A very amusing moment

So at work we spend a lot of time people watching. We have a big window that looks out onto Nicolette Mall and in the down time we watch crazy people talk to pigeons, girls walk by with too-short skirts on, fools with a bandanna and a hat on in wearing skinny jeans. It's highly entertaining. And with this comes the regulars. We see people come from across the street and we start making their drink, or in my case, we stare at the cute boy hoping he'll come over and get a coffee so I can ask him out.

I don't know his name. I think its Mike, a friend of mine thinks its Tucker (But I think he says that to mess with me) so we call this guy TuckerMike. And TuckerMike is cute. Another friend I work with suggested that I ask him out. I took his advice and did so. After my first failed attempt.

I thought I'd write it on the cup. "Lets grab a drink. Anything but coffee." with my name and number. So I did. And then TuckerMike comes in and orders a different size and I completely choke. I've never done that before, and looking back I'm still pissed at myself. I couldn't even say "Hows your morning?" I just stood there like a mute fool and filled his large (not medium, like I was hoping) cup and sent him on his way.

The next day, I was ready. No choking for me. I wrote my little message on a piece of paper instead, so I could put it between the sleeve and the cup of any size he ordered. TuckerMike came in after his morning cigarette (see, we really do people watch) and ordered his coffee. As I'm filling it, I'm trying to slide the paper in between the cup and sleeve and it is choosing not to cooperate. I can't chat him up any more, so I hand him the coffee with the note hanging very far out of the sleeve.

Smooth, Riley.

He goes over to our condiment bar for cream and sugar and puts the note in his pocket. On his way out he says "Have a nice day, Ladies." "You too." we all respond in a high, school-girl tone.

And we haven't seen him since.

One of two things were going to happen after he got the note. He was either going to call or he'll never come in for coffee again. And it turns out it's the latter. So I successfully didn't get a date AND lost us a customer in one shot. Awesome.

Now I don't care that he didn't call. I don't even know his name. He could be married, have a girlfriend, be gay (although my gay-dar would have picked up on that), but most likely he's just not interested. Fine. No skin off my back. But I want to go up to him during his smoke breaks and say "I don't care that you didn't call. But come back and get your coffee."

I guess TuckerMike isn't as cool as I thought. His pansy-ass can't even come back for coffee after a cute girl asked him out. In a very original way, I might add. Ahh well, moving on. On to another cute boy.

While walking through my neighborhood

With no TV and no car I tend to walk a lot. Not out of boredom, well maybe a little bit. But it gives me something to do, takes up time, helps me clear my head, it's good for me, and I like it. I have noticed that when walking just for walking's sake I notice more things than when I am walking to a destination. So when I go walking I've started to bring my camera with me to take pictures of all the really cool things I see.

Its found expression, people expressing themselves though few words or a picture. And I get curious about who wrote that or what they were feeling at the time.

Here are some examples of what I've found on my walks.



There is also a "Slut love (said with a heart not the word) you" a few blocks away.


This made me stop mid-step and smile. I also found it on another dumpster on the next block.



I kind of want to find the person who wrote this and give them a hug.

Excerpts from The Reader

"As the days grew longer, I read longer, so that I could be in bed with her in the twilight. When she had fallen asleep lying on me, and the saw in the yard was quiet, and a blackbird was singing as the colors of things in the kitchen dimmed until nothing remained of them but lighter and darker shades of gray, I was completely happy."

"At first glance, one might have taken it for a child's handwriting. But what is clumsy and awkward in children's handwriting was forceful here. You could see the resistance Hanna had had to overcome to make the lines into letters and the letters into words. A child's hand will wander off this way and that, and has to be kept on track. Hanna's hand didn't want to go anywhere and had to be forced. The lines that formed the letters started again each time on the upstroke, the downstroke, and before the curves and loops. And each letter was a victory over a fresh struggle, and had a new slant or slope, and often the wrong height or width."

I just thought that both of these little quotes were so simple yet worded so well. The first one really painted a picture in my mind of the ease he felt lying in bed with her. And I have never thought of handwriting or learning to write period in a way that broke it down like the second quote did.

A contented sigh

I just did some at-home yoga. Man, does that feel good! I was sitting at my desk a while ago, bored and not really knowing what I felt like doing. I was thinking that I can't hardly wait for my yoga class to start up again and then I thought "Why don't I just do some yoga here at home?" So I did. With a few candles, my pretty red star lamp on, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons playing in the background, I got back in touch with my inner-yogi.

At home I don't do yoga for nearly as long as I do it when I'm in class, but that is OK. I was in some serious need of some stretching. I've walked a lot in the last 24 hours. Yesterday I walked to and from work just because it was gorgeous out. And after work I went to a friend's house for some beers via the bus. But I walked home afterward. And then today another friend and I walked around and around my neighborhood and the rest of Uptown for a few hours. My legs got their share of work and then tonight got to relax and stretch.

It is only 9pm, and I am tired. Tomorrow is Labor day and I have the day off. I should be out on the town and enjoying the night life. But simply put, I don't wanna. My stoop with my neighbors or just my chair and a book will do.

I am reading The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. That book that was turned into a movie that won Kate Winslet a Golden Globe and an Oscar. My mom said it was a hard read for her, which usually means it will be really hard for me. But I'm actually finding it a well-flowing book. It was originally written in German (I think) and has been translated. The translator used the simplest terms and for a good chunk of the book, it works. It's told from the boy's point of view, so it's elementary in it's thought process about the love affair he has with Hanna. He was a teenager and his simple mind is very well portrayed in the words. I'm halfway through, in mid-trial and am enjoying it. I just know how it ends thanks to Hollywood.

Summer is coming to an end here. I love fall. I love sweaters and scarves and layers and cool breezes and changing colors. People always ask "Do you prefer summer or winter?" And I prefer Spring and Fall. I like the hibernating and re-birthing of nature. Plus it makes these glorious, warm summer months that much more enjoyable.

I have tomorrow off and nothing on the docket. Funny, after I typed that word I was just wondering what a docket was. According to my big and wonderful Oxford American Dictionary a docket is "a calendar or list of cases for trial or people having cases pending" So I guess I didn't use that word quite right. I am not on trial nor do I have any cases pending. But nonetheless (another funny one, who thought of putting 3 words together to basically mean "that aside"??) Anyway.... I'm rambling. I have nothing planned for tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be outside, it's supposed to be lovely out.

The Detective

Not too long ago I wrote a post about a regular customer that we call The Detective. He's old and can't really see or hear so when he talks it echos through the cafe.

Well I finally found out some info about him.

I was quoting Friends for my fellow co-workers and was making big gestures and this guy saw me and said I reminded him of Ceasar Romero. Which I don't fully understand, but that isn't the point. I called him over to the counter and he got up and did a little jig before he walked over to us.

His name is Ferdinand, but people call him Fred. He just started talking and I tried to take in as much as I could. He played guitar since he was 14, his dad was in World War II (but I thing he meant WWI, seeing as how Fred himself is old enough to be in WWII.) Anyway...He said that he used to be much more agile in his younger days, he still gets around pretty well though. Just don't walk behind him, he said. And I think that was his way of saying he's gassy. Which totally made me giggle.

He comes in every day, reads music magazines with his magnifying glass, does his little jig as he gets up to leave, visits with his lady friend. We all hear him one day say in his loud-I-can't-hear-myself voice "I'm going to take you out on a real date. Yes sir-ee." He's just so charming and simple. I kind of wish I could go back in time and see him in his hey day. Bet he was like the un-famous version of the Rat Pack.

Reading + Words = Beauty

I just finished a beautifully written book about books, mystery, love, secrets. It is called The Shadow of the Wind by Carols Ruiz Zafon. Although sometimes long-winded, it was a lovely read. Here are some excerpts that I marked in the book, showing it's wonderfully weaving words.

"This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read and lived and dreamed with it. Every time the book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens."

"I had never known the pleasure of reading, of exploring the recesses of the soul, of letting myself be carried away by imagination, beauty, and the mystery of fiction and language."

"This city is a sorceress, you know, Daniel? It gets under your skin and steals your soul without you knowing it."

"Bea says the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all out heart and mind..."

Some people's children

Working customer service, you'd think that some people were raised in a barn. Their mama was not around and therefore didn't teach them any manners.

Example...

Me: "Hi. How are you today?"
Customer: "Yeah, uh, gimme uh, grande coffee."
Me: "OK." and then proceed with the membership deal or offering them a scone or cookie. When what I really want to say is
"Yeah, uh, then gimme, uh $1.94."

Seriously. How about a "Hi." or a "I'm fine." Or even a "Please." I'm not asking much. Just common courtesy. I don't work on commission, I'm not going to pressure you to buy something, (unless I can sense that you are someone to joke around with, and in that case, I'll suggest the large and then say in a "Do it." in a come-on-all-the-big-kids-are-doing-it sort of tone.) But I really am wondering how your day is.

I have 3 minutes at most to make someones day a little better. And when they can't even take the time out to be polite, well then I guess I hand them their coffee and my job is done.

Top 3 Things That Are Big Pet Peeves To People Who Work Customer Service
1. Talking on the phone. I have always wanted to pull out my phone when someone comes up on the phone and make them wait until I am ready. A little taste of their own medicine. Seriously, either hang up, or get out of line.
2. Not please or thank you. Yes we are working, and it is our job to give you what you asked for. But is it to much to ask for the words that mom made you say before you received anything as a child? I don't think so.
3. Not letting us do our job. When they stand at the end of the counter and watch every move we make, it is so annoying. We are trained professionals, and we are just making coffee! Keep in mind we are human and mistakes happen, but we will gladly remake it if you ask nicely. I don't come to your job and stand over your shoulder and watch as you punch numbers into the computer making sure you had enough 0's, do I? So give us the benefit of the doubt, please.

To me this is all common sense. Right?

Nothing bad happened at work today, just enough "yeah, uh, gimme uh's" and rude people on their phone to make me want to rant a bit about it.