Tick-Tock (No i'm not Kei$ha.)

I went out of town this weekend to indulge in my annual nerdyness. It's always a positive thing to extract myself from the day-to-day and do something a little bit different, with new people and new surroundings. There is just something about it that rattles your brain a little and allows you to re-focus. I am not sure how everyone else in the world operates, but to me vacations, no matter how small are a must. I know that there are a lot of people now that do not take vacations away from their work or routine due to money or time limitations. Well I am the caped crusader of vacations here to say "just do it" in a Non-Nike copyright sort of way. There is something to be said for perspective. Making more money at your job cannot buy you the perspective a week of peace sitting on a beach can. Some things in life cost money, others cost time. The things that cost the most money are often the things designed to save you the most time so that you are able to make more money to continue contributing to this vicious cycle.
A few of you may know my biggest pet-peeve of all time. Waiting. What you may not know is that this peeve was originally brought to the forefront of my mind by my brother. He said to me one day "I hate waiting because you can pay me back for a lot of things, but one thing you cannot refund to someone is their time." Well it really struck home to me. I am a very punctual person, always have been. I can't say as much for the other members of my family. There is a very solid truth in this statement. Lots of things can be refunded or replaced so long as you hang on to your receipt, except our time. We all have an allotted amount of time in this world, and we must decide how we will spend it. So I find myself growing more and more irritated by the second when I am stuck twiddling my thumbs waiting on someone to show up for something that is scheduled. They are making good use of their time, but think nothing of wasting mine. This being said, I feel that time and how we use it, is much more precious then how we use those green, greasy, wrinkled, dirty slips of paper we are always fixated on stuffing into our pockets. I choose to spend as much time as I can speaking to, and being around people that are important to me. Sometimes, I even spend some of that time simply on myself. Call it vanity but sometimes you just need it. Time heals wounds, creates both past and future, it is the basis for our memories, and the thing we are constantly running towards. It is the lord over our days and what we often plan our lives around. We cannot escape it so long as we are living. So be a good steward of your time, not just your wallet. What can you do for yourself or for others that is actually WORTH spending your limited time on? Put some thought into it next time you are scheduling yourself into oblivion. What are your priorities, what is really most important?

Distractions

So who is excited? I just learned how to post pictures to my blog via my Cellphone. That means my posts are going to come with pictures! Eventually anyway. I just couldn't think of an int resting picture that even half way related to my topic for today. I'd even settle for loosely connected.

It has been brought to my attention that I am, apparently, a distraction to all work. Not to say that I do not work, because I do. Or I at least try to between people approaching my desk and talking to me about anything and everything that could have happened to them. I was actually informed recently that before I began my job, that no one talked to anyone very often at all. To be a little more clear, I believe it is more that everyone took their job more seriously before I started working in the office. Everyone knew their titles and positions, and everyone focused only on their high class work etiquette. Now before you all get the wrong idea and start thinking I am some sort of over-sized shoe waring clown let me give you my take on the situation.

For those of you who know me, I am fairly sure that the majority of you would all agree upon one thing about me. I am a nerd. The other thing I think most of you would also admit to, and perhaps have been embarrassed about (by me) is: I am a nerd and I have no qualms owning up to it. I am known to put it on display in the front window of my life-store on the corner of the busiest intersection. The thing about being yourself, and not being ashamed of your character traits, even if they aren't the most popular ones, is that you have the ability to make others feel secure in being who they are. If you can accept yourself for who you are (let's face it, sometimes it is harder to accept yourself for being who you are than it is to accept and allow someone else to be the goofy one) you will put a lot of people around you at ease.

There is always a time and place for professionalism, and there is always a time to work. There is a time to be serious, and all of these things I realize. In this society, in order to get by, we have moved work to the top of our list of importance. It is how/where we spend 85-90% of our day. I believe that is not a good thing. Everything should be practiced in moderation. Work is not an exception to this rule. Work is a necessity to a happy life, not only does it provide for us the money we need, but it has a hand in developing us mentally and socially as people. It keeps us from being lazy or bored, and hopefully keeps our minds sharp. Work has, however, come to be our lives, living to work instead of working to live. I believe this is all out of order. Working to support your family is a noble cause. My father dedicated 35 years of his life to one company, He worked from the time he got up to the time he went to bed. I never knew much about him because I never saw him. He was our provider and we have the house and clothes we have today only because of his hard work. I can tell you honestly, I would trade most of what I own to have a history with my father. To know him like I know my mom, to have a parent child relationship that we lack. We are often just two strangers living in the same house. I show him the respect that is due but it has never gone farther than that. I think that is a high price to pay for money. Work needs to be practiced in moderation. I've gotten semi-off topic.

All I mean to say is that you should love who you are at the core of it all. It doesn't matter if it is not a thing that is socially "cool" it is who you are, and it takes all types. When you can embrace and love who you are no matter what that may be, not only you, but the people around you will feel better about themselves. People will learn to open up and not be ashamed or shy to be excited about the things they like. People will find excuse to laugh and play jokes for a brief moment in the day. They will forget their suits and ties and return to the heart of who they are and what makes them feel happy. It's good to be you, it's good to be silly, go ahead, do it.

Vacation time?

Its almost vacation time. I just have to keep reminding myself of that. Just one more week and it will all start comming back together. This week too at least I get a little time to myself seeing as both my parents are out of town for once in their lives. If you knew my family you would know how rare an occassion that is. I've wonderd what it would be like to have a week at home to myself with no work or no one else around. I'm pretty sure I'd just drownd myself in sleep and video games. Sounds like an awsome time to me tho, I know what your thinking, I'm such an amazing dork, but yes, thats true and I'm completely proud of it. I am the beginning legacy of the cyber generations. I'm afraid that in the terms of being a hard core gamer, I even beat my boyfriend out on that front. Heavy metal, video games, and camoflauge. I must have been a very confused child. Between my extra glossy lip gloss, make up sparkles and high heels and my love of gmaes, peircings and everything hard core, I often confuse myself. Oh, I know its a little off topic, but one of my employees was updating me the other day on one of our frequenting looneytunes. He has since switched religions and now believes there is a god asleep under the ocean who will soon be awakend and eat all of us whom are non believers. Things like this, make me feel a little less strange and little more normal, alright.... a lot more normal. Don't you wish you had my job? Well for a price it could be yours and you could experiance this day to day enlightenment about distant worlds and newly discoverd dietys which are apparently, very hungry. As my mother and I were discussing this theological revelation at home, my father, as sinsitive a man as he is, walks up and comments "those are exactly the kind of people who flip out and one day come into the shop with a gun and kill you all if you don't follow his god." I'd just like to take the time to say, thanks Dad, you always know exactly what [not] to say.

Back on to some things a little more sensible and a little less frightning. I've been looking for a good fps game, but theres been a real lack in productions of those recently, that I know of. If you have any suggestions about a good online FPS for this little gamer girl let me know, I'm in need of its fragtastic goodness. I have a dream of one day being married and living in a decent house, with at least one extra room in which I can set up my dream. A LAN party room. Thats right, no you can't have my number or address you will just have to worship from afar unless you prove yourself good enough to LAN with us. Two godly computers in the center of the room, three monitors atleast, my beast Odin on one side, my sexy gaming lovers computer on the other, tables and plug ins all aorund the room, a T1 and wireless networking. A frige for those ice cold refreshments needed after many hours of exhausting gaming goodness. Ahhhhhh I sleep to dream......

Far away places...

Another day, another cup of coffee....

Something, Something to break up the mundane day of work. Anything, I search.
It's always interesting to talk to those people who have come here from out of town. A man came in today from a good thousand miles away, just to meet with someone on business, and they decided, the local place to meet in this little town would be here, at our shop. I try to make a good impression of the place and the people in mount holly, and hope not too many of the strange ones wander in. So maybe when he goes back home it will be "I remember that nice little shop in NC.." instead of "wow, that crazy guy...", and I can always wish for "This coffee is so amazing I'd pay anything to have it shipped to me once a month!" Here's to wishful thinking, cheers.

I have some friends that have had the opportunity to take jobs in new far away places, places I'd love to go and start over, and I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little jealous. I guess I will just comfort myself with thinking about my up and coming vacation with the love of my life. I haven't gotten to spend that much time without having to work every day, ever. So it is defiantly something I look forward to. The more you look forward to things tho, it seems, the slower the come about. Another thing that seems to be a heavy influence for the changes in my life, is that after working so closely with my mom and seeing her family, and hearing the older generation that comes in here, I realize, after 40, it really seems to be all down hill. Under no exaggeration, there isn't a day that goes by that someone isn't sick, in the hospital, or dead. When your exposed to those types of things and made to live around that worry and concern your perspective on things tends to change drastically. When you see things through that light, you can also assume why people seem to act the way they do. Some people deal with life in very different ways, I suppose our reaction to stress and worry is very different and often never rational.

I know this is a little off topic, and my train of thought escapes most people, but all I can say for that is, I write between customers so, sometimes, more than other times, theres long pauses with plenty of time to think between paragraphs. Another subject that has been haunting me for the past few months is the truth of religion. I grew up very much a southern baptist, my parents always insisted on us attending church regularly when we were children. When we got old enough, of course we had the option of going or not, but it was still met with seething looks if we didn't attend. In the course of my church going experience I have been to some wonderful Churches and met some amazing, 100% real people in love with God (Pastor Max!!! FTW!!). One draw back that bothers me seems to be the fact that, as much as we try to deny it, after our separation from the catholic Church, we seem to carry with us many 'traditional' teachings that I cannot track down in the Bible itself. I would like to think that everything we hear on a Sunday is somehow based only on the truth of what was written, but we have picked up certain teachings through the years that are what we as a community would like placed in practice as 'moral actions' for one reason or another. The more I study and read on my own the more little things I discover like this. The truth may not be exactly what I grew up on. Harmless things? Sure, but for me the truth is something worth knowing no matter what it may be.

I'm ok, Your [not] ok.

I thought that one possible subject for this blog would be my job. After all, being a barista in a small town seems to be comprable being a bartender. The fact that your behind a counter serving drinks, overwhelms people with the urge to tell you strange facts about themselves. There are plenty of stories to be had from the people in this town. Most are very rural stories full of local color.

An Interesting fact about this town is that the longer I work here the more people I meet that most people would term 'crazy.' I'm not really sure what it is about this town or maybe just this shop that attracts them, but I have regulars that tell me about everything from, how they plan to become immortal to how they built a bike (you know, the kind to pedal) that can fly. So please believe me when I say I'm not going out on a limb to say these regulars are a little off.

We also have the collection of strange but sane customers. Well not so much customers... well alright not customers at all. People ranging from crack addicts to just plain weird. They either just come in here to use and abuse our Internet access or to do odd jobs for a little cash to get that crack rock. Oddly enough all these people have one thing in common. 98% of the time I cant understand a single word they say. They may as well be speaking Russian, there's one imparticular that I play charades with, and another that we all have taken up the strategy of 'smile and nod' for. I suppose it is safe to assume that the 'downtown' area of small towns is no longer a quaint and quiet place to run a business. Well, quiet as far as business goes, yes I'll subscribe to that, however, It's quite dramatic. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing or the latest gossip about Mr. Hinkleberry up the street and his new dog. This being the town that it is, I would not be in the least bit surprised if Mr. Hinkleberry's dog talked, or was an immortal guru....that flys....

The only regularly sane customers that I get are, oddly enough, the after school kids, usually around 12-13 years of age. I guess they just have not been exposed to the water here long enough to actually loose all touch with their reasoning powers. That being said, I urge you children, use protection when dealing with people in this town, your mental wellness is at steak.

As good a time....

As good a time as any to post is during the dead times at work. Though I have to say I suffer from the same problems my mother does (who i seem to have inherited my need to write from). Getting interrupted during the middle of a thought while writing can be a bit on the irritating side.

It has been one of those times in my life, well actually it has been for a long time ever since I started working for my family. I know more people can relate to this than we often think. Just those times where your so absorbed in the daily grind that between fatigue and work you just can't eek out the time to shake the cobwebs out of you head and see things fresh again. Its just kind of like drifting along on a lazy river, too pacified to move, uncomfortable, but not enough to make you start paddling. I'm willing to bet that's the case for most people these days.

I'm in the process of looking for an apartment for myself, and as it turns out, a roommate because apparently you cannot afford anything without splitting it between people, especially when you still have college loans still hanging over your head, and still trying to get the money to have some health insurance for yourself. Apparently living 'comfortably' now requires multiple jobs so that you can pay for all your basic needs/wants. Funny thing about that being, if I picked up a part time job as well as working my full time job I would probably never be at my apartment to enjoy it. Gotta love the way things like that work. I have half a mind to just continue building my debt and get another loan for grad school and live on campus for the next four years. I'm pretty convinced that average American makes more in debt than they do in wages.

Probably not the best time for me to be blogging. I can't seem to get away from all those little things that love to pop their head up though the day that continue to push me to the mood of irritated. Like the fact that I cannot understand even when saving and cutting back we can never seem to make enough money to make orders for our shop. How can you sell a product until your out, make a profit off that product then not be able to turn around and re-order that product. Besides the obvious fact that the government loves to make it damn hard for small business owners to survive. For those of you that think people that own their own business are rich. Chances are no. They are probably more poor than you and would be much better off picking up trash for a garbage co. (I hear that pays well.....)