Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Eye Rolls and Sticky Buns
You don't wanted it grinded? Ground
Gloria and her eye rolls
Shaking finger
Shaking head
Or worse
The Stare.
She won't
Or
She will before you ask her
Communication is not her forte
Barista 101 mistakes she won't forgive
"she's probably calling out the drinks wrong!"
Barista 201 mistakes she won't acknowledge
"I got her"
Vs
"I got you"
Which feels. So good, so intimate
A stranger taking you
Getting your back
Everyone speaks in a vocab of a limited set of words
Grande
Vanilla
Please
Latte
Bone dry
No foam
Venti
Chai
Soy
Americano
Tall blonde
Tall bold
Tall dark
Venti venti venti
Only now
5 weeks in
Am I looking forward to people
And they seem to connect with me
Look me in the eye
I do NOT yell
Next!
Good morning!!!
Or worst:
Following!!!
Like it was an order
Some people
Like brad
Make her smile
Gloria and her eye rolls
Shaking finger
Shaking head
Or worse
The Stare.
She won't
Or
She will before you ask her
Communication is not her forte
Barista 101 mistakes she won't forgive
"she's probably calling out the drinks wrong!"
Barista 201 mistakes she won't acknowledge
"I got her"
Vs
"I got you"
Which feels. So good, so intimate
A stranger taking you
Getting your back
Everyone speaks in a vocab of a limited set of words
Grande
Vanilla
Please
Latte
Bone dry
No foam
Venti
Chai
Soy
Americano
Tall blonde
Tall bold
Tall dark
Venti venti venti
Only now
5 weeks in
Am I looking forward to people
And they seem to connect with me
Look me in the eye
I do NOT yell
Next!
Good morning!!!
Or worst:
Following!!!
Like it was an order
Some people
Like brad
Make her smile
Crying
Sometimes there are only two places where you can cry.
The church.
And the subway.
Large white man
Frat boy
Healthy
But what else?
And the young semi spanish semi black semi asian man on the subway.
He kept looking like he was about to throw up.
Cane, big plastic bag
No consideration for public boundaries
Buy probably because he was sick
Looked 30
Or
60
How quiet Monuque got
The church.
And the subway.
Large white man
Frat boy
Healthy
But what else?
And the young semi spanish semi black semi asian man on the subway.
He kept looking like he was about to throw up.
Cane, big plastic bag
No consideration for public boundaries
Buy probably because he was sick
Looked 30
Or
60
How quiet Monuque got
Happy?
Outside the NYPL
Marble statues posing
For tourist
Posing for photographers
Posing
For the perfect shot
I took this job
V
Because
I suspected I was low
In self esteem
(and funds)
Like a baby boy
I cry
And screw up
Pushing go buttons
When the milk is far from the steamer
(it splatters)
When the grinder pitcher is gone
(the machine won't work, thank god)
And I take it to hear when anyone says
That "it is taking goddamn forever"
Although I used to complain (more)
And the hours of my youth slow to a crawl
The time flits by on a screensaver
Taunting me
And worse
The daylight savings computers
Who tease me from the future.
The homeless man
ME
asked for a favor
"a cup of water, ice"
We do not give out samples
Or encourage..
And he had music
"Happy"
That inane song, everywhere
Neither of us were
Marble statues posing
For tourist
Posing for photographers
Posing
For the perfect shot
I took this job
V
Because
I suspected I was low
In self esteem
(and funds)
Like a baby boy
I cry
And screw up
Pushing go buttons
When the milk is far from the steamer
(it splatters)
When the grinder pitcher is gone
(the machine won't work, thank god)
And I take it to hear when anyone says
That "it is taking goddamn forever"
Although I used to complain (more)
And the hours of my youth slow to a crawl
The time flits by on a screensaver
Taunting me
And worse
The daylight savings computers
Who tease me from the future.
The homeless man
ME
asked for a favor
"a cup of water, ice"
We do not give out samples
Or encourage..
And he had music
"Happy"
That inane song, everywhere
Neither of us were
Orig!! Ella Vocal Competition
"I Like The Sunrise"
Like Jazz, her voice rose.
It quavered, teetering on the edge, resolving nicely, a skilled pilot saving the swoop.
Her parents, heavy in accent and body and tradition, eager to film her from the furthest balcony.
Vs the kid who copied Sinatra
.
Like Jazz, her voice rose.
It quavered, teetering on the edge, resolving nicely, a skilled pilot saving the swoop.
Her parents, heavy in accent and body and tradition, eager to film her from the furthest balcony.
Vs the kid who copied Sinatra
.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Amid Dreams of fat ankles
Tuesday, May 6, 11:19am
Amid dereams of fat ankles
51 e 42nd at
Take the stairs down
Shuttle
Use the 4th turnstile
Walk into a beam
So many ways to die
Like when the homeless men begin speaking
Are they profound prophets?
And will those be the last words you hear??
He had bedhead at every time of day
His nose was a fun slide on his face
Pea mentally curved into a smirk
Cute when he was younger
Now he prays for one girl to cherish
His misshapeness
You heard?
Word!
Never call yourself a sissy
Choked on the Happy Birthday song
26
Sent from my iPhone
Amid dereams of fat ankles
51 e 42nd at
Take the stairs down
Shuttle
Use the 4th turnstile
Walk into a beam
So many ways to die
Like when the homeless men begin speaking
Are they profound prophets?
And will those be the last words you hear??
He had bedhead at every time of day
His nose was a fun slide on his face
Pea mentally curved into a smirk
Cute when he was younger
Now he prays for one girl to cherish
His misshapeness
You heard?
Word!
Never call yourself a sissy
Choked on the Happy Birthday song
26
Sent from my iPhone
Ella: THE VOCAL COMPETITION
(recreated?)
Her voice rose from the canyon like jazz.
"I Like The Sunrise . . . . "
Her voice soaring like the light over the horizon.
A wobble, a zig, a zag, a tremor.
Then a ready perfect pilot, turning the note into sunshine, averting us from danger.
Her voice rose from the canyon like jazz.
"I Like The Sunrise . . . . "
Her voice soaring like the light over the horizon.
A wobble, a zig, a zag, a tremor.
Then a ready perfect pilot, turning the note into sunshine, averting us from danger.
He Sees Himself as the Homeless Guy!
Friday, May 9, 4:44am!!! Getting off Subway/Sunway (St 5am to 10:45/John Cage Mushrooms/rainy day bus to JALC)
He sees himself as the homeless guy!
Thanks the cops
Bc the smelly guys scare him
When they speak
So insistently
And then he showers
2x a week
Tries to cover up at first
Gives up
You can only smell him up lose
And nobody comes close to him
Subway workers keep their flashlights on
Too hard to turn them off!
Parallel to their legs
Hanging off a loop
Maybe it's self hatred that brings him to a job at 4am
He's a martyr
And good enough not to tell anyone
Or expect them to give him pity
Or allow him to complain
Gives him plenty of reasons to hate the world
All caps!
Carolyn
His rich sister/ GF
Expecting to be entertained
In any conversations he showsup to
He knows he can get in
By joking about cute furry animals
She went to MIT
And the only change has been from
Teddy bears to polar bears
She is using her consulting fees
"Consulting has been very very kind to me"
"Most people our age haven't paid off their mortgage, or saved for retirement"
And I'm just like, Really???
She may be book smart, but she never learned sensitivity.
The Most Glorious Thing in his life
Was sitting on the train at 125th st
Watching it emerge from the underground
The steel arches of the West Side Highway
A parking lot of traffic at all hours
(until he realized there was parking there)
Reminders of going grocery shopping there
Abundance of fresh fruit
And love
And now, the blue sparks from the train at night
Off the new construction
A skeleton of steel
Would it last as long as that bridge
Or the palisades?
Or the sunlight?
(which didn't last long enough for him
After college, after being told how smart he was
And not being able to find a job
Cursed?
Stupid?
Everyone told him to get work
"even if it's just in a coffee shop"
As if money prevents you from going insane
Or the American idea
Of noble work
He had never felt more suicidal
He had tasted life of the mind
Parties where he was witty
And jobs where he led meetings
Now he was being yelled at for not moving
For not frenetically cleaning in every spare moment
Or at least trying o look busy
The spring without lilacs
Walking to work in the freezing rain
Sent from my iPhone
He sees himself as the homeless guy!
Thanks the cops
Bc the smelly guys scare him
When they speak
So insistently
And then he showers
2x a week
Tries to cover up at first
Gives up
You can only smell him up lose
And nobody comes close to him
Subway workers keep their flashlights on
Too hard to turn them off!
Parallel to their legs
Hanging off a loop
Maybe it's self hatred that brings him to a job at 4am
He's a martyr
And good enough not to tell anyone
Or expect them to give him pity
Or allow him to complain
Gives him plenty of reasons to hate the world
All caps!
Carolyn
His rich sister/ GF
Expecting to be entertained
In any conversations he showsup to
He knows he can get in
By joking about cute furry animals
She went to MIT
And the only change has been from
Teddy bears to polar bears
She is using her consulting fees
"Consulting has been very very kind to me"
"Most people our age haven't paid off their mortgage, or saved for retirement"
And I'm just like, Really???
She may be book smart, but she never learned sensitivity.
The Most Glorious Thing in his life
Was sitting on the train at 125th st
Watching it emerge from the underground
The steel arches of the West Side Highway
A parking lot of traffic at all hours
(until he realized there was parking there)
Reminders of going grocery shopping there
Abundance of fresh fruit
And love
And now, the blue sparks from the train at night
Off the new construction
A skeleton of steel
Would it last as long as that bridge
Or the palisades?
Or the sunlight?
(which didn't last long enough for him
After college, after being told how smart he was
And not being able to find a job
Cursed?
Stupid?
Everyone told him to get work
"even if it's just in a coffee shop"
As if money prevents you from going insane
Or the American idea
Of noble work
He had never felt more suicidal
He had tasted life of the mind
Parties where he was witty
And jobs where he led meetings
Now he was being yelled at for not moving
For not frenetically cleaning in every spare moment
Or at least trying o look busy
The spring without lilacs
Walking to work in the freezing rain
Sent from my iPhone
What he knew
Friday, May 9, 12;24pm, after Pounds?
What he knew
Money dies not equal happy
But
Uncomfortable equals misery
Have enough money to not be miserable
Hollywood might be a whole town but Broadway is mostly 40tg st to Columbus circle
And is mostly the messiness of 9th ave
Even though you might miss yr stop
And a boy he knows got a ticker for napping
Closing Ye eyes on public transport is always worth it for the surreal dreams alone!!
Sent from my iPhone
What he knew
Money dies not equal happy
But
Uncomfortable equals misery
Have enough money to not be miserable
Hollywood might be a whole town but Broadway is mostly 40tg st to Columbus circle
And is mostly the messiness of 9th ave
Even though you might miss yr stop
And a boy he knows got a ticker for napping
Closing Ye eyes on public transport is always worth it for the surreal dreams alone!!
Sent from my iPhone
His Constant Jazz State
Friday, 5/9, 6pm, heading to JALC
Guys working on subway are playing JAZZ
Huge Decompressors
or Jackhammers
BLINK and they change, back & forth
Guys working on subway are playing JAZZ
Huge Decompressors
or Jackhammers
BLINK and they change, back & forth
Doppelganger: Curse on Your House
(subway, coming home, Mother's Day, 5/11/14, 2pm-ish)
A curse on your house
He smiled
Excuse me?
A curse on your house!
But it was not my fault you got fired!
A curse on your house anyway.
Young man to old?
Old man working Starbucks
Reflecting
young 40s dating Amber-
Shrug why don't you work for Starbucks
Boy?
Lost teen?
Agony of longing
He's weaker, the kid
The mother!!
Wanting to help
And hurt at the same time
Attack the vulnerable
So she'll know for next time
Spurn love
(because really, where has it gotten you? Never helps!!)
There's always a helicopter as they see the arches
And Hudson
In daylight rare!!
You see the view is a construction site
It'll be gone soon
Glad you has a view while it lasted!
Enjoy sitting and shitting
And when feet ache
Putting them up
Clubbing to the 4th fl walk up
To hide in my space
Sent from my iPhone
A curse on your house
He smiled
Excuse me?
A curse on your house!
But it was not my fault you got fired!
A curse on your house anyway.
Young man to old?
Old man working Starbucks
Reflecting
young 40s dating Amber-
Shrug why don't you work for Starbucks
Boy?
Lost teen?
Agony of longing
He's weaker, the kid
The mother!!
Wanting to help
And hurt at the same time
Attack the vulnerable
So she'll know for next time
Spurn love
(because really, where has it gotten you? Never helps!!)
There's always a helicopter as they see the arches
And Hudson
In daylight rare!!
You see the view is a construction site
It'll be gone soon
Glad you has a view while it lasted!
Enjoy sitting and shitting
And when feet ache
Putting them up
Clubbing to the 4th fl walk up
To hide in my space
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, May 9, 2014
Indignities of Low Wages May 3
JALC & Starbucks May 3
Standing on your feet!!! Not being able to sit
Not being allowed to carry your cellphone (Stripped of your connection, light, notepad, etc)
Not being able to count on regular shifts, regular money, working as many hours as you want.
3 hour minimum for JALC
5am in the cold
The cost of transportation, new shoes, new pants & shirt, almost renders the money negligible.
You get ordered around by people who are obviously idiots, or distrustful of you, or who feel entitled to their priveldge.
You have to get used to seeing food tossed away in front of you as you starve. (JALC parties & Starbucks waste)
The 30% discount ($4 to 2.50= ¼ of an hour) is not enough to outweigh the temptation of stealing food.
Spinach wraps (1 meal $3) vs Mcdonalds (2 meals $3)
“Put on your apron before you clock in” says the guy who seems to be in charge, but who is NOT wearing his apron and will not be putting it on until 30 minutes after opening.
(Computer training never happened, 4 hrs of reading vs 2 hrs and 2 hrs of computer)
Manager has to spend her morning hours brewing coffee & running around
People leave the floor without notice, leaving others in the lurch
People (I) get put on register without being given BASIC instruction about what is happening (other people are processing orders, you do NOT have to mark cups, or shout orders or even make sure the customers get their coffee, which means they hang around waiting for instruction from you CULTURE!!)
==
Contradictions and Confusions
NOT a well oiled machine
People disappear off the floor
THERE IS A BOOK to tell you where you will be assigned _NEVER seen it!
Heavily disciplined if you “steal” food, we MUST throw it away! Managers have been fired over this!
Visors keep your head down, easy to hide, or not be seen/recognized
Slavery
Ordered by “fellow teammates”
“She was trying to be in there, I can’t have her being in there when I’m trying to work!”
vs lifting up the display case? Figuring out a way to work together??
“Bring the milk around”
“Carry it two in each hand”
“You know that slides out don’t you?” Fridge
CRIED after 5 hours at the register STRAIGHT!
Book clearly states that people should be moved around from position to position!!
Repetitive hand motion, etc
NO time to do computer training!
TIRED
NO COFFEE
30 min prior to shift & 30 min after shift
NOT allowed to keep it in hallway, when can you drink it?
HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE!!
Rules vs the actual practice of what happens
(Scheduling, I don’t think I can give you a day off, “All hands on deck”)
===
STARBUCKS HELP LINE
Sallie Mae
afraid to talk to them
honesty is best policy
Hardship program
“You’re gona get off this phone and look at yourself and say, I’m gonna get that job!”
Ombudsman for Federal Loan
gov sponsored org
877-557-2575
Mail!!
US Dept of Ed
800-872-5327
Consumer protection bureau
Private Student Loan
855-411-2372
Brooklyn Food Stamps
718-636-7046
==
MAY 3
Richard Pounds & I exchanged 10 vm back & forth, he was amazed at my persistence, he didn’t say how much time we had, someone cancelled (At 1:15,”We have 2:30 to 3:30, he kicked me out mid thought at 2:15)
6 sessions to listen to myself talk
FINE!!!
HAD to go in -IN PERSON- to put in my vacation time off/can’t call, hoping someone can do it for me. Have to work holidays, can’t announce that I need to take off several days in a row BEFORE IM hired,
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