Ahh.

Sometimes people just piss me off.

Tania Head

I had never even heard of her before today, which I guess just shows my ignorance since she was apparently an American hero/9-11 survivor. But for some reason her story (or lack thereof) intrigues me greatly. What leads someone to craft such a complex story? A need for attention?

I'm sure you have all read the news and if you haven't then Tania Head is the former VP of World Trade Center Survivors' Network. She made up a bogus story about her escape from the south tower including a fake job, fake education, fake fiance... her story even references known casualties of 9/11.

he didn't get any (monetary) gain from the story, but it just makes me wonder why. Weird. And how did no one catch this for multiple years?

I am tired and I can't sleep
again.

talkin' 'bout my generation...

I have been trying to work on being more thankful and optimistic lately, and even though that is sometimes hard to do looking at Ethnos (sorry guys, hopefully no one takes offense at that, I'm just being honest) I have found some things I am excited about.
I love that I am young, and that where I stand right now I am on the brink of some incredible and exciting things. I love that my education, my career and my family are spread out before me as opportunities and endless possibilities.
I was having breakfast with Kristin a few days ago, and we were talking about marriage and premarital counseling and such. And I realize how excited I am for her. And not just her, but Kevin and Tiffany, and my brother's friend Jessica, and Matt's friends, and all the young couples who I know that are getting married. These things make my heart literally overflow with joy. There is so much potential and beauty.
And not that this only relates to marriage, because it doesn't. It relates to youth. And new choices and a clean slate. Because at this point, your relationships or your education or your career can still be whatever you decide to make them.

I don't know how to express it... it's just exciting. And you know that saying, "youth is wasted on the young"? That's dumb. I don't believe it's true.

Anyway, I relate this to marriage because that is the current place we are at; my friends (and Matt's friends) are tying the knot. And despite all the horrible places I have seen that decision end, it is beautiful and new, and we are not bound by the mistakes of our parents. And that is definitely worth joy and celebration.

I'm not going to blog about what I did this evening because I want to give my boyfriend an opportunity to share. I'm sure his summary will be both far more eloquent and comprehensive, and will probably include words like "awesome" and "amen". So, if you'd like to read about the activities of this evening, then please click here and await his post (which I'm sure will be up soon).

In other news, I ran into a couple that comes into our store quite frequently. I saw them at the Event That Shall Not Be Named. It was interesting seeing them and talking to them outside of work. I get the vibe from them that they are cool people I'd like to get to know better.
Afterward, it made me realize how much more social my job has helped me become. I think I have had to practice initiating conversation more at Starbucks than any other job. Which is cool, because although I am still sometimes shy and socially awkward, I find myself enjoying more my interactions with others. Cool for mission and for community.

the weekend/work ethic

I don't know why this is, but I can't sleep right now. You'd think I'd be exhausted after work/church/Sundays. But yeah, I can't seem to fall asleep.
I just remembered I'm supposed to have breakfast with Kristin in the morning...

So this weekend was pretty good. On Friday night Matt bought me an espresso machine (the one I've always wanted. I think that is really sweet because he hates coffee and will probably never use it).
On Saturday we worked on our ongoing construction project, a bookcase. We have finished cutting, sanding, drilling etc. Now all we have to do is assemble the frame and stain everything. It actually looks really nice. We built it out of plywood and iron-on veneer, but you could never tell by looking at it. With the veneer the whole thing looks like solid wood. It's pretty and way less expensive (but all that ironing was a pain).
That afternoon we went shopping and spent all of the gift cards Matt had in his wallet. He bought me a foot spa when we went to Macy's (hooray! You have no idea how great those feel after working on your feet all day. I just tried it out and it was pretty sweet). I don't even remember all the stuff that we got, but there was music, clothes, kitchen stuff, power tools, books and cleaning supplies before we were done.
I got this cool cookbook. It's from cooking light and it has a bunch of 20-minute meals. My mom gets the cooking light magazine and really likes it so I figured I'd try it out. Matt and I picked out some stuff we wanted to try and on Saturday night went grocery shopping for the whole week. We have literally done that twice in the entire 6+ months we've been dating (not grocery shopping, just planning ahead and shopping for more than one meal at a time). Anyway I figure we'll save money and eat better if we plan ahead.
I'm sure that stuff is really boring to read... but I don't really have anything else to blog about at the moment.

Oh, here is something. This occurrence happened at work today. Jeremy was there for it. I was on the floor with two other people and Jeremy was on a break, so he was in the back room. One of my coworkers was on the bar. They are still a little slow at times, so we try to give them practice when there's not a long line or anything. Early Sunday mornings are usually not bad, so they were hanging out over there and I was ringing people up. I started to notice the lines getting longer and longer, and my coworker seemed to be getting more and more overwhelmed. So finally, at a point when it made sense, I asked them to switch places with me, hoping we could through the line a little faster.
I got over on bar and started throwing out drinks, and right about then Jeremy came back from his break. One of our regulars was standing there next to the bar (he is usually a really nice guy). Anyway, he saw me there and made some comment to the effect of, "Oh, so you switched to get someone fast over here!" He was smiling, and so I think he thought it was a joke, but I thought it was a little rude, especially since it was said loud enough for my coworker to hear. Then he caught sight of Jeremy and said, "Oh, it's cause Jeremy's on the floor now. Hey Jeremy, they were all sleeping back there until you came out!"
Now, this guy is usually pretty friendly, so I think it might have been one of those foot-in-mouth comments, for which I have sympathy (I have those moments quite often myself). But for some reason it bothered me a little more than the usual difficult customer. I think it is because that comment kind of implies that my coworkers and I don't take pride in our jobs and want to perform to the best of our ability. Also, I hoped at the moment that it happened that my coworker didn't overhear this man's comments. If they did, they didn't show any sign of it, but I made a mental note to try and encourage them later... of course by the time I had a chance to, I forgot (until right now).
Anyway. It was just one of those little things that I found myself thinking about later. My personal opinion is that your work ethic is an issue of integrity. You are getting paid to do a job to the best of your ability. No one else but you is going to know whether or not you are doing your best. I personally like to think of Colossians 3:23 (Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men). My parents used to quote that verse to me a lot, and it is one of the few I have memorized.
This might sound lame and cheesy, but I like to think that whatever I do (from painting houses to cleaning toilets to making coffee), God is pleased when I do it with the right heart.
And in addition to that, your level of integrity makes an impact on the people around you: those you serve, your coworkers, your boss, etc. A person with high moral standards, a positive attitude, and a great work ethic is the kind of person anyone would want to work with. And it spurs everyone around you to higher quality work.
At least, that is my experience, and I am not just talking at Starbucks... although I have not had many other jobs. The mistake I made at the first one was to not hold myself to a high standard, and I after I learned that lesson I have tried not to repeat it...
Anyway. Those are just my thoughts for today. Hopefully it wasn't too boring.

Today I got my ears pierced so that I can wear earrings for Kristin's wedding.
But, it hurt, and it looks dumb.
I will probalby take them out after the wedding is done. I'm not really into jewelry anyway.

whew

So... I'm really tired today. Woke up at 4 yesterday, 5:30 this morning and will wake up at 3:30 tomorrow. Plus it was labor day, and work was a little crazy. But I get time and a half. So it's worth it.

Let me just say, Ashley, if you are reading this, (and anyone else who is interested) Body Worlds is freaking sweet! I don't really know what else to say about it. It is just cool. It is also good for convincing you to eat healthy, exercise, and stay away from things that are bad for you. I think most people confuse health with body image, as in, they are concerned with their health only to the extent that it affects their appearance. But obviously it is much more than that, and you can really see that at the exhibit.

Also, I found out last night that I did get my promotion (yay!). I'm tired right now so I can't adequately express my excitement. Maybe I will write more about it on Wednesday. That's my day off so I will get to sleep in.

Happy Labor Day everyone! Hope you are all having fun at your barbecues and beach parties.


Man.... I'm shooting for a 7:30 bedtime tonight.

So today went pretty well.
My interview was great. I did way better than I thought I would. Usually I get nervous and stumble over my words in stressful situations. But today I managed to get out everything I wanted to say. So I feel satisfied about that. I don't know the results yet, but I feel like I represented myself well, so that is good. Either way I will know that I am in the position I am meant to be in and deserve to be in... so that's cool.
Also, our coffee tasting seminar went pretty well. 30 people showed up, so it was a little hectic at times, but fun. Our store is not really conducive to large crowds, so it was a challenge to squeeze everyone in and be heard. I got to know some of our regulars a bit better and the entire Hartzell family (including Tim and Ashley) came out to support me. So that felt good especially since my own brother and sister couldn't make it.
Anyway, all in all, I think we did alright... and I definitely learned something about how to improve on stuff like this in the future. Nate even took a couple pics so we're going to put them up on the board at work to further inspire our team.

So, it's time for a good night's sleep because tomorrow Matt and I are going to the Body Worlds exhibit! Yay! (I've been wanting to go to that for over a year) And then to a comics sale. So it's a full day.