Furry Friends

Every so often it occurs to me that there is a little animal that lives in my house. He has free reign to go anywhere and do almost anything. (Except sleep on the table...in theory) And that's kind of weird. I mean, have you ever really thought about it? There's this sentient little creature prowling around my apartment looking adorable and adding nothing to my life except fur everywhere and the occasional cuddle. He doesn't hunt for me, he's not for protection, he definitely doesn't do the dishes, and he's really bad at conversation. But I wouldn't get rid of him for anything in the world because, somehow, he makes me feel like I have purpose. Like I'm important. Sure, he's a cat, and sometimes he acts a little snobbishly cat-like, but then he comes up on the bed and cuddles with me. Or he cries if I don't pick him up right away when I get home and it makes my heart happy. I'm not sure why, he's never told me he loves me (and I'd be terrified if words came out of his mouth. And famous, I'd be famous with a talking cat.), but he fills a little space in my heart.
So, really...pets are kind of a weird thing. But, seriously, look at that face? How can we not keep them around?

The Wall

Let's take a moment and consider the wall. Not just "a" wall. Not "that" wall. But "the" wall. You know which wall I'm talking about. It's the one you run into right as you're really starting to make progress. That devastating thought: "What's the point in trying, I'm just going to fail anyway."
I think we've all faced that wall at some point, or run face first into it. Maybe you even feel like you've smacked into that wall so hard you've caused it to fall on top of you and now you're hopelessly buried underneath it. How do you climb out? It feels insurmountable. We're waving our arm through the bricks asking for a helping hand to pull us out.
So, how do we overcome this? I don't really know. I have fought with this wall for most of my life and I am fighting with it right now. But I am having an easier time this go round. Why, you may ask? Because I am surrounding myself with people who understand the wall and are calling to me from the other side, encouraging me to knock it down and keep running. Be careful who you choose to fill your life. Not everyone cheers for you. Some people will pick up the crumbling bricks and throw them at you. So, who are your people? And, more importantly, which kind of person are you?

Find Your Niche

I would like to take a minute and highly encourage you to stop what you're doing and create something. I don't care what you make, it could be a doodle, a poem, an awesome sandwich, a cup of coffee, or even just braiding your hair. Okay, stop reading, and do it right now. Ready? Go.
Did you do it? How do you feel? Like a little of your stress left through your fingertips? Like you did something worthwhile, even though it did nothing to progress your day? Like this really is the best sandwich you've ever eaten? Good. Now do it every day. Start with something small, find your niche and keep going. I promise it won't slow you down and make you miss an important meeting or keep you from that sink full of dishes. It'll just make you a lot happier while you fulfill those obligations. It'll let your mind breathe. We were made in the image of the One who created everything, so of course we have the drive to create something.
I forgot this for a long time. It wasn't letting my soul out to breathe. That's what writing is for me and I am so glad that I found my voice again. This last week has been amazing and I am so excited to keep pressing forward in this. The world looks a lot more inviting now that I'm brushing out the cobwebs in my head. I highly recommend finding your outlet. I promise you won't regret it.

Slow Your Roll

Why does everything have to be so fast-paced? Working at Starbucks, everything is about speed. We try to keep our drive-thru window time below 45 seconds and the we want to get our customers through our line in 3 minutes or less. When you're on bar, you're always working on two drinks at a time and leveraging the time your espresso machine takes to do things so that there is never wait time, you're always working.
These are good things in this industry, and I'm not knocking it, but I've realized that it is starting to affect the rest of my life. It's become incredibly hard to slow down. If you could see my browser right now I have six tabs open and I've flipped through all of them at least 5 times. This post isn't the only project I'm working on at this moment. When I need a second to think about what I'm going to write here, I switch to another tab and work on something else. I almost always have music playing or a movie on when I'm at home. I'm usually not really watching the movie, but I like the background noise. I can't handle silence anymore. The store were I work gets so loud and I'm there in the noise for eight hours everyday, so when I leave my brain freaks out if it's quiet.
I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, if you glance around in any coffee shop, on the bus, or even on the street you'll see most people with their faces in their phones. We are a multitasking nation and no one has, or really wants, time to breath. Even in our down time we need something occupying our minds. And, honestly, I'm not sure how to fix this problem. Everyone is tied up in their calendar through their various commitments, requirements, and obligations. In this fast paced society, how do we carve out time to really live? I highly recommend taking some time to slow down. Turn off your phone, pick up a book, and fall off the grid. Give your mind space to settle in. Because, as I've said before, life is beautiful and we're missing it.

Uncommon Courtesy

What happened to common courtesy?
I work in the food service/retail industry and it's always so surprising to me how entitled and rude people can. If the line is a little too long, I need them to repeat something more than once, or there is even a touch of foam on their no foam latte people go through the roof. They are rude and insensitive to the people who are still learning and treat them like their stupid. There is a lot to learn working in this industry and it's hard to keep up at first. But why is that a legitimate reason to talk down to someone and treat them like they aren't your peer?
Also, between the last two stores in which I have worked, I have become very familiar with no-call-no-shows. What is that? Or quitting with no notice. I just don't understand. It makes sure you won't get a favorable referral from your manager, hurts people who have come to be your friend, and makes you non-rehirable with the company on which you bailed.
There are nice, respectful customers, too. They are the ones for which I stay in this industry. The ones who become your friends, who ask about your life and are actually interested, and who don't care that the drink they wanted iced was accidentally made hot. If there were more people like them in a the world, it would be a better place.

Mystery of Mysteries

I have a question for all my fellow women: Why does being small automatically make something adorable? A woman just brought the tiniest puppy into my store and every female I work with almost literally died for sheer, squealing joy. I think the only thing that saved the puppies owner from being incredibly freaked out was that she, too, was female and had just purchased the puppy. Her joy was on par with ours.
And puppies aren't the only thing that are adorable. Obviously, there's babies, kittens, and other baby animals. But what about dollhouse furniture? There is nothing so cute as a tiny sofa with an minuscule end table and lamp smaller than my pinky finger. Or how about when you open a Barbie fridge and see all the tiny food? The other day I was shopping with a friend and we were both surprised to discover that even mini bagels are adorable.
Personally, I think it feeds the maternal side of every woman. We see small things and they are automatically connected to babies or small children. Our internal clocks tick faster and we melt into girlish joy. Because, let's be real, this is a female thing. I've seen a guy be fascinated by the handiwork that went into a tiny piano that actually works, but I've never seen him squeal about it being cute.

But, for real...

I don't know about you guys, but I am really tired of this whole "Disney is giving us unrealistic expectations for my body and love life" and "Barbie sets an unrealistic body image for young girls" stuff. Guys...it's not real. Barbie also has underwear printed directly on her body and no one gets upset about the unrealistic expectations she sets for having to do laundry. I think we should be more concerned about how we apparently aren't teaching our children to distinguish between reality and fantasy. No one is upset that Tim Burton's characters all have super pointy cheek bones and really sharp angles. Talk about unrealistic...
Joking aside I think that, instead of getting up in arms about how these dolls and cartoons are teaching our impressionable children the wrong things, we should be maintaining an open dialogue with them about their bodies. Just because they've made the princesses skinny doesn't mean that's what we're supposed to think she has the "ideal" body. It's just how the animator imagined her. And, seriously, all the Disney princes are super ripped and way more charming than humanly possible, but you don't see guys getting upset about their unrealistic body image.

Even if the princesses start having more realistic bodies, hair, and skin
that won't change the fact that it's what's on the inside that really makes a person beautiful. I've known so many beautiful women and handsome men who became ugly in my mind as I've gotten to know their personality and very plain people who became incredibly gorgeous the more I got to know their hearts. The cover of the book may make you want to pick it up, but it's not what makes you keep reading.