Bible School Chronicles - Barista! (Chapter 4)
At some point during my formative years, I posited that being a clerk at a record store would be the best possible job. I never had luck securing such a position (now, record stores hardly exist), but I did procure an interview at a coffee shop. This was before Starbucks entirely monopolized this market. I applied and interviewed at a location just a block or two from my school (this was a small local chain). The manager, Sue, introduced herself. She had cuffed jeans, boots, and short hair, with a Clash pin on her bag. Through some small talk, I learned that she was in a band that was influenced by Gang of Four. She left me with a handout concerning how coffee is grown and prepared and told me to return for a quiz within a week. Upon being hired, I was told that I would also have to work at three other locations regularly. This was okay; I can’t say no to much anyway.
All of my co-workers were of course very hip. Two of whom were also in Sue’s band, one with short pink hair (the drummer) and the other of some ethnicity that I couldn’t place. Someone I didn't like much on my dorm's floor told me, "I hate that place. The workers there are all like (affected snobbery), 'Can I help you?' with their piercings and tattoos." I actually enjoyed the opportunity to offer service that was not artificially upbeat. I became familiar with all of the things that are common knowledge now—cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, iced Thai coffee (sweet and good). This was a busy job, preparing drinks, operating the register, preparing and serving food items, cleaning dishes, and closing. These places were almost never slow, either. I learned that when police officers came in, it was expected that I give them whatever they wanted, no charge, because it was preferable to have them around. Usually I worked with just one other individual. Becky was small and somewhat snarky. She told me, “I’m surprised Sue hired you. She usually only hires women because they work harder.” Toni was a bit difficult to get to know but was pretty cool after a while. She performed some sort of grind dance on me once to demonstrate to Becky how she should be more obvious in making known her attraction to someone. Joey was a gay Middle Easterner. Solomon would disappear into the break room a lot and smoke. He told me that he had schizophrenia and just had to settle down sometimes. There were a number of others.
At the location nearest my school, I usually worked with Kelsey. She had long auburn hair and attended art college. She would bring in philosophy books that she was reading. She was earthy and apparently believed in a natural underarm hygiene. Kelsey had a warm smile and would joke with me a bit. Around this time, I for some reason experimented with rolling my own cigarettes. I offered her one, and she told me, “It looks like a joint.” She also was the first to tell me about Tom Waits as well as Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ. I would close with her, and her boyfriend would come in--tall and skinny with a ponytail. Of course, this cut into any repartee. If it isn’t clear, I found her interesting and attractive, but I never expected any reciprocation, except that once in the middle of a busy night, she looked over to me and said something to the effect of, “They were an unlikely pair, coming from two different worlds” (delivered in an endearing and flirty way). With no notice, she either was transferred or quit. I continued to walk or take the train to all of the locations where I was needed, often late at night and through snow in the winter, which began to lose its appeal after some time.
I really can’t remember how it ended so rapidly for me. I was working at the North side location, which was the busiest and served a slightly upscale population. I got the impression from either Becky or Toni that I needed to pick up the pace a bit. This I did to the best of my ability, but I was also a bit irked in that I didn’t see comparatively more productivity from either of them (maybe I just didn’t like the criticism). In the midst of a rush, Sue popped in and worked alongside me. She ducked down with me under the counter and told me, “You need to make a transition from being new guy to being old guy.” I have always, probably to my detriment, been one to walk before being made to run. I responded, “Well, I don’t really think I’ll be able to work here next semester.” For the rest of my time at the school, I worked at its publishing company, which was far less hip but certainly more compatible with studying for its proximity and flexibility. Every location of the coffee shop, save one, has since become a Starbucks.
(This chapter is out of sequence, as I had planned one called Characters and maybe one called Teachers that should have come before it. Had more of a clear idea on what to do with this one now, though.)
All of my co-workers were of course very hip. Two of whom were also in Sue’s band, one with short pink hair (the drummer) and the other of some ethnicity that I couldn’t place. Someone I didn't like much on my dorm's floor told me, "I hate that place. The workers there are all like (affected snobbery), 'Can I help you?' with their piercings and tattoos." I actually enjoyed the opportunity to offer service that was not artificially upbeat. I became familiar with all of the things that are common knowledge now—cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, iced Thai coffee (sweet and good). This was a busy job, preparing drinks, operating the register, preparing and serving food items, cleaning dishes, and closing. These places were almost never slow, either. I learned that when police officers came in, it was expected that I give them whatever they wanted, no charge, because it was preferable to have them around. Usually I worked with just one other individual. Becky was small and somewhat snarky. She told me, “I’m surprised Sue hired you. She usually only hires women because they work harder.” Toni was a bit difficult to get to know but was pretty cool after a while. She performed some sort of grind dance on me once to demonstrate to Becky how she should be more obvious in making known her attraction to someone. Joey was a gay Middle Easterner. Solomon would disappear into the break room a lot and smoke. He told me that he had schizophrenia and just had to settle down sometimes. There were a number of others.
At the location nearest my school, I usually worked with Kelsey. She had long auburn hair and attended art college. She would bring in philosophy books that she was reading. She was earthy and apparently believed in a natural underarm hygiene. Kelsey had a warm smile and would joke with me a bit. Around this time, I for some reason experimented with rolling my own cigarettes. I offered her one, and she told me, “It looks like a joint.” She also was the first to tell me about Tom Waits as well as Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ. I would close with her, and her boyfriend would come in--tall and skinny with a ponytail. Of course, this cut into any repartee. If it isn’t clear, I found her interesting and attractive, but I never expected any reciprocation, except that once in the middle of a busy night, she looked over to me and said something to the effect of, “They were an unlikely pair, coming from two different worlds” (delivered in an endearing and flirty way). With no notice, she either was transferred or quit. I continued to walk or take the train to all of the locations where I was needed, often late at night and through snow in the winter, which began to lose its appeal after some time.
I really can’t remember how it ended so rapidly for me. I was working at the North side location, which was the busiest and served a slightly upscale population. I got the impression from either Becky or Toni that I needed to pick up the pace a bit. This I did to the best of my ability, but I was also a bit irked in that I didn’t see comparatively more productivity from either of them (maybe I just didn’t like the criticism). In the midst of a rush, Sue popped in and worked alongside me. She ducked down with me under the counter and told me, “You need to make a transition from being new guy to being old guy.” I have always, probably to my detriment, been one to walk before being made to run. I responded, “Well, I don’t really think I’ll be able to work here next semester.” For the rest of my time at the school, I worked at its publishing company, which was far less hip but certainly more compatible with studying for its proximity and flexibility. Every location of the coffee shop, save one, has since become a Starbucks.
(This chapter is out of sequence, as I had planned one called Characters and maybe one called Teachers that should have come before it. Had more of a clear idea on what to do with this one now, though.)
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