Funny Google Video

From Google Video of the Day Blog.

I think I ticked off my manager today. Why? Because I actually talked back to her when she kept telling me I was wrong. And you know what? I am right. But she can't appear weak in front of me, so instead, she told me to clock out a few minutes before my shift ended (as soon as I can without needing a manager's approval code, that is) and then she averted her eyes as she said good-bye and the obligatory thank you to me.

So what's the deal? Well, it started yesterday. We have a new policy that was instituted about a month ago where we couldn't store our jackets/purses/etc in the back room while we were working, and instead we have to store them in the staff restroom. And the key to the restroom is held by the shift lead and we have to get the key from that person whenever we want to go to the restroom, which, btw, doubles as a storage area for cleaning supplies and bathroom supplies for the customer restroom. Yes, that means that in the midst of all the busy goings on, we can't do something as simple as refill the toilet paper without bugging the shift lead.

And... to make things worse, we only have one key to the staff restroom. One... frickin'... key. Well, actually, strike that, I think the store manager has a copy somewhere, as does one of the assistant managers.

So... if you've figured it all out, if the restroom key gets... oh, I don't know, locked in the restroom (cuz... well, the door locks behind you), then you can't get in. So, if the customer restroom runs out of toilet paper, oh well. Buuuuut... perhaps you've figured out the other problem. Since we have to keep our purses and jackets in there, if the key gets locked in... well, that means that at the end of our shift, we can't get in there to get our stuff so we can leave.

Oh, it's already happened once, when one of the bussers locked the key in there and we had to wait an hour and a half when the assistant manager with the other key got to the store. Did I mention that I was parked in a paid parking lot at the point? The first two hours are free. Then... it's a dollar every half hour. Oh, and when the assistant manager got there, the other busser took it so he could do a number two in the staff restroom. So... there's me, yelling at him to hurry up or else just let the door open a crack so I can grab my stuff because literally, time was running out. And it did. If I could've gotten out just two minutes earlier, I could've avoided paying a dollar. A dollar means a lot to someone who's watching every penny.

Okay, so I thought that was a good lesson on what we need: a spare set of keys. Buuuuuut... apparently, our store runs on beuracracy not unlike our government. It just never got done.

Soooooooo, that brings us back to last night. I'm ready to go home, I ask the shift lead for the key, she doesn't have it, the other people don't have it, it's nowhere to be seen.

Our solution? We had one guy break in to the staff restroom using two flathead screwdrivers borrowed from the bookstore. Break in. How stupid is it that our "back up system" in case our only set of keys are locked in, is to break in to the frickin' restroom! (Turns out, it was locked in there.)

So this morning, I decide I'm not going to risk it, I'm going to put my damn purse in the back room, store mandate be damned. Well, the store manager tells me to put it away in the restroom. I tell her, I thought we don't have the keys. She says, no, I have it. Then I try to tell her, look, I was stuck here last night for 45 minutes while someone else had to break in to our restroom cuz the keys were missing. She says, the shift lead should have it. Okay, I'm thinking, is she deaf? I just told her that the keys were missing. I told her, she didn't have it, no one had it, and I don't want to put it there until we have a spare set of keys. She says, it's only happened once. I say, no, twice. It happened last night. (Oh, so help me, if it happens a third time, heads will roll!)

Well, pretty much, she tells me in no uncertain terms that I am to put my stuff in the restroom. And furthermore, apparently something I had said (which I don't recall saying, but oh well) had gotten her in trouble with the district manager. Well, she didn't admit that, but she said that I had remarked to the district manager that we're always running out of stuff, (which I don't remember saying, but even if I had, it's true) we need the space in the back for all our supplies.

There were other instances this morning where I got a little indignant. ("Could I get some sleeves?" "Okay, stop yelling." "I'm not yelling, I'm requesting above the din of the store." which I don't think she appreciated, but hey, it's true. It's the same tone I use to call out drinks. It's really loud with the music, the espresso machines, and if the blenders are going? Forget it.)

Anyway, all in all, she was not happy. But I couldn't care less. She can't fire me for it, she can't give me a bad review, at worst she can write me up for "insubordination" which is stretching it. And if she does... oh, I've got the number to the district manager and I think she'll agree that the restroom key policy is stupid, especially with only one copy of the key.

So, dear readers, please chime in with your opinions on this stupidity. I look forward to it.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone!

I will be working in the morning, and then it's off to family-land, where crazy fun awaits you at every corner!

I will be working Black Friday (*cry). Y'know, they oughtta give us holiday pay on that day, too. I mean, we need a special incentive to deal with the insanity of that day. Luckily I'll only be there from 5 to 12, which means that people will be sleeping in from the turkey and I won't have to deal with them, right? Or am I just deluding myself and is everyone planning on lining up at 6 am at whatever store this Friday, and they'll all be cranky and in need of coffee?

I got my review at work. The usual. Anyway, I now make fifteen more cents an hour. Whoopdeedoo, I am now rolling in it. It's been really pathetic. In the 2.25 years I've been at Starbucks, I've gotten a total of $1.05 raise. So sad. My assistant manager said, there ya go, not another review 'til six months from now. Which then brings to my attention that this was my final review. I will not be there in six more months. If I am, well, you (and I mean all of you) have my permission to slap me around.

I'm also functioning on very little sleep. In fact, I've been awake for 26 hours straight, with only a couple of catnaps during class today.

My pastor (who's not really my pastor anymore, I guess) is getting married tomorrow. I guess I have to get them a wedding gift. Here's something that's annoying. I already got them something at the bride's bridal shower. So I have to get something else for their wedding? I mean, I wasn't going to get the bride trashy underwear, so I got her fancy salt and pepper shakers. But that means that I will have to get them yet another household item for their wedding present. I mean, it's the perk of having a wedding and various showers, I guess, to get a lot of presents. Though I'd personally prefer just cold, hard cash.

I found this on the "Best of Craigslist."

It's a neat idea, though that means you won't get to roast the seeds and eat 'em.

The organic milk lady was back today. She complained again that we were out of organic milk, then took forever in ordering her drink because she kept on changing her mind about what she wanted, and then when the drink wasn't made correctly due to an error in the cup markings, she made a show of calling her office and bitchily announcing that she will be late to work, and then proceeded to complain that since she was late to work, her drink be a priority above the other drinks. OMG. If I was her mother, I'd slap her silly and tell her that "I didn't raise an ungrateful, rude little bitch."

Work today was crappy because we were understaffed, someone had to be constantly on the autistic kid for him to actually do something instead of just walk around aimlessly (so I took on the duty since the assistant manager was busy dealing with the new safe they were installing, which made me seem really bossy, but I'd rather be perceived as bossy rather than let this kid have a free ride on our shoulders. I don't care if he can't work to the same degree as the rest of us, but he will work!), and the last 3.5 hours of my shift was me being on the register by myself without a break and a constant stream of customers.

And... might I add, I greeted each customer with a smile, I was patient when taking their order, I gave suggestions, answered questions, I was polite, friendly, I recognized regulars, and I even chatted with a good number of the customers. Not to mention, I am pretty damn quick on the register, and I got that line moving at a pretty decent pace. The company should be smart in recognizing that I am a damn good employee, and that I will be hard to replace. Hey, I'm not a perfect employee, but given the problems that other people have, I think I'm one of the better ones.

I don't like the holidays at the store. (Yes, the holiday season has already started for Starbucks.) I don't like having to deal with eggnog (BTW, eggnog chai latte... to die for!), all the extra pastries are a headache, and I am dreading working on Black Friday. But I have found one silver lining, and that is that I get to spend about 30 mins every Monday updating the menu board for the week's samples, so I get to draw.

Aww... Pookie just left my lap.

Drool... I just put in my new 1 Gb RAM chip (bringing the total memory to 1.5 gigs), and I think programs are loading up faster. Any ideas on how I can see just how much faster it is? Should I try to load up a crazy complicated model in Maya? The only other thing I know for sure I can try is to RAM preview something with a bazillion layers in AfterEffects.

Today this lady threw a fit cuz we didn't have organic milk. Well, the entire region is currently organic-milk-less, and she, apparently, felt that it was a conspiracy against her or something. Her words were: "if I let things run out at my restaurant, I'd get fired," "alright, fine, I'll have some gross coffee," and... "don't you wish me a good day cuz I'm not having a good day because you ran out of milk!"

She was dressed in the latest fashions, well-groomed, fancy sunglasses, and I think she had a cell phone she was talking into earlier. All I can think is, how times have changed. A hundred years ago, if a high-class lady threw a fit at a store, she'd be publicly humiliated within her community. Nowadays, it seems like if you've got money, then you become an ass, especially to the people who serve you. Everybody just looked at her like she was nuts.

Let's just say, from my own witness, this society as a whole has lost their politeness. The most polite people, as a whole, are the young prep school kids, under age 12. Then it's Moms (or Dads) especially if they're toting kids around. Then it's most adults. Then... it's a toss up between old people and teenagers. Yep, old people are just as rude as teenagers. I think both groups feel like they own the world or something. And the worst, the least polite, the most rude people? Self-important, rich and/or powerful people who look at you like you're a bug.

And yes, when you keep carrying on your cell phone conversation while you're ordering, it's rude. And it's even worse if you complain that we didn't get your order right because you were so busy talking on the phone, we didn't get a chance to ask you what you wanted. And yes, you should tip. They assume we are earning tips and are taxed on it. Well, the tips we make is usually greater than the tips that are assumed, but that doesn't mean that we don't deserve it. We work too damn hard to make your stupid latte exactly the way you want in a frickin' short time for you to not tip. Complain to the corporate office if you think we should get paid more and not have to rely on tips. But until that changes, we rely on tips. Get over it.

Why, oh why am I so lazy when it comes to making my demo reel?

I'm so anxious to get out of Starbucks, to start a real career, and actually have money, yet... yet, it's so hard for me to get the ball rolling on working on my own stuff. Both my housemates don't work and therefore have more time, and one of them I know has gone through tons of tutorials and other reference stuff. Yet me... I've been using the excuse of "oh I'm so tired from having to be at work at 5 in the morning" to not get my act together and get my stuff done. Why? I know there's some sort of psychological block there. I feel like I'm wasting my potential.

It's easy to say, just do it. Start it one step at a time. Aren't you sick of being lazy? Do you want it bad enough? Are you really serious about this? Just set up a schedule and work on it just an hour a day. It is really easy to say it. But there must be a reason why it's not so easy to do it since if it was easy, then I'd be doing it. Maybe I just need a hypnotist to tell me to cut the crap out, kind of like the guy from Office Space.

Back to 26+ hours per week of work. Sigh. Perhaps I need to take a week's vacation (use up my vacation time) and catch up on sleep and start everything. I lack momentum, I realize. It's so hard to take the first step on that thousand-mile journey.

My computer is back. In retrospect, I'm not quite sure which part was the problematic part, but suffice it to say, everything's fine now. I just replaced the motherboard, the harddrive, and now I'm copying over backed up files and installing all the useful software.

This has been a very expensive year. Well, a very expensive late summer/early fall. My scholarship money is draining away faster than a white water river. And my last paycheck's deductions with include taxes, health insurance, 401k, and the stock investment plan, came to be a third. That's a lot of moola. I can only say this, please enjoy the great drinks and pleasant atmosphere of Starbucks! Spend freely and lavishly! Make the Starbucks stock rise like the flames of an inferno!

Okay, gotta nap.