Cheers!

     Right now I would like nothing more than to walk down to the nearby trendy street and have a latte.  And when I say latte, I mean beer.  The reasons for wanting to do this are plentiful: the weather is finally gorgeous a comfortable 75 degrees, I can still make happy hour, it is only about a half mile walk which is extremely reasonable (plus I'll burn some of those beer calories), people watching is always fun, beer just tastes better by the pint, among other reasons.  However, I don't feel up to doing this adventure solo.  It is a problem that I encounter frequently.  It's not just the independence thing, which I'm pretty good with.  It's not the drinking alone thing (it is a reasonable hour and I'm not going to any extremes here, people).  It is that I don't like strangers to talk to me.  I know, I've mentioned it before and it is weird.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I tend to get attention from the opposite sex. 
     I think it is mostly the redhead thing.  I mean I have got a LOT of curly red hair.  I sort of stick out in a crowd.  At Trader Joe's one employee asked me twice if I was finding everything alright, I was fine.  Then he said that I have an older-era look, um, okay.  THEN he asked if I needed help to my car.  NO!  I am absolutely not sending any signals (do my capital letters convey this?).  If this happens when I go grocery shopping what would happen in a social setting such as a bar or restaurant? 
     One of the reasons my independent adventures come up so often is because my boyfriend is attending law school.  Law school is a time-suck.  One homework assignment can last hours.  Getting ahead on homework and reading assignments lasts only one day at most.  To make matters worse, he is an incredibly hard worker and continues to challenge himself.  I am super proud of him and extremely pleased that he will be graduating in just a few months!  It will all be over soon.  In the meantime we will continue to make the occasional happy hour out on the town, while settling for the occasional happy hour at home. 
     So I settle in for a nice beer at home.  I guess it it is better this way.  I save money, for one thing.  But mostly, I can still spend time with my boyfriend.  And when I say spend time with, I mean he's busy studying while I watch hours of TV, blog, nap, and occasionally cook.  Today I made a smoothie!  Cheers to you, dear reader.
Ginger out.

Cafe Relationships

     I feel compelled to write about work a lot.  Probably because I spend most of my waking hours there, well I'm mostly awake.  Also because I get to observe people.  People are strange.

     I have said before that complete strangers feel very comfortable talking to me.  This is unfortunate because, in general, I don't like strangers.  They like to talk to me about my red hair, their personal problems, doctor appointments, Saks Fifth Avenue among things.

     On the one hand I can understand why some customers feel like we have a genuine friendly relationship.  I see some of them five or more times a week.  On the other hand, let's just define this relationship: cafe employee and coffee enthusiast.  This does not make me eligible for nicknames; the strangest one I've heard so far is, "Thanks, love muffin!"  I didn't even know Quad Grande Americano's name at this point.  Customers have also divulged impending divorces, upcoming surgeries, and the fact that they drink their beverage everyday in the shower.  This could be perceived as too much information.  Behind the counter we all laugh and swap stories and biographies about our customers.

     One of my coworkers recently informed me that I look friendlier than I am.  Gee, thanks.  My boyfriend calls me "Grandma catnip," stating that they just can't get enough of me.  I do realize that I look friendly, but I also am friendly.  In customer service this is an asset.  Working at this store I have gotten very good at knowing a lot of different customers' names and even more of their drinks.  Usually knowing the beverage comes first.  I am very good at remembering faces. 

     I recently had a secret admirer (yeah, I guess they really exist) call my store.  After answering the phone with my usual salutation (which includes my name), all he said was "Hi Rachel."  This is a normal response to hear from one of my coworkers, so I was trying to figure out who I was talking to so I rebutted with a classy, "Sorry, who is this?"  He said it was a customer that I was nice to, which really narrows it down.  Everyone knows that when I'm having a friendly episode often my niceness will show.  I calmly asked what I could do for him, expecting a large order for coffee or a question about our store hours.  Instead, he asked me out.  Anonymously.  Who does that?  I politely declined and got back to work.  

     When I told my boyfriend about this odd encounter he told me that I may have just missed my opportunity to have a sugar daddy.  Great.  My other friends laughed and thought it was odd, but a, "low-risk endeavor."  Yes low-risk, but also low-reward.  It is just weird.  I have never heard of someone phoning in a date request without even identifying themselves.  Just another day at the office.