There’s sort of a big event happening on Tuesday that a lot of people are talking about. I may have even talked about it a few times, might have even casually shared a few views on what I thought. But, I need a day without discussing the topic that shall not be named. Because if I talk about it today, there’s a chance I may turn into someone as crazy as he who shall not be named.
1. I’m getting tired of the lady at Starbucks verbally abusing me. Okay, maybe that’s a stretch- she’s not like, calling me four eyes or dick wad or something, but she scoffs every time I place my order. You see, I’m not an 8 syllable drink sort of girl. I get steamed apple juice. (If you want to scoff, now is the time). The problem is, this apparently is not the cool drink to get. Every time I order it (which happens everyday at 7:45am), she repeats back my order with an air of disbelief. Then when I confirm she has it right- she scoffs. THEN, she tries to convince me to have something different. She usually starts off by asking me if I want to try the carmel apple spice blend. And when I say no, she moves on to the salted carmel signature hot chocolate. When I say I just want steamed apple juice, she rolls her eyes and huffs like a porpoise giving birth. I may have to find a new Starbucks. Or just go crazy on her and ask why is it on the menu if it’s not a cool drink?!
2. I need to stop caring if people think my beverage selection is cool. Can a beverage even be cool? I suppose. Like, $8 bottled water might be cool to some people. Or bottled water teaming with friendly bacteria that eat away your fat lining. Okay, I made that up, but I bet if it existed, it would be considered cool. Like, Robert De Niro cool. Also? I may have just spent a very long time researching the different calorie counts at the Starbucks website. Never again.
3. I’m in the process of switching to gmail. I know. Give me another year and I may stop using my beeper and get one of those phones without a cord. The kicker is, I’m so scared of full on commitment- I’ve had a gmail account for years, but couldn’t make the full switch. I was in email limbo. I’m working on it. Email me at brandyismagic@gmail.com if you have any advice on how to dive head first into an new email host. It’s scary. WHY THE HELL IS THERE NO FOLDERS? (I just realized between me complaining about fancy drinks and the complicated mess that is gmail, I’m sounding a lot like my grandfather. Don’t even get me started on growing tomatoes or the best way to wash a motor home).
4. Karma curb stomped my “know-it-all” self. Remember when I ranted about slutty costumes on Halloween? Yeah. This year, my Halloween plans fell through and I spent a large portion of my evening driving around my twentysomething younger brother and his twentysomething friends who had all consumed twentysome odd shots, listening to them explain to me why I’m a jerk for not fully supporting girls who go out dressed as Sexy Rainbow-Brite. From what I could untangle from the slurred words and intermittent “I LOVE YOUS”, it has to do with democracy. And boobs. Mostly boobs.
5. Nablopomo? No go. Seriously. I’ve yet to participate and I doubt I ever will (watch, next year I will be the first person signed up and make fun of anyone who doesn’t). Between teaching children who have personal issues, watching coverage on the topic that must not be named AND STILL wondering how this woman doesn’t know about Harry Potter, I don’t have the time. Plus, I have to factor in that whole “not even a single ounce of me wants to do it” and I’m pretty happy with my choice. With that said, I always look forward to reading what everyone else has to say. I’m keeping you all in my thoughts and will be there to cheer you on to the November 30th finish line.
I’m currently working on a top-secret project and need some assistance. It involves having some spare time and the topic that (still) must not be named. Email me if you think you can help. (And with all the details I gave, I will be surprised if there are not HUNDREDS, if not THOUSANDS of you volunteering).
Oh! And I’m guestposting HERE today.
Yay! You moved to gmail! Does this mean we can gchat now? I sure hope so.
And I love super secret projects. If I can be of help, let me know!
I love gchat!
i am going to have to order steamed apple juice now…just to see if i get the same reaction…but not first thing in the am, i NEED my timmy’s XL steeped T to even begin to face the day…
and right this minute, i’m watching a CBC news thing about the topic that won’t be mentioned and feeling as if my head is going to explode…i’m so…afraid…
Steamed apple juice sounds yummy. And it actually sounds pretty cool too!
Oh, thank the heavens above that someone else is right there with me on Number 5! As for the steamed apple juice – meh, I’m a big fan of hot cider, so I don’t see the problem…
Steamed apple juice? I have never even noticed this on the menu. As someone who can be (and regularly is) bribed with regular apple juice, this is a travesty.
I think we’re all about to go crazy as The Day gets closer.
I agree, Gmail is pretty odd not having folders, but it can be very useful if you get used to it. There’s an add-on for Firefox that can let you arrange labels hierarchically too, if that’s what floats your boat. You can also incorporate Google Calendar and some other neat stuff into it, as well (Settings > Labs). (Right-side chat is a good one too.)
Another awesome thing on Gmail is setting up filters (“Create a filter” is a link right next to the “Search the web” button at the top). I use it for mostly just for applying default labels to messages (.edu addresses I label school) and getting rid of spam quickly (if an address keeps emailing me and the spam filter isn’t picking it up, you Skip Inbox and Delete).
If you didn’t notice yet, I’m a big Google fan :P
Starbucks girl sounds like a complete cow. And steamed apple juice sounds extremely appealing right now . . .
Once you get into Gmail you’ll really like it. I promise! I was also pretty irritated that it didn’t have folders when I first started using it. But I get around that with the Label feature. Its pretty much the same thing.
Ooo, super secret project with you at the helm? How can I help?
steamed apple juice? that sounds fabulous.
gmail labels are amazing! much better than folders, because things can be in like 3 places at once. i’m slightly obsessed with folders (seriously). i absolutely love gmail.
I’m so glad you’re getting GChat!!! and I’m emailing you advice :-)
I am in for super secret stuff any time!
Hi friend. You know that I will help you with whatever I can!
PS- Starbucks sucks at life. With all the special crap half caf half soy super hot but not too hot 3 drops of chocolate shit that people order you sound like a dream.
Wow..I think I gasped out loud when I read that someone had never heard of Harry Potter? Does she live in a cave?
You can make folders in gmail! It gets real easy to use real quickly and you’ll wonder how you ever survived without it!
That’s my drink of choice at Starbuck’s too… they broke my heart by removing the simple “mulled cider” and now only offer the overly sweet (and that’s saying something coming from me) caramel apple cider, so I just get steamed apple juice.
In gmail you just “apply label” and then it’ll create a folder of everything with that label. Good luck
Starschmuck “baristas” should be verbally harassed at least once a day. If not the continue to believe that coffee order with 30 different tweaks to it is somehow posh. Keep up the good fight! hahaha
Also Gmail will simplify your life, right after it makes a giant mess.
The Starbucks in NYC post the calories next to the price of the drinks. It makes me want to cry.
“huffs like a porpoise giving birth.”
Love. It.
Enjoy the change over! Folders = Labels, you can tag anything you like and if you only want it to show up under that label hit Archive, otherwise it’ll be in your inbox and in the label.
Gmail is kiiiinda rockin’. I’m not going to lie.
Aw, you are such a good big sister. And yeah, that’s totally what you get for saying Halloween is a bad time to dress like a slut.
I am one of the slow-to-grow individuals who has yet to use gmail….maybe now I’ll try it….
As part of the getting-married-name-change thing, I just signed up for a Gmail account. It’s kind of daunting, for those of us used to a more simple life. Pretty please, share any insights your readers give … I’d love to make it over the hump and become a gmail lover!
Also, project? Time? Now that the wedding is over, I have lots of it (or so I think). Let me know how I can help.
I think nablopomo is stupid (and that ‘name’ does not make it better).. Or maybe not stupid, because I do understand how it can help you improve as a blogger – but I do find aaall of the pointless blogging everywhere extremely annoying. The second someone in my feed reader writes about being a part of this I delete them.. I hate entries that has not at least something that resembles a point – and that’s hardly ever the case with entries written for the sake of an experiment..
Um, I’m scared to order at Starbuck’s because I feel like I’m always getting scoffed at, too! And I just order the Caramel Apple Cider!
what is the secret plan??
hi my friend. you know my thoughts on the skank costumes. fail. starbucks is just… overwhelming for me. and i keep hearing about this salty hot cocoa thingy. i get nervous by it. anywhoots- im with you on nopomoblomo whateveritis… i just cant do it. but more power to those who can! you know i have commitment issues.
I don’t even go to Starbucks. They are just too expensive and their desserts are really not that good.
I’d scoff right back at that lady next time.
: )
I love steamed apple cider… that’s what I get when I go there too. But they always make a big deal about how to ring it up. I’ve learned it’s under a special menu… which I frequently have to mention along with my order.
I agree… why is this order a big deal?!?
Slap the woman next time she repeats it to you. If it’s on the menu, and yet she’s constantly repating it back/scoffing *every* day, then it’s your right! Has she never heard the customer is always right?!
I would never pay that amount of money for coffee or whatever. Actually, I was drinking lattes and gained like 5 lbs in 10 minutes so I just quit. Cold turkey. Plus, I hate all that disposable cuppage.
Gmail? I have a passive-aggressive relationship with my gmail account. I hate it and have no idea how to organize it so I always forget to check it. This is not handy when I have actual email. I’m not sure what to do about it. I would love a Brandy tutorial.
The Starbuck’s girl verbally abuses you? I think a steamed cider sounds lovely! I would reminder her that she’s taking YOUR order and as a customer service person, she should fulfill your order and cut the ‘tude.
I’m actually in a starbucks reading this, so imagine my disgust when I just found out this coffee only has 5 calories. Now I need to go get something more fatty.
1. RUDE! I worked at Starbucks for years and years, and never made fun of a customer…to their face, at least. ;)
3. Yay! I was dismayed at first by the lack of folders in Gmail, and don’t even tell me that labels are the same. But at the same time…woo, Gchat!
So even though you are not talking about a certain subject, I thought you might find this interesting:
On Monday, Nov. 3, at 7pm EST (4pm PST, etc.), everyone please, wherever you are, stop what you’re doing and observe a moment (or two!) of silence on Senator Obama’s behalf. Say a prayer, utter a mantra, light a candle, hold a good thought, visualize unprecedented voters going to the polls to vote for Senator Obama, visualize the Senator taking the oath of office in January, put good energy into the universe. Let’s get this to happen all across the beautiful U. S. of A.!
(and Canda too!)
I wore my first slutty costume this Halloween, and it was pretty darn fantastic. I’ll go back to being creative in my costuming next year. This year, I just wanted to put my rack on display. Success!
Maybe she thinks it’s an inside joke between the two of you now. I can’t imagine openly scoffing at a customer’s drink choice and I definitely can’t imagine doing it EVERY DAY. So weird!
Also, steamed apple juice sounds gross. You should really considering the White Raspberry Double Pump Surprise with No Whip.
p.s. I’m not doing NaBloPoMo either. I kind… don’t get it? I mean, I’m thrilled other people are doing it, because it means I have more to read at work during the day. But why is it important to force yourself to blog if you have nothing to say? I appreciate when bloggers focus on quality over quantity, for sure.
I actually look forward to NaBloPoMo every year. It gives me a chance to really focus on my writing, which I don’t find time for often enough, and, hopefully, have interesting discussions with my blog-friends.
As for the secret project, I’ll do my best to help. Seeing as I’m one of those helping children with behavioral/emotional problems during the week, I don’t know how useful I’ll be, but I’ll give it a shot :)
Dude, you have to move to a new starbucks, or move to a new city! I was visiting my college town yesterday and had the most amazing apple cider (essentially steamed, gloriously fresh apple juice) at my favorite campus cafe. There are places other than Starbucks that will feed your craving AND be please that you stopped by!
NOooo! I hate Gmail, just like I hated iPods and stuck to my sodding technologically extinct mini-disk player dammit! Why the hell aren’t there any folders, and why does it call my emails “conversations”?! Let me know if you see the light… and good luck with NoNaBloPoMo!!
I vote for going apeshit on the Starbucks woman. If nothing else, you’ll feel better… and we’ll be entertained! Do it. Do It! DO IT!
Sounds to me like miss starbucks is taking her job a little too – hmmm seriously. I mean really – what does she care what you drink? As long as you are coming in every morning, what is her problem? Geesh.
“Give me another year and I may stop using my beeper and get one of those phones without a cord. ”
That made me LOL. And I so needed to LOL right now.
Also, I cannot NaBlaMoPo (did I type that correctly?) because Nov. 2 would be the day I finally ran out of crap to say. And we cannot have that, not now.
Also, also, I read it on my phone so I didn’t comment but your guest post was lovely and such a nice break in my day.
OMG! I love and adore steamed apple juice! I’m not alone in the world!!!
And I’m not Nablopomoing either. I did it last year, but I’m just not into it.
woo for gmail, i love gmail and gchat and all things grelated. :)
By now you must have been told that there are COLOR CODED tags in gmail and folders. Right? Right.
I freak out when having to order when there is a line behind me because I feel like I need to already know what I want and not hold up a line. I am a freak.
Sizzle- Colored TAGS?!!
The lovely fairtrade coffee place in my train station does Hot Spiced Apple, it is lovely and no one scoffs at me.
If your are scoffed at again, remind here that A it is her job to serve you and be polite and B she works for Starbucks, she’s not exactly cool(this may only be my opinion, I don’t like Starbucks, coffee isn’t supposed to have all kinds of crap in it).
Or smile sweetly and say ‘than you for your lovely service’ in the most sarcastic voice possible.
LOL, I wish beepers would make a comeback…I used to have so much fun with them.
democracy and boobs? weird. I think I’ve heard that argument before from my friends.
Gmail is awesome sauce.
The revolution will be gmailed.
just thought i’d help. i know there are no folders in gmail.. it shocked me too.. but u could use their Labels options to make up for the “no folders” situation. these work just like folders except that they are always in your inbox but carry labels which can be of different colors!!! i don’t know if this is going to be of any help.. but i just thought i’d enlighten you. hmmm.. this is my first comment on ur blog… but i’ve been reading your blog for almost a year now and i totally adore you and the blog…. keep up the good work!!!
How does one get a password??
brandy! i have no rant-y for you today! yays! :)
You will love gmail once you get used to it — promise. Like several other people have suggested, use the label feature. And THEN, if you hit the “archive” button once you have the label on, it archives the message so it’s out of your inbox. Woot! Love it. And basically the same as folders, just with an extra step.
Starbucks girl needs a punch in the face. Lame-o. Don’t feel bad, they scoff at me too when I order my giant hot chocolate because I think their coffee SUCKS. I’m prolly the only person on earth not all jacked up about the “free cup of drip with a vote” thing today. Harf.
You know, I’m very intrigued by said secret project. Let me know if there’s anything I can do, cuz hey, i think you’re super cool, so this project must be as well. ;)
xoxo
I just read your blog all the way back to August. Clearly I am not working very hard today! Anyways, just wanted to say I love your blog!
AND the Starbucks girl is super rude. Maybe she needs to try the apple juice in order to fully understand and embrace it.
Hah!…tried ordering the steamed apple juice thingy and i got the ‘did you want this for like..a kid?!’ question+face…so it seems a universal phenomenon…altho i will have to try other starbucks to back up my research….strangely delightful little treat tho, i must add…and i am not usually a big fan of aj :shock:
I *have* a gmail account but I do not *use* my gmail account. I am askeered of it.
Uppity coffee people are the worst. You’d think they’d be angrier at the person who wanted exactly three ice cubes, rather than someone who just wanted a drink steamed!
Gmail is the best! Don’t worry, using labels is pretty much the same as having folders. That’s what I use mine for!