Legitimate Class. (8/10)

I had a pretty fine New Year's, a pleasant surprise after a long time of having no idea what to do for New Year's because my options all seemed really disappointing. But with luck, a classy potluck arose a few days ahead of time and I got to bring in the New Year with a bunch of lovely people from school. We dressed up, ate a ton of food and drank earl gray tea out of honest to goodness teacups with saucers. Just classy people having a classy time (I'm not sure where Super Smash Bros falls on the classy spectrum, but there was lots of that, too). It offered quite a contrast to the sloppy drunk texts that were coming in from people at other parties.

Someone decided fifteen minutes into 2013 that it was a good idea to go play in the snow, in formal dress. As far as I've heard, fortunately no one has gotten hypothermia from the events that proceeded that. Some people enjoyed playing in the snow more than others.

Hope you guys had a lovely New Year's and have a fantastic 2013!
Hearts,
-J-

Obligatory New Year's post (7/10)

This year, like every year, I suppose there are small ways I've improved as a person. Like every year, in general I've gotten more comfortable with myself. I suppose that some notable things that have happened are the friends I've made, how I've actually managed to stay around the people I want to be around. I've developed some close friendships while also being pleasant acquaintances with all sorts of people. I also got a job, which when I didn't have one I always felt like I was obligated to get one, so I have peace of mind over that, money in my bank account and coffee in my cupboard.

Despite the general rep of New Year's resolutions, this year I want to stop procrastinating on things. I want to be a person of action, as opposed to a person that considers doing something but never gets around to it. Whether it's reading a certain book (I'm yet to read Lord of the Rings) or watching a certain movie or looking up a band or learning a new skill, I want to stop over thinking things and just dive into it. I want to be a bit more impulsive about things that don't need to be over thought and stop using the excuse that I don't have time for anything. As a large portion of potentially brain damaged and annoyingly ironic individuals say repeatedly all day, everyday: YOLO. When it gets to the end of 2013, I want to be impressed by how much I've accomplished, the new skills I've learned, the people I've met.

There's also the whole graduation/university thing coming up. That's scary/exciting. I don't even know what city I'll be in come eight months from now.

Happy New Year's. I have confidence that 2013 is going to be a good year.
Hearts,
-J-

Barista holiday woes (6/10)

Working at a coffee shop, I get to see a really strange side of people.

There are the nice people, who smile, chat with the baristas, and sometimes even remember our names. There are also the mean people, who are awful to us and we make their drink, which many times is super customized, which we would totally be fine with if they weren't a dick about it. Maybe they feel like the money they give us means they don't have to be a decent human being. I feel like telling people that just because they had a bad childhood or marriage or job or whatever, that they shouldn't take it out on the person giving them coffee. But alas, I must internalize my rage and sass.

Today was a bogo day and bogo days are especially awful. For some completely unknown reasons, people are especially mean and unreasonable when they can buy a holiday drink and get a second one for free. It doesn't help that they all seem to bring an unreasonably large amount of people with them. It seems to flick a switch inside people's heads that says "Oh, bogo days! I should bring my wife, my kids, my second cousins, my entire street!" There was also a recurring thing that happened today where like six different people were unreasonably angry when we didn't use our magical barista mind reading powers and give them their drink as a frappuccino without them stating that they wanted their drink as a frappuccino, which unbelievably enough is an essential part of that process. But alas, we can't just say "Deal with it" and move on. No, we must put up with whatever they say to us and make it the way they want. That's a wearing process when they can't put words to their very particular specifications and we have to keep at it until they're happy and we're internally plotting their demise.

It doesn't help that the last few shifts, my supervisors have been quite on edge. They just ran out of holiday cheer or something and figured I was a good scapegoat for most things that are done wrong. Despite that I haven't been responsible for about 80% of the things I've been condescendingly told not to do in the past two shifts, somehow I still get lectured 100% of the time. Yesterday, I put a syrup stand in the sink to wash it and my shift said,"NO, you never put things in the sink!" and moved it quite agressively. I was a little dazed by this and replied that I was washing it, at which point I was begrudgingly forgiven and given a lecture to never put anything in the sink unless it's being washed right then, exactly what I had been doing. I'm learning to quickly deny false accusations of incorrectly done things when it wasn't me and apologizing when it is me. Other than withstanding these few days of excessive lecturing on health and safety, protocol and standard, I quite like my job most of the time. And after this on edge lecturing thing dies down, I'll probably be drastically better at my job anyway.

Basically, my job has taught me that people take themselves too seriously sometimes and need to chill out. Also, I can deal with books much better than people at times.
Hearts,
-J-

'Microwave adulthood' (5/10)

I passed into a weird stage of (pre?)adulthood today.

It was a small milestone: I bought a microwave and a toaster. I've started actively collecting things for when I move out. I suppose there comes a time in every high school senior's Christmas break when they pause for a moment and say,"Shit. Soon I'm outta here." Maybe it's from all the relatives asking about your future or seeing all the university students visiting home for the holidays. But that "Soon I'm outta here" moment happened today and it scared me a bit.

To me, the microwave shows that I'm preparing to be self sufficient. The idea of relative self sufficiency shouldn't scare me as much as it does. I mean, I'm a pretty independent person and I have been for years. But the idea of having to living a sizable distance away from my parents is frightening. I don't think much about the effect my parents have on my life because they're not very notable and I'm at a point where most of my dependency on them has evolved into coexistence. When it comes down to it, though, for the most part they've been extremely good at being a constant and it's coming to a time when that one constant I've always had will be gone.

In around eight months, I'll be creating a new home, away from my family, my close friends, the things I know. I'll live in a new city in a new environment with new people. And I have little idea what that will actually entail. What isn't scary about that? But it's something that I know needs to happen because resisting change would be even worse.

All of this was sparked by a the purchase of chunks of plastic and metal allowing future Julianne to heat and toast food. The future nostalgia is setting in. Is it normal to have strangely defining moments doing something as mediocre as buying a microwave?
Hearts,
-J-