Posts (page 2)
Day 293 of Project 365 = work, new house plants, Big Bang Theory DVD's.
Day 292 of Project 365 = sleeping in, last minute clean of the Ashland house before inspection, flowers growing in one of the spots in the yard where Gridge loved napping. I miss my baby.
Day 291 of Project 365 = more unpacking, laundry, etc.
I’ve been picking up my morning coffee at the Virginia Center Commons Starbucks store every weekday for the past two months now….and this morning….was the first time I felt any kind of energy in the store.
Usually, I walk in to find a line between 5 and 10 people long. The baristas run back and forth with orders. You don’t usually get a “good morning” until you get up to the register. There is no small talk. You pay, you get your coffee and you leave.
Like many others, I fix my coffee a very specific way (a little splash of non-fat milk, two packets of “sugar in the raw” and a little dose of ground cinnamon)…but it’s almost a daily occurrence at this store that I have to ask a barista for some non-fat milk (because they don’t have it out) and/or some cinnamon. It’s slightly frustrating to have to wait to get the attention of any of them when it’s so busy. I never had this problem in Ashland.
I’d pretty much made up my mind after the first month that I would simply have to accept that this is not the Ashland Starbucks. The people are just…different. It’s not a “small town” environment…..it’s a Starbucks next to a shopping mall….it’s not a gathering ground….it’s a grab-n-go.
This morning, however…..something was different.
A man walking out of the store with his order had a smirk on his face. A smirk!
People walking out of here are typically rushing….not smirking.
A man sitting down at one of the tables eating oatmeal was chuckling about something.
I felt liked I’d walked into a completely different Starbucks.
And then I heard it……
“Venti no whip, non-fat caramel macchiato!”
The voice was extremely familiar...and boisterous.
There, behind the counter, working the expresso machine….was my Starbucks barista from the Ashland Starbucks!
He was calling out orders, chatting people up, emitting his exuberance to everyone within earshot.
People in line were smiling….laughing…..chatting.
I suddenly became anxious and wondered if he’d recognize me (it’d only been 2 months) and wondered if he’d call me “nemesis” again (he started calling me nemesis a year or so ago in Ashland when he kept thinking he had my order pegged but I kept changing it on him—so much for “the usual”).
As I got closer and closer to the register (and being seen) I started smirking! If he didn’t recognize me I’d give him crap. That was my plan.
“NEMESIS!!!!!” he shouted.
I immediately started laughing and the other baristas seemed shocked at his outburst toward me.
“What are you doing here?!?!” he shouted.
“I told you I moved!” I shouted back.
“How are your puppies?” he asked as he made another drink.
I didn’t have it in me to bring him (and myself) down with the recent news of my losing Gridge to cancer, so I just smiled and said “good”.
“How’s your husband?”
“Good!”
“How’s work?”
“Good!”
“Are you getting any food today?”
I smirked. “No, just a coffee.”
“NEMESIS!!!!!!!!!!”
We laughed a bit more and he explained he was filling in for the manager at this location and said he’d be around for another week or two.
This news absolutely delighted me.
I fixed my coffee (and didn’t even mind that I had to use 2% milk instead of non-fat) and I walked out with a huge smile on my face.
It’s amazing how one person can change the entire dynamic of a store.
It just takes one…
Day 290 of Project 365 = sleeping in, breakfast in bed, unpacking boxes, running across "surprises", Chipotle dinner, Big Bang Theory DVD. T'was a good and productive day!
Day 289 of Project 365 = work, contract signed for the house (keeping fingers crossed!), a very dull experience at Arby's for dinner and a friends birthday bash. Note to self: Apple-tini's go down MUCH easier than apple pie shooters!
Day 288 of Project 365 = work, possible offer on the house, my nephews birthday party.
Day 287 of Project 365 = work, letting my nephew open and play with his birthday present early (Crazy Forts are AWESOME), meatloaf dinner (yum!) and good company.
Day 286 of Project 365 = long day at work, things, dinner at McDonalds with the boys and crazy fish monsters in the clouds.
Day 285 of Project 365 = furlough Monday, laundry, housework, movies, breakfast for dinner.
