Wednesday, May 31, 2006


Your Letter

Hey you.

I read your letter... and then I read it again...

And though this isn't where I would post a reply... not here, not now... I just wanted you to know that I read it. It was the most beautiful letter I have ever received... your words have touched me in more ways than you would ever know.

Thank you.

Posted by jack at 9:38 AM

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It's Month-End And I Don't Have To Do Stock-Count!

I had a see-saw shift today. The first half of the morning couldn't get any worse... both my openers came late... again... sigh. So I had to do a solo opening till about 7am. which isn't really bad, and I'm not complaining about them. It's just that since today is month-end (for non-Starbucks readers, month-end means we have to count almost everything in the store, yup, almost everything) the closing shift last night didn't do much prep work or topping up... sigh... and the pastry case wasn't working, there was a power trip, both there as well as at the microwave / panini toaster area... when I finally got the power back on, I realised the light switch for the pastry case was spoilt, so it would be dark in there the whole day. I was really tempted to light tea-lights... hmm... thought for another day perhaps?

I managed to open at 7.20am, of course I always do, come hell or high water! So everything went well after? I wish. At about 8.05am, I had 2 partners come in. one was late, the other was early. Both thought they were working the other's shift! That was the ok part. But by 8.30am, we had marked out two lemon tarts, two monster cookies, one blueberry muffin, six half batches of coffee... and counting... (sorry Adilah, it was just one of those shifts. It was all Chalene's and Oliver's faults!)

What else happened? We had three deliveries, each with between five to eight drinks... we spilled tons of milk and frap mix... the queue was just raging long... and then... Brother-Love came. just icing on the cake! He tried to make conversation, most of us just went about our own business... but he seemed in a dandy mood, he even commented that the shift was going well, and the store seemed alive...

And then it struck me! Hey, despite all the screw-ups, we were having fun (ok, Farhan, Zan, Chalene and Oliver, my dear partners-in-crime, feel free to jump in and protest violently here...) I guess we bond better during times of crises... when there are not enough hands on-deck, and you gotta cover each other's backs... I had fun this morning, I really enjoyed the shift... and since I didn't get the chance to say this earlier... thanks, guys. You make it all worthwhile!

After that, when the closing shift came in, although I was grateful for the extra help, the spell was broken, and it was back to "just-another-shift-in-the-store"... oh well... here's hoping that tomorrow will be just as enjoyable...

Posted by jack at 8:19 AM

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Monday, May 29, 2006


Tribute? Or Copyright Violation?

I don't know much about copyright violation, but I get this very strange feeling that I might have violated a few by posting these images on my blog...

Rene Capone is an American artist. I don't know if he's very well known outside of New York or San Francisco, but I happened to chance upon one of his pieces a few years ago, and I've been a fan ever since. I like his work, because they always seem to evoke a poignancy from me. They appear both melancholic and sad at the same time. In the faces of the figures that he paints, I can sense their pain, the one common theme I feel is that they are waiting... always seeking, always reaching out, always waiting, always longing...

Save the Picassos, and Van Goghs, and Michaelangelos for an art student... to me, art should make me think and feel and appreciate... art should make me want to discuss for hours and days every fine detail in the landscape, every facial expression... art should speak to my heart and soul, a living, breathing piece... art should make me come alive...

Let me end off this entry with a quote from the man himself,

"When one creates, the endless noise surrounding us gets worked through and for a time the world makes sense. After it is done, you have something that communicates.

I look at making art like telling stories. The greatest themes in life are explored through art. Love, hate, jealousy, fear, anger, passion and anything else you can imagine. I believe an artist's job is to tell these stories."


I think it's worth your while to go check out his other works. A word of caution though, there are a lot of homo-erotic themed works, so if you're squeamish about seeing naked men together, then i'd advise you not to bother...





www.renecapone.com

Posted by jack at 9:14 AM

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Wednesday, May 24, 2006


Ely

I had a strange request today, well, not strange considering who it came from actually. Ely thinks that if I wanted to increase my profile views, I should write about her... hmm... worth a shot maybe... so here goes... ( I can't believe I'm doing this, and you owe me advertising fees for linking your blog in this entry, princess!)

I have nothing to say! Hahaha! Ok, let me start with the Friendster testimonial I posted for her...

"I've known Ely for almost 4 years, well, I worked with her once, and then our paths never really crossed again until I was transfered to Liat Towers. She's always come across as pretty cold, but I guess I never made the move to open up to her... until now. You can't really understand much of a person by simply working with them. Communication is a two-way street.

Ely listens, and she understands. We might fight and argue over certain theories and issues, but at the end of the day, she respects that I have my own opinions about things which might differ from hers.

Ely's been a great friend to have, and I'm really glad to be where we are now."


I realized when I wrote this that I didn't really get to know her the three months I was in liat towers before I posted this testimonial... in fact, I always hated having her on my shift, because Ely's always one to give feedback... quite brutally sometimes... it took me a while to appreciate her bluntness and honesty... but it sure beats people trying to suck up to me all the time.

Eventually I learnt things about her that I never really noted before, like how she always knows what's happening in the partners' lives, what their cares and concerns about the store or otherwise are; how she charms all the regulars in Liat Towers, and sometimes the disgruntled customers too; how she never fails to speak up for the underdogs or lost causes... however bitchy or obnoxious she sometimes comes across as, partners will still look up to her for help, advice and inspiration... and sometimes the occasional ASM would too!

Ely owns the bar in the store, well, in my store at least. That damn thing actually listens to her... and I still get nervous about being "b/e", when she's "b/s"! seriously! and her knowledge of all things Starbucks, beats me (the Coffee Ambassador) hands-down anytime, man!

Oh, don't misintepret everything I've written. we are not the best of friends now... no way, we still have heated discussions over theories and stuff, and how the store could and should be run. And trust me, if (when) I screw up, this girl's the first to put me in my place! But hey, at the end of the day, I know she cares, no matter how unwilling she might be to admit that...

So I know I don't say this very often, but Ely, thanks for all the feedback that you've thrown my way... thanks for sliding in to help me everytime there's a bar slam... thanks for not making me feel stupid when I have to verify coffee-related information with you... and on a personal note, thanks for getting me hooked on blogging... thanks for educating me that cigarette is spelled with "a" not "e"... and thanks for your suggestion to increase my profile views... if this actually works, we'll renegotiate that advertising fee!

Posted by jack at 4:35 AM

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Monday, May 22, 2006


Blog-sessed

So looks like I managed to fix my blog... looking pretty good, even if I say so myself... now if only someone can teach me how to get my navbar back...

I've spent the last few nights online, looking at people's blogs... both their writings and designs... and I'm beginning to understand the thrill of blogging. I think I prefer reading blogs of the people that I know, there's always the "are they blogging about me? Are they? Can't be... now why aren't they blogging about me?" feeling that comes from it. I don't really read random blogs (somewhat due to the fact that I lost my navbar) because they seem too distant for me to care about. Hmm... selfish and egoistic, aren't I? But from the few that I've come across, it's like watching daytime soap... not that I watch, but it's a little addictive, always coming back to see how things progressed from when you last read...

To be honest, I don't quite know why I started blogging in the first place. I mean, I know who inspired (motivated? conned? Oops, I mean convinced!) me to start... but not why... maybe I saw it as an avenue to vent frustration, say things that I might not have the courage to say face-to-face. I have always been better with the written word. When it comes to real-life conversations, I sometimes hem-and-haw like an idiot... sometimes... this is like keeping a diary, only that the whole world gets to read it. I'm still a little nervous about that, because it would offer an insight into my psyche, and some things I would rather keep private. But then again, there are things that I wanna shout out to the world, to shout out to... well, you know who you are!

And the other thing I find fascinating? That 31 other people have actually read my blog. The one that was "forced" to, that's understandable, but everyone else? Like hey, people are actually interested in what I have to say, although some of my entries tend to be very "reader-specific"... ok then, if you're a math genius like me, you'd have deduced by now that I've had a grand total of 32, yes you got that right, 32 profile views! Maybe I can't quite compare with your 636 profile views, but hey, you had a headstart! So if you'll lay off blogging for a while, maybe I can catch up!

Posted by jack at 11:45 AM

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