Two months ago, I was plucked like a pound puppy out of my hellacious job, waiting tables for drunk, racist, bigoted old men. My life raft in my sea of hopelessness (job wise) was coffee giant, Starbucks. Two months later I am HAPPIER, kinder, and feel more fulfilled by my work than I ever have before. Here is why:

1. Espresso: I have never been an Sbux “regular”, ever. I had no particular coffee knowledge before my first date with the Siren. Now I am a espresso junkie. A particularly rough Tuesday warrants 6 partner beverages- doppio after doppio after doppio. I TAKE SHOTS AT WORK!

2. Handcrafting beverages: yeah, I used a fancy way to say it, but it makes me feel good to give you a beautiful Caramel Macchiatto. Every time I walk into work, I can’t wait to make drinks. My drinks, your drinks, everyone’s drinks! All about it.

3. Support: Starbucks has this great title that they give their employees- partners. And yes, we use that word everyday in every store. And it is true, we are all partners when we walk in the door and tie our cute little green aprons. It takes trust to work with people anywhere, but the people I work with, are truly the best people I’ve worked with in a very long time. Starbucks treats us as partners much Better than most places especially for a company so big. I won’t get into our benefits, but they’re awesome.

4. People-watching: who doesn’t people watch? If you don’t, you’re just lying. It’s endlessly interesting to watch the dude at the table skyping loudly with his foreign girlfriend, and even more interesting to catch bits of line conversation (yes my hair is fabulous, and thank you, grande 3 pump white mocha).

5. Remembering names: I have never been a name memorizer at work, everywhere else, I can tell you anyone’s name. But never at work. I know this is important because I was a waitress who thrived on the tips of unruly regulars. But writing a persons name every time on a cup when they come in has done the trick. Ps. If I like your name sometimes I’ll draw a little smiley to confuse you (“do I know the girl at the register?”).

6. Free Coffee: Hey! It’s the best coffee on the block but for a college girl like me, buying a pound of caffe Verona makes my grocery budget wanna slit its wrists. I get a free pound of delicious aromatic Starbucks coffee, for free every week. My boyfriend doesn’t drink coffee so often I can’t go through a whole pound. So sometimes, I won’t grind the coffee, I’ll save it for later or for gifts. My Boyfriends family has never loved me so much.

7. Educating: Yes, I may only be a barista, but when your hotmess self comes sauntering in needing something to wash down your morning dose lf plan-b, I can tell you that a “half caff cappuccino latte” does not exist. BUT I won’t just burst your bubble and hand you a coffee, I try to always walk people through what they like and don’t like to get an awesome drink. Then, if I have time I will write down the drink I made so you have a future reference for mornings such as this.

8. It’s only coffee: waiting tables,I would go home feeling so beat down. Tables would be so relentless in their pursuit to make me cry over the fact that I don’t have 12 hands and that it is in fact NOT okay to touch me there, sir. It was tough to remind myself that it was only food, not life or death,
Especially when customers would hide chicken wings in my clean pile of rolled silverware. At the bux, when someone asks for dark roast, but it isn’t brewed, they get a medium roast, and thank me
for it. I serve good coffee to generally good people, Movin’ on up for sure.

9. Roasted Tomato Mozzarella Panini: if you have ever had this Starbucks sandwich, you will share my enthusiasm with being able to eat this on my lunch break.

10. The company: Starbucks has done great things for people, its provided me with health insurance. It helps the families of the coffee growers maintain a higher quality of life. It supports becoming more environmentally friendly and supports equal rights. Starbucks is a company that has used its impact on society to shed light on important causes.

Even on the days I don’t want to, I get in the car, put on my apron and clock in. My day instantly becomes better.
That may be from my caffeine addiction, but to be honest, it’s probably not.

Lately, I have found myself so confused, frustrated, and just plain agitated at one of my very close friends. She has been hanging out with her “best guy friend” (who she’s in love with secretly) for a year now, only to recieve very small advances from him. He constantly tells her about every girl he’s with or wants to be with, he even tells her to bring her friends over so he can hook up with them! Whether or not these girls he’s telling her about are true, the point is, he’s not making an effort to be with her at all, and yet she still wants to hope & believe they’re meant to be. I understand hanging on to a guy, but the reason she sticks around this douchelord (and the reason she won’t confess her felings to him) is because she believes she doesn’t deserve a good guy. It bothers me that she puts our friendship, which borders on sisterhood, on the back burner to be completely invested and comitted in someone who cannot commit anything to her. She is a sweet, funny, and caring person, who DESERVES a millionaire with a heart of gold, but with the way she’s been acting, I’m starting to view her the same way I view him. And her playing fetch with him only perpetuates the fact that she is his bitch.We have been friends over half of my life, since childhood. No one, not even myself knows me the way that she does, but lately I’m wondering if that is the case anymore. We haven’t done anything fun together in forever. When we hang out, there is an air of awkwardness hanging in the room. When she does answer my calls (rare) and we make plans it’s only to bide her time until Assclown to gets off work, or when we go to dinner she will answer the phone a the table, and proceeds to giggle like an idiot until he ends their 20 minute convo. A couple of weeks ago, he came over to hangout at her house (another rare occurance, she is always at his place) and I spotted him texting another girl all night long, how does my friend react when I warn her? IGNORES IT. So yesterday was just the final straw for me,  I get a missed call from this douche and shoot him a text while I’m at work, to see if my friend was actaully calling from his phone. No she didnt call, it was him & HE TRIES TO HIT ON ME. Hello? I hate your ass and not only that, but I am practically married by now, have some class and respect for God’s sake. She then texts me to tell me “he’s only fucking with you hahahahaha”. Good Joke,right? I don’t want to throw away a friendship like this, but it’s been a year I’m tired of hearing about this dumbass and even more tired of her ditching me for a guy who has no respect for her. I understand how hard it is to balance a relationship and friendships, but this guy is not in a relationship with her, he makes it clear every time he tells her who he fucked the night before! I live with my boyfriend and still make an effort to have sleepovers, go out, have dinner or just hang out with her. I visit her when she’s sad, spend the night if need be, just because I have a man doesn’t mean I don’t need a best friend anymore. I don’t want to toot my own horn but I do a damn good job balancing my time between Andrew, friends and work, but it has taken a long time to find that balance ( and Andrew is very understanding :) . I’m not jealous of her “best guy friend” for stealing her time from me. I am very angry at the way he treats her, and even more angry at her for letting herself be treated that way. I feel a wedge between us and have tried hard to shrink it, but it seems like it’s only growing, and soon, we won’t have anything to talk about at all. I will just be someone she used to be friends with. Slowly but surely, I am getting okay with that idea. Not because it’s what I want, but because It is inevitable and I am a practical person. I only hope that when she sees him for what he is, she has someone half as loyal as I was to help her get through it. So any advice on how to bring this up? Should I even bring it up? Help me, followers!

leighadbrooks@aol.com

or find me on fb :)

forever thankful,

leigha