Kitchen Art...The Store for Cooks!

I love Kitchen Art commercials. I remember singing them and James would look at me annoyed and then like I was krazy. I start tonight and get to help with a cooking class at 5pm which is in like twenty minutes. So I am excited. Although I am a bit tired...hmm. Hope I will wake up once I get there. Then it is off to go help set-up at Starbucks from 11:30pm-2:30am. I hope it doesn't take the whole time...I would like to shave an hour off of that.

What else...I have like six insect bites on me, I hope to goodness they aren't from those icky spiders. bleh! The maintenance man sprayed outside and inside my apartment so I hope I will be spider free for quite awhile. I washed my sheets, blankets, pillow case, and a bunch of other clothes. Hope mom and dad can bring a dresser from home sometime this week so I can get other things put together and also get some bookcases. The less messy my apartment, the less spiders hiding in random areas.

Okay, well enough for now off to Starbucks to get my schedule and then to K-ART!!!!

Much Love!

p.s. I made a really good dinner last night, portabello mushroom burgers with spinach and artichoke pasta salad (it's in Rachael Ray thirty minute meals 2 page twenty=))

Playing Kiss covers...

It's Sunday and I'm off of work, just checking stuff at the library...woot, woot! Anywho.

I got the job at Kitchen Art (The Store for Cooks!) so I start sometime this week.

This weekend has been nice (minus the spiders!!!!) Worked all of it, but got to see friends and hang out/see ppl which is always so nice. I also got to see Ben Langel (such a nice young man)and received a really nice voicemail from Benjamin Vanlaningham which made me smile (seems he prefers/likes Benjamin over Ben).

Heh, this guy next to me was about to throw down because the computer wasn't working or something. I am afraid he might see what I am typing and get worked up cause he was a little huffy earlier and all like throwing his hands up in the air and stuff. Krazy I tell you.

What else? Okay so I was going to put a poem of mine up here, but I decided it's in my best interest and probably yours if I refrain from doing so=Þ But maybe I will share some with some of you later? I dunno.

Anywho, that is all for now, off to go home and do some laundry and make some sort of dinner plans if anyone is willing to hang out/eat with me!

Here is something fun that I found in TriCycle magazine (which you should check out - the cover has a picture of monks on a roller coaster!)...

Train in acts of merit
that bring long-lasting bliss-
develop generosity,
a life in tune,
a mind of good-will.
Developing these
three things
that bring about bliss,
the wise reappear
in a world of bliss
unalloyed.

- Itivuttaka 22

And lastly...

Go ENFJ's!!!! yay;)

some quotes and such...

Lisa gave me some quotes today and this one I really liked so here it is for you to read/enjoy...

"We cannot see into the mysteries of another person's life, dear boys and girls. We have no way of knowing what deaths a soul has sustained before the final one. It is for this reason that we must never presume to judge or to speak in careless ways about which we understand nothing. I tell you this so that you may not forget it. We may honor many things in life. But for someone else's sorrow we must reserve our deepest bow."

"The Annointed" by Kathleen Hill

Anywho. Good day hope all others' day is good as well. May have an interview with Kitchen Art (The Store for Cooks!) on Thursday=)

Just really tired/hungry/exhausted and looking forward to this evening. Jenny, Christina, Hillary, Elisabeth, Mom & Dad and others I will call you within a few days if not tomorrow!

Much Love!

Alright!

Okay, so here is what is new, or I guess just changing. I am not taking classes this fall, financially not ready I suppose. Dad offered to help, he said I it is just more time that I am putting off my life. Which yes, as far as the career I want, but I am having a nice time right now with working and all the people I have around me and of course living=) Anywho.

So ya, Marty is quitting Starbucks so Abby was like now you can ask him out. HA! He's got a girl though that he is already sweet on so I said, "I can't get all up in that." Maria had a good laugh when I said that=D. Marla came in and visited and asked if I asked him out to which I said, no, but he's quitting and she said I worked that one out well. heh.

Oh, btw Christina, you remember that guy that worked at Blockbuster on the South Side and I said, he's really cute, and you were like, um, he's a boy?!?! Well, guess where I saw him? That's right he was working in our store when we had our big store meeting and I kept staring at him and I asked him if he worked at Blockbuster and he did and I introduced myself to him. His name is Damien and he's not a boy, he's 20. As Joe said, he's legal, heh. But ya, I just thought of you cause you gave me a hard time about thinking he was cute=)

Um, applying for more jobs. It would be cool if I got a job at Kitchen Art, but obviously it can't happen if I haven't turned in my application. So I will turn it in tomorrow and let what is supposed to happen happen.

I am sure there is more going on, but I really don't remember.

So all for now!

oy

okay, so how old am I? When am I going to stop having silly crushes on ppl? I either need to step it up and say something to these guys or just keep it to myself. I guess it's good in a way, because then I write silly poems or lots of run-on sentences about it in my journal. But still. Anywho. I am way bummed because my computer is being all weird and something is wrong with it and I think the time is coming soon to build a new one with the help of Eric and James. I just hope it isn't my hard drive that is damaged so I can still have all my dumb poems/short stories and of course my music. Anywho. I can't remember if I posted these up here before or not, but here is one of my favorite songs. I know, I know, enough already about El Scorcho and Weezer, but I seriously love this song. Hillary found it hard not to like, and the music video also made her see that Rivers Cuomo is hot in his own way, heh. And I remember telling Chris (Andrus) about the song and he was all like, I'm sure I'll hate it (jokingly) to which Nick said, it's hard not to like it....so here it is.

El Scorcho (From Pinkerton)

Goddamn you half-Japanese girls
do it to me every time
oh, the redhead said you shred the cello
And I'm jello, baby
But you won't talk, won't look, won't think of me
I'm the epitome of Public Enemy
Why you wanna go and do me like that?
Come down on the street and dance with me

I'm a lot like you so please Hello, I'm here, I'm waiting
I think I'd be good for you and you'd be good for me

I asked you to go to the Green Day concert
You said you never heard of them
-How cool is that?-
So I went to your room and read your diary:
"watching Grunge leg-drop New-Jack through a press table..." and then my heart stopped: "listening to Cio-Cio San fall in love all over again."

How stupid is it? I can't talk about it
I gotta sing about it and make a record of my heart
(How stupid is it? Won't you give me a minute
Just come up to me and say hello to my heart) How stupid is it?
For all I know you want me too and maybe you just don't know what to do or maybe you're scared to say: "I'm falling for you"

I wish I could get my head out of the sand 'cuz I think we'd make a good team
and you would keep my fingernails clean
but that's just a stupid dream that I won't realize
'cuz I can't even look in your eyes without shakin', and I ain't fakin'
I'll bring home the turkey if you bring home the bacon.

Much Love!

"Umm, you want a new pair of pants?...let me go back and get a pair from our inventory."

Okay, so there is a customer that comes into Starbucks in the mornings. She may no longer be a customer after what happened Monday morning, but knowing her she will be back within a week. Many of you know her as "Sweeter than Chocolate" lady. But for those of you who don't, she is so not sweeter than chocolate. Not to be mean, but in all honesty she is not a very happy human being. She has tried to get free coffee from us several times. Finding something to complain about and when you ask her how she's doing that morning this is a typical response, "Well, I'm dying, but ya know..." How do you respond to that? Of course everyones body is decaying, but come on, it's just inevitable that we are all going to face death. But I am getting away from the story of Monday morning.

Marty answers the phone and hands it over to me. I heard him say we don't have a manager here, but we have a supervisor.

Me: "Hi, this is Alexa, I'm a shift supervisor. How are you?"
Sweeter than Chocolate: "Well, I've got a dentist appointment, but other than that..."
Me: "Ah, what can I help you with?"
StC: "I came in this morning and got coffee and this has never happened before, but the coffee leaked all over my hands and on my pants. I only have one pair of pants and I don't know if the coffee is going to stain them and I don't get paid til the 3rd/4th of September. I can't just go out and buy a new pair of pants"
Me: "Oh no, are you okay? It didn't burn you did it?"
StC: "I am more concerned about my pants."
Me: "Um, well next time you come in we could give you free coffee. I am not sure what all I can do for you at the moment..."
StC: "I have coffee on my pants and you're telling me you are going to give me free coffee?"

I admit that doesn't make much sense, but it's all I could think of at the moment.

Me: "I can tell you that from working here, I get coffee on my clothes quite frequently and I use spray and wash and it comes out." (By this point, Nick and Marty are giving me odd looks as this is the only thing going on at 6:30 in the morning).
StC: "I have them soaking right now and at this point I don't know if it's going to come out."
Me: "I am not sure what I can do for you right now, I mean I can talk to our store manager and she can get back to you...I just don't have the authority to make a decision right now..."
StC: "Well, I want to know what you are going to do to stand behind your product." (hesitating) "Can you give me a corporate number?"
Me: "Yeah..." I don't know what number to give her so I grab a comment card and find 1-800-23-Latte (which I deciphered for her before I read it to her).
StC: "I'll just call corporate and tell them you can't make any decisions right now..."
Me: "M'am, I can talk to our store manager and get back to you. I just can't say I can give you a pair of pants without talking to her...I'm just being honest with you"
StC: "And I'm being honest with you, I'm going to call corporate and tell them that you can't make any decisions right now."
Me: " *sigh* Alright, fine."
StC: "Thank You."

Let me note, that thank you was not pleasant, but very smug. So this lady wants me to say I can give her a pair of pants (which prompted Nick to say the very line I used in my title for this blog). She was so impatient she couldn't wait for me to talk with Abby before taking it to corporate. Oy, I was just like whatever. So later at the store meeting, Abby said she did call customer service who talked to Rick (a big man!), who talked to Catherine our DM, who emailed Abby about the situation. So next time if this happens I am to fill out an incident report form and get ahold of Damage Control or something of the like and they will take care of it. I thought I wouldn't have to hear about it anymore until the next time she showed her face in our store...which I am sure will happen soon. I get a call this morning and I recognize her voice right away. She's all like, "Yeah, I got a fax number from corporate, but I lost it, can you give me the number again?" So I am kind of busy with customers at the front register, but I do not want her in a huff again, so I go get the comment card again so I can read the number. I tell her it is 1-800-23-Latte, L-a-t-t-e. And I mentioned that I can't get to the other phone to give her the corresponding numbers for the letters like I did the first time and she replies that that is not the number she was given (I know it's the number because I am the one who told her in the first place). To which I replied that it is the same number I just cannot get to the other phone to give her the corresponding numbers. To which Sweeter Than Chocolate says, "Well, then you're going to have to say it again", all matter-of-factly. Which I did. And she was like, that isn't the number I had and I just clicked end. I had a long line of customers in the front and Ginger and Maria were busy on DT and bar. I just cannot stand that she won't give up on trying to get handouts and now a pair of pants. I know she doesn't have a lot of money and probably cannot go buy a new pair of pants, that's not the issue, it's that she is an old cantankerous woman who is miserable and wants to make sure everyone else knows it and spreads it and wants ppl to feel sorry for her. I am sorry, but I am not going to feel sorry for you. And it's not that I didn't want to help her, but I can't help someone who is very impatient and won't give me a proper chance to see what I can do before they take it to corporate. Come on. Oy!

I just needed to vent. I feel bad about the situation and I hope she comes out of it with a new pair of pants, but I have a feeling that she will mention it everytime she comes in, etc. I know I am not supposed to assume things just because it happens a previous time, but I don't think I am going out on a limb here to make the presumptions that I have.

Off to check out of the library with "Pour Your Heart Into It" and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and I have the rest of the day off and tomorrow and it's pay day and I get to pay bills and tuition and if I am lucky, use the rest for gas and groceries! Sweet! I hope my vacation hours are on this check!

Much Love!

p.s. if you have any suggestions for what I can do for Sweeter Than Chocolate let me know. I am not sure what the proper reparations are if she does or does not get a new pair of pants.

p.p.s. Abby or Christina let me know if I need to keep this blog to myself...I dunno if Starbucks has ppl on the outlook for blogs containing information about customer/partner interactions!

So What'cha Want

Ah, Beastie Boys. I should pull them out more often. Anywho. Just getting ready to go to lunch at Moe's. What? I like to eat at Moe's???? Ate there like four times last week. Ate there last night and off to do so again. It's just good food and they help out with the tofu and not cooking stuff in animal fat, etc. Anywho.

Last night was the big store meeting. It was nice to have everyone in the same place. Well almost everyone, we were missing a few ppl. It was really good I felt. Except at the end I felt that the last comment/statement made was directed at me and no one else but me. Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to make this all about me, but no one else's name was mentioned and the person looked at me the entire time. I felt really weird and also really bad. I try to be sensitive and make sure everyone is feeling good at work, but I also expect ppl to do their jobs, but maybe I am too demanding/insensitive and not considerate of anyone's feelings. Lord, I dunno. I mean it was good that I got to hear this statement, because it made me realize I need to be more aware of how partners feel around me at work and what not. But at the same time this person told me a few days ago that I was hard to read, and I explained to them when I ask them to do certain things it's not out of being mean/demanding. It's just that is what needs to be done and if it looks like things aren't getting done, it's my job to do so. And I'm not the kind that asks everyone else to do things and stand around and not do anything myself. Although when I do find I ask ppl to do things and I am not doing anything, I apologize and say, "wait, I can do this, I am not doing anything." I dunno. I am just glad I have the next few days off. Don't confuse this blog for worrying too much about this situation, but I do not ever want feeling bad because of something I did/say or didn't do or say. I think everyone knows this, but if not, I would never ever ever for anything make anyone feel bad intentionally. That's just not me and I don't like when ppl feel like that and of course I don't like feeling that way myself. I dunno if that all made sense, but there it is.

Lots of stuff going on with myself and others good and bad. I am thinking of a lot of ppl right now and hope that whatever they are going through that things will get better or at least more manageable.

Much Love!

So things are coming together with work, getting my schedule ready for school and getting my apartment looking kinda of put together. The big stuff is in place, couch (thanks Mom and Dad!), tv, chair and ottoman (thanks Rebecca and Ross!) and my bed, etc. Which a huge thanks to Lisa and James for helping me with the big stuff and also thanks to Christina and Mike and Jenny for helping me as well.

I came to the library to work on my resumé for a few jobs and I totally left all set to do it, but forgot my little book with pointers and sample resumés so I will have to work on it at home and come back or get up early tomorrow before work and email it. We shall see!

What else? Just been working and hanging out with Lisa a lot =) Meditated this morning which was nice, I did not get around to any yesterday so it was much needed today! Ate at Moe's for lunch, my punch card was filled so I did it...I got the Homewrecker and a soda. Man, a lot of food, but I had not ate yet today and it looks as though I won't be eating dinner for a long long time, so I feel pretty good.

Having fun at work, it has been fun, lots of new ppl, but it has all been good. And on Monday I work like 9.5 hours or something krazy like that, but it is nice that I get to work with Nick and Martin that day...yay! ;) I know I know, don't act on it, but it doesn't hurt your day when you get to work with two good looking guys who are nice and also have personalities.

Well I am running out of things to write without continuing on about what I have done each minute of each day. So that is all for now! Going to browse the internet a little bit more and then go and work on my resumé at home and maybe call about getting a haircut today. Like money is tight, but I gotta get these bangs taken care of. And it's me and when I want something done with my hair I gotta get it done!!!!

Much Love,
Alexa;)

First Blog of August

So a lot of things have come and passed since last time. I don't know if I remember all that I have done, or if you would even be interested in reading all about it. Let's see I got to hang out with a lot of my friends and spend quality time with them. Found about, or rather I didn't find out about Purdue's SPAN Plan with Lisa. Watched Million Dollar Baby (tons of tears and heartbreak), but a great movie. Moved to my new apartment. Went to a concert in Columbus, OH with Christina. Met ppl from new bands, met Tegan and Sara. They are super cute and very talented. Worked a lot it seemed with not a lot of rest in between. Went off to a ten day meditation course. A lot of hard work, but like Rivers said, definitely worth it. Met some cool ppl there. Got lost on the way there so it took me like forver to get to Pecatonica, IL (near Rockford) I left town around 1pm got there right at 7pm. The drive home, got out on the road at 8:45am and got back into West Lafayette at noon. Yeah, I am still trying to figure that one out. Dad said I must have been speeding. I just kept up with the traffic=D. Got to hear some great music on the way home, I know I shouldn't be craving, but I couldn't get enough of all the music! Got to hear new Death Cab and Ben Folds.

It's good to be back. Just figuring out things with school, am I really financially ready to go back? I am very appreciative of all of you who have offered to loan me money, but I know I'll find a way to work things out. Things always have a way of working out, sometimes a little easier/more difficult than others, but nonetheless. Got back into town yesterday and saw Lisa on the way home so we met up for lunch and talked for hours. Last night I worked with Todd and Chris. A nice time. Then this morning, I meditated for an hour and it was very good. The hour went by way fast and of course my mind wandered off, but I tried to bring it back every time. Then went off to walk with Lisa, I think we did over three miles, so that felt good. Plus I just love chatting with her. Made a Starbucks run for iced coffee and a blueberry scone. YUM! Then I got ready, made some phone calls about jobs and car washes (my car has an excessive amount on it!). I got asked about it at one of the toll booths on the way home and Lee, Lisa, Emily B, and Nick commented on it. heh. I called Erica before I came here to the library. I met ppl who teach at Montessori schools in Cincinnatti and Washington D.C. So I figured I should call her up cause I was thinking of her. Got some more phone calls to make, get my car washed and go to work this evening, and unpack at home. I am sure I have left out quite a bit of stuff, but it all sums up to being really busy, having fun, trying to be a good person, and living life! And of course getting excited about lots of thing. Booyah! hehe, I love that word.

Much Love,
Alexa;)

p.s. Here are some new words I learned/made up with friends.

Claymate - those who are followers of Clay Aiken
Babeman - Derived from Justin Bateman who is a Babe, therefore, he is now Justin Babeman (took some cues from Wayne's World) and you can also use Babeman to describe good looking guys;)

All for now!

OOOH! If for some reason I have winked at you after saying something witty, I apologize, it is not meant in a creepy/flirty way. For some reason it has been happening though. I said something to Nick this morning in the DT and I winked at him and I was like...man, I just winked at him. Hope it didn't freak him out. Anywho.

Crap, one more thing. Lots of new music coming out this month, so keep your ears perked. Some shows I would like to go to if I can afford them. Rilo Kiley in Columbus, OH. Weezer/Foo Fighters in Chicago and Champaign. Hoping for Champaign. And I am sure there are others. Anywho. For real, that is it!