I'm still waiting on the prints to come so I can mail them to you guys. I thought they'd be here sooner so I could get them to you by Christmas. If they haven't come by Friday I'm going to see what I can do about getting a refund of some sort, because they should have been here last Friday, Monday at the latest. I'm really sorry about this. I'd heard good things about the place I'm using, but maybe it's a screw up with the post office or something and not their fault. Poop.
I don't have much to report except that I did find a job a little bit ago. I work at a coffee shop close to where I live for not very much money, but it's so much nicer than working in an office, and I'm getting a dollar an hour raise come January, which is pretty sweet considering how long I've worked there. Then again, I also just got put in charge of inventory and ordering which is a pretty big job. We sell beer and wine as well as coffee, and we also have sandwiches and pastries and bagels and cookies, all of which come from a total of about 12 different distributers. It's not like we just sell a couple of kinds of beer, either, we've got about 30 different kinds, from Budweiser and Miller and Icehouse and Sam Adams to Sierra Nevada and Red Stripe and Guiness and Harp to Abita Purple Haze and Bridgeport Blackstrap Stout and Tupper's Hop Pocket and La Fin Du Monde, and the beer alone comes from 5 different places. It's fun, though. I really enjoy it. I've been overworked the last few weeks, though. In the last two week pay period I worked 103 hours. I got overtime and everything but really I just need some sleep. I'm so exhausted. I've had to work so much (and so has Tanya, the other girl who works there) because Emily, who works (worked, I suppose) in the morning, was getting phased out (her last day was Tuesday), and Judy, who was hired and put on the schedule and everything two weeks ago and even trained for a couple days ended up taking another job. We also had this other girl on and although she didn't work very much it was nice to know she was covering at least some of our hours every week, but she just didn't work out. If after you've worked for more than three shifts you're still looking at the sheet to see what goes into a large mocha, being a barista is not for you.
And tip your baristas, guys! Especially those who work at independently owned shops. I'm not saying that a barista who works at Starbucks has any less skill or talent than one who doesn't work at a chain (we all have to know how to pull a good shot and make sure the milk foams properly), but chances are a barista at a large chain store makes a higher hourly wage than one at a small shop. Right now I'm actually making a lower wage than I've ever made at any real job I've had before in my life. I depend on tips to pay my bills, and sickeningly, I am more likely to get a tip for uncapping and handing someone a beer than I am for making a 3 shot half-caf soy mocha with extra foam (soy milk doesn't give you very good foam, that shit's hard to do). People are used to tipping someone who serves them an alcoholic beverage, even if it's just a bottle of beer, but more often than not, people don't even think about tipping someone who makes them coffee, after all, it's not like they're in a restraunt and getting served at a table. The job I do requires skill to do well, and it irks me when a family of four comes in, orders their drinks one by one even though I ask if anyone else is ready to order every time, asks for my recommendations on our different coffees which I'm happy to provide, accidentally orders something without telling me to make it decaf and doesn't realize it until I'm done, gladly accepts my offer to make them what they had intended to order at no extra charge, also accepts my offer to bring them a drink that's going to take a couple more minutes to make than their others rather than one of them having to wait up at the bar for it, orders a couple food items, then whoops wants something else instead that's more expensive but I say not to worry about the extra thirty six cents, I'll cover it, then pays with a credit card, and rather than pretending not to see the little line that says "tip" next to it, they go out of their way to put a line through it, emphasizing the fact that they aren't tipping me. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy making coffee, and I do my best to provide people with excellent service because it makes me feel good when someone who's come in all grumpy after a shitty day at work leaves with a big smile on their face, not just because I want their money, but when I've gone above and beyond for someone, especially during a busy time, because I want every customer to get exactly what they want, it hurts me when that person goes out of their way to not tip me. It's one thing if they don't have any money to stick in the tip jar, or if they (pretend they) don't see the line to write in a tip on the credit card receipt, or if they outright tell me they're poor and can't tip me, but going out of their way to let me know they're not tipping me is just fucking insulting. There's no way in hell they'd ever do that to their waiter or bartender. *sigh* Anyway, I tell myself they've probably never worked in the service industry and don't realize how much their tips are depended upon by those like me for their living. Oh well.
I'm tired. I'm going to sleep til noon tomorrow.
I don't have much to report except that I did find a job a little bit ago. I work at a coffee shop close to where I live for not very much money, but it's so much nicer than working in an office, and I'm getting a dollar an hour raise come January, which is pretty sweet considering how long I've worked there. Then again, I also just got put in charge of inventory and ordering which is a pretty big job. We sell beer and wine as well as coffee, and we also have sandwiches and pastries and bagels and cookies, all of which come from a total of about 12 different distributers. It's not like we just sell a couple of kinds of beer, either, we've got about 30 different kinds, from Budweiser and Miller and Icehouse and Sam Adams to Sierra Nevada and Red Stripe and Guiness and Harp to Abita Purple Haze and Bridgeport Blackstrap Stout and Tupper's Hop Pocket and La Fin Du Monde, and the beer alone comes from 5 different places. It's fun, though. I really enjoy it. I've been overworked the last few weeks, though. In the last two week pay period I worked 103 hours. I got overtime and everything but really I just need some sleep. I'm so exhausted. I've had to work so much (and so has Tanya, the other girl who works there) because Emily, who works (worked, I suppose) in the morning, was getting phased out (her last day was Tuesday), and Judy, who was hired and put on the schedule and everything two weeks ago and even trained for a couple days ended up taking another job. We also had this other girl on and although she didn't work very much it was nice to know she was covering at least some of our hours every week, but she just didn't work out. If after you've worked for more than three shifts you're still looking at the sheet to see what goes into a large mocha, being a barista is not for you.
And tip your baristas, guys! Especially those who work at independently owned shops. I'm not saying that a barista who works at Starbucks has any less skill or talent than one who doesn't work at a chain (we all have to know how to pull a good shot and make sure the milk foams properly), but chances are a barista at a large chain store makes a higher hourly wage than one at a small shop. Right now I'm actually making a lower wage than I've ever made at any real job I've had before in my life. I depend on tips to pay my bills, and sickeningly, I am more likely to get a tip for uncapping and handing someone a beer than I am for making a 3 shot half-caf soy mocha with extra foam (soy milk doesn't give you very good foam, that shit's hard to do). People are used to tipping someone who serves them an alcoholic beverage, even if it's just a bottle of beer, but more often than not, people don't even think about tipping someone who makes them coffee, after all, it's not like they're in a restraunt and getting served at a table. The job I do requires skill to do well, and it irks me when a family of four comes in, orders their drinks one by one even though I ask if anyone else is ready to order every time, asks for my recommendations on our different coffees which I'm happy to provide, accidentally orders something without telling me to make it decaf and doesn't realize it until I'm done, gladly accepts my offer to make them what they had intended to order at no extra charge, also accepts my offer to bring them a drink that's going to take a couple more minutes to make than their others rather than one of them having to wait up at the bar for it, orders a couple food items, then whoops wants something else instead that's more expensive but I say not to worry about the extra thirty six cents, I'll cover it, then pays with a credit card, and rather than pretending not to see the little line that says "tip" next to it, they go out of their way to put a line through it, emphasizing the fact that they aren't tipping me. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy making coffee, and I do my best to provide people with excellent service because it makes me feel good when someone who's come in all grumpy after a shitty day at work leaves with a big smile on their face, not just because I want their money, but when I've gone above and beyond for someone, especially during a busy time, because I want every customer to get exactly what they want, it hurts me when that person goes out of their way to not tip me. It's one thing if they don't have any money to stick in the tip jar, or if they (pretend they) don't see the line to write in a tip on the credit card receipt, or if they outright tell me they're poor and can't tip me, but going out of their way to let me know they're not tipping me is just fucking insulting. There's no way in hell they'd ever do that to their waiter or bartender. *sigh* Anyway, I tell myself they've probably never worked in the service industry and don't realize how much their tips are depended upon by those like me for their living. Oh well.
I'm tired. I'm going to sleep til noon tomorrow.
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Also, I've always thought I should tip based on skill not custom. Like I tip a person who carries a plate of food from a kitchen to my table. 20% and up, but I don't tip the person at J. Crew who tells me what shirt will go with what pants, and on an on...a far more complex job if you ask me. I don't out of custom tip the barista who makes my Americano. Tipping is bizarre and thinking about it hurts my head.
Anyway, your absence is noted. But I hope you're having fun doing whatever you are doing.
I wish I could hear the band.