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-

Boxing day review (4/10)

My boxing day included feeling Les Mis feels leftover from yesterday and adding on to my Les Mis feels by listening to the soundtrack. I think this is at the same level with my Sherlock feels at the end of series 2.

Also, since Noah is visiting family around here for a week, we ended up hanging out in Starbucks for exactly 5 hours and 40 minutes because we legitimately had nothing better to do (Fun fact I found out today: apparently, where I get invited to parties to be damage control, Noah gets invited to parties because of his lingering reputation of being able to make a bong out of anything.) Maegan came in for a shift and introduced me to her coworkers to prove that she has friends. I was then accused of being a 'friend prostitute.' However, I was in Starbucks so long that I think I reached almost friend status with the baristas, as one of them said bye to me as he left. Maegan gave me a free iced tea with one and a half times the usual amount of syrup and wouldn't let me complain because it was free, despite that I was drinking liquid diabetes. Eventually Noah and I left because we felt that were loitering to a ridiculous extent.

Now I'm listening to classical records because those are the only records in my dad's collection that aren't cringe worthy artists from the 80's and 90's. Damn straight I set up a record player in my room. I'm just adding to the elements of me that will someday add up to me becoming a super eccentric individual.

I don't know what to do with all this time. I think it's time to break out the ukulele and/or guitar.
Hearts,
-J-