coffee

[wellfleet]

i wish i were so wise and mature. please teach me... although i may not be in a position of authority, i am not there to take your abuse with a smile. and no one dictates how i feel, but when someone treats me like shit, i get my feelings hurt. i wish i were so above it all like you, able to float above and pass judgement. i have dignity and i have my sinful pride and it is completely humiliating when someone throws money at your face. coming face to face with man's inconsiderate behaviour towards man every day is disheartening. i volunteered at a homeless shelter for a long time and at first i was so happy to be doing something good for humanity but then it sunk in that those long lines of people waiting for food were never ever going to get shorter, that people would always be homeless and hungry and forgotten. that kind of decay can and will affect you unless you're a zombie robot from hell. not that i'm saying that's you or anything...
being zen about everyhting only lasts so long for me and then i get bummed by mean people because i'm not mean and can't fathom the inclination to be cruel to someone on purpose.
and the stupidity and hypocrisy of customers extends far beyond the skim-milk-whipped-cream madness. if you've ever seen the movie Clerks... you get the same idiotic question a million times and after a while you realize that most people are really thoughtless, careless and ignorant. and that's totally sad...

[ycartrob]

I saw Clerks. I thought the guys working there were some real sexists and bigots and REALLY unhappy...they also came across as thoughtless, careless and ignorant. The guys in Clerks were assholes, and, I guess the customers were too. So, it's a lose lose situation.

I just see things from a different angle. No biggie.

[wellfleet]

the guys in Clerks were at their wit's end. when a giant price list says coffee... 2$ and you still ask how much the coffee is, you're an idiot. the guys in Clerks were a caricature. I guess you missed that. anyway, by enabling the jerks of the world to continue being jerks we are saying that it's ok. it's not ok to be an asshole, that's all i'm saying. and i also suspect that your above-it-all demeanor is an act, or you've never had to deal with real frustration. that's my angle.

[EC]

Okay.  Woah.

welfleet, I don't think that zycartrobz is holier-than-thou.  And I think he makes a good point.  When I first started waitressing, I couldn't BELIEVE how shitty people could make me feel, and then I realized that I needed to get tough, or else I'd get fired.  And it's true, you can't let the assholes get you down.  Well, it's true that you should try not to let the assholes get you down.  

I never felt like a servant when I was waitressing.  A few people tried to behave as though I were their servant, but they had to wait an extra 45 minutes for their drinks.  ;)

I think there's a happy medium somewhere between what both of you are saying, and I'm not just saying that to try and be a Pollyanna.  Shit can get to you.  For SURE.  And, the only reason shit gets to you, is because you allow it to get to you.  But we're human, and we get our feelings hurt.  Or some days we don't care.  But repetitive shittiness directed at your being makes it really hard to maintain an even keel, and some people are better at it than others, and then others (like myself) are more sensitive.

I was just talking to my roommate last night about this.  She thinks I should pick up a little side job as a server again, and I know that if I do that, I will be a fucking miserable jerk.  I had a shelf life, I lasted almost ten years, and I know I can't do it anymore.  I would seriously rather be poor.  And that's me.  I know lifers, and they still like it, and that's cool, too.

We're all different.

I feel like I just wrote a fucking public service announcement.

HAHAHA.  SERVICE.  Man alive.

Anyhow, who the fuck tips McDonald's money-takers?  Is that for real?  Do people really do that?  

[ycartrob]

Never had to deal with real frustration? This is all an act?

Wellfleet, I challenged you on YOUR thoughts that:

 "people are freakin' morons"

"we had to greet 200 idiots in a row during morning rush"

"some bitch who wants a skim-milk-extra-hot-extra-shot-but-with-whipped-cream mocha that just makes you want to crack her skull and collect tips in it"

and all you can come back with is some nonsense about me never having to deal with real frustration and this must be an act?

You haven't the faintest idea of who I am and what I have been through to come to my beliefs, that's obvious by your assumptions about me.

wellfleet, YOUR WORDS summarize what I feel is going on here:

"it's been 3 or 4 years since i've worked there but i'm still bitter".

yes wellfleet, I agree with you, you seem bitter.

Have a great day and hang in there, you don't have to be so bitter.  ;D

PS: The customers in Clerks were a caricature too.   ;)

[ratsprayer]

clerks was a great movie, all the way around.

to get anywhere in service or retail, i think you need a certain disdain for most people.  not too much, otherwise you wont come off as likeable, but you have to know how to play the field better than they do.  if you dont give a fuck because you hate most people, youve won half the battle knowing you dont care if they upset you.  most people like that just want a reaction, and it gets their goat to have you sit there and smile and take it like a champ.  i worked in the hotel industry which is its own beast.  the rain outside ruined their vacation, blah blah, ive heard it all.  be smart and know how to play people and make them hear what they want.  every once in a while, youll actually find someone that you really like.  

my 2 cents.

im sure you can all agree that im wrong, but hey, thats what im here for.   ;D

[wellfleet]

i guess talk of my shitty college job at the coffee shop has opened up some old wounds. there are definitely still some scars from some horrible experiences, including physical ones, on my hand, where i sliced off a thick piece of skin. pretty gross and bloody and anyway... i got a little overheated and i'm sorry. it's not bitternerss, i think it's a reminder of how people are not nice to other people and that makes me sad. in saying that, i wasn't nice to you and that wasn't cool. that said, when you see a lot of meanness, cruelty, rudeness, etc every day and directed towards your staff as well as yourself, it can make you a little hard. i like to think that i'm not beyond redemption. usually, i AM polyanna! btw, thanks EC for being the forum polyanna, it's not cheesy, it's vital!
zen is hard, man. it's freakin' hard!
love you all!  :-* :-* :-*

[corduroy_blazer]

i love coffee and i love having it in the a.m. but it really kills my stomach  :(

[MMJ_fanatic]

I got a nice new coffee maker for Christmas and the brew tastes SOOOO good!  Why does coffee taste so much better out of a new coffee machine?

[SmoothOprtr]

Almost the only coffee I drink is Gloria Jeans.   It's outstanding.  Starbucks on the other hand is total shit.  It's for phoney yuppie assholes with Dan Brown books, lap tops, and square glasses.  They've been convinced that it's great, hence it must be.  Feel free to apply the same theory to Panera Bread, possibly the worst sandwich place on earth, yet you'd think the Beatles were playing inside anyone you walk into.

[corduroy_blazer]

Almost the only coffee I drink is Gloria Jeans.   It's outstanding.  Starbucks on the other hand is total shit.  It's for phoney yuppie assholes with Dan Brown books, lap tops, and square glasses.  They've been convinced that it's great, hence it must be.  Feel free to apply the same theory to Panera Bread, possibly the worst sandwich place on earth, yet you'd think the Beatles were playing inside anyone you walk into.

yea, i hate starbucks coffee. i can't drink it.

[Jellyfish]

I buy Starbucks whole beans.....the best I can find around here.

[EC]

I realized that I didn't drink coffee yesterday.  I guess I forgot.

And MAN did I feel BAD all day.  I thought it was just red wine from the night before, but it couldn't have been that bad.  And TIRED.  I was so damn tired.

I blame Jennifer Fawcett for making me this way.   >:(

Does anybody else suffer, like stupid stupid, withdrawal systems from coffee, the lovely beverage I am enjoying at this moment?

[ratsprayer]

i dont feel bad, so to speak, but i do feel much slower and not as "with it" if i dont have my coffee.  

god damn my addiction-loving personality.   :-/

[EC]

i dont feel bad, so to speak, but i do feel much slower and not as "with it" if i dont have my coffee.  

god damn my addiction-loving personality.   :-/

Dude, I hear you.  It's a-1 frustrating.  :(

[JacketGal]

I guess it's one addiction that we can flaunt in public and talk about freely! ;D Love that java!!

[ali]

i tried not having coffee over christmas, & felt like my head was in a fog for about half the day... i obviously need my morning coffee more than i thought!

[primushead]

Does anyone else pee alot when they drink coffee?  Like, one cup of Joe for me and I pee like 2-3 times the hour after. :-/

[EC]

Does anyone else pee alot when they drink coffee?  Like, one cup of Joe for me and I pee like 2-3 times the hour after. :-/

Yep.  You're supposed to, though.  It's a pee-inducing drink, like celery and dandelion tea.  You need to balance coffee with water.  I don't let myself do anything in the morning until I've drank a pint of water.  

Well, I let myself pour a glass of water...

[primushead]

Ah ok.  That's quite comforting then :)