answers were right. I can rely on the instincts I have because my values just matched with that of Starbucks so seamlessly and easily. Things just make sense. The logic in my brain can eat away at any piece of policy, and it always comes out making a lot of sense.
I am so excited about my promotion. This is going to be a long learning journey, and I cannot wait to get started. It could not have happened with a better company or at a better time in my life.
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