Happy Birthday to Tory!

She's just one day older than me! And I miss her. But I will be seeing her in just over a week, how crazy is that?



Now I have a story. It doesn't have anything to do with Tory, but I think it is worth telling.

Yesterday at work, Murad answered a phone call that came in. I wasn't really paying attention, but after a minute he was like 'Becca, it's for you.' I was pretty skeptical at first. I figured that either there was no on on the other end or it was going to be our boss or something and he just wanted to play a joke on me. No one has ever called me at work before. But, he kept a straight face and said 'No really, it's for you!'

So I picked it up.
Me: Hello?
Voice on the other end: Hi, you rang me up earlier when I came through I think.
*I get a sense of dread in my stomach, wondering what she must be calling to complain about.*
Me: Oh, ok...
Her: Do you see a guy in scrubs sitting in the cafe?
*Still not convinced I am not talking to a co-worker just trying to play a joke, I kind of laugh.*
Me: Um, well...
Her: He's in there. He has sunglasses hanging on the collar of his shirt.
*I suddenly see the man she speaks of, kind of getting creeped out MYSELF that she is talking about him, wondering if I am getting roped into some kind of assassination plan.*
Me: Oh, yeah. I see him now.
Her: Do you know if he is single?
*Seriously? SERIOUSLY? You are calling your barista to dish GOSSIP on someone?*
Me, getting more and more amused by this: haha, No, I really do not know.
Her: I was in there earlier, and I see him a lot, but I just didn't have the guts to go up and talk to him!
Me: Oh, yeah...
Her: And he doesn't wear a ring or anything, but in his line of work that doesn't mean a thing!
Me: Yeah, true...
Her: So you don't know if he comes in there with anyone ever?
*Unable to even recognize the guy, let alone keep tabs on his hypothetical main squeeze, I am at a loss for words.'
Me: No, I don't really know him. At all.
Her: Oh, ok...well, how old do you think he is?
*HAHA*
Me: Oh, wow, um...I don't know, 20's or 30's maybe? I only have a side profile view of his face.
Her: Yeah, he seems pretty young!
Me: Yeah...
Her: Well, your mission, if you choose to accept it...
*oh crap*
...is to find out more information about him!
Me: hahaha
Her: I am in there all the time and I know you work quite a bit.
Me: haha Ok, well I don't know but if I am able to find anything out I will let you know.
Her: Ok, thank you!
Me: Sure, bye.

hahahah. It felt sort of inappropriate, but funny and almost a little sweet at the same time. She must have a maaaajor crush if she was willing to call Starbucks, ask for the girl at the register who apparently looks like she might know all of the juicy details, and ask the questions she needs answers to. If the guy's not married, I kind of hope they get together because it would be kind of lovely.

And then Starbucks would give me a raise for being the best Barista/customer service agent/MATCHMAKER they ever had.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

A - Autumn. My favorite season.
B - Birthday. Soon. VERY soon.
C - Cavities. I am worried I have a bunch. But won't know til I go to the...
D - Dentist. Need to find one.
E - Eggnog. 'Contains eggs' (found on the allergen warnings at Starbucks).
F - Friends. Two of the best are coming to town on Thursday/Friday!
G - Gabe. Might as well be my baby.
H - Halloween. Also soon. VERY soon. What are you being?
I - Interview. I have one guys.
J - Juno. Has a nice soundtrack playing right now.
K - Kansas. I've lived here for 9 months now. Wow!
L - Lethargic. Look it up in the dictionary and you'll see my picture there.
M - 'Mater'. The name of the towtruck from the movie 'Cars'. I just found that out today. It's not 'Mader'. It's Mater. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Or find it funny like I did?
N - Nighttime. Comes so early these days.
O - Old. That's me.
P - Pointless. This blog?
Q - Quickly. That's how the past couple months have passed.
R - Red. My favorite color.
S - Sisters. Wish mine were here.
T - Tragedy. I have been particularly heartbroken by several stories making headlines these days. We live in a broken, broken world.
U - Um. I am having the worst time coming up with one for U.
V - Vug. A cavity in rock, lined with mineral crystals. (V is also for vocab skillz).
W - Water. I should drink more of it. Story of my life.
X - Does 'X' mean hugs? Or kisses?
Y - You...are almost done if you've read this far.
Z - ZZZZZZZ I'm goin' to sleep!

My-notony

It's weird how long things can go on somewhat monotonously.

And then suddenly one day you find yourself faced with a bunch of big decisions and potential changes.

Things could go right back to being monotonous.
But they might not.
And actually. Even if the current potential changes don't pan out as they might, I'm not sure I am willing to go back to monotony.

It's kind of liberating.
Definitely scary.
Hopeful.
I've felt sort of nauseous all day. In a good way?

Have I used 'monotonous' enough times in these few short sentences, as well as different variations of it? How monotonous of me.

That's all I'm willing to say for now.

PS: I like rain.

Buenas Bonjours

Yesterday, I had several customers greet me in different languages at the cash register. At least, that's what I could assume they were doing, as I do not understand that many languages.

Maybe Johnson County is becoming more culturally diverse, you say?
Doubtful.
Maybe coincidence?
Unlikely.
Maybe someone had, without my knowledge, posted a 'trivia question' on the board behind me asking customers if they could say 'Good morning/afternoon to us in a different language?'?
Yes, I think that might have happened.

Customers: Sorry for staring blankly at you and not cracking so much as a smile.
Starbucks: I'm over you.

Love, Becca

Dear Weather,
Thank you for being cold.
I love how grey you make the sky.
My long sleeved shirts and sweaters are over-joyed to be worn again.
My heart feels lighter now that it is not being strangled by the summer heat.
You rule.

love,
becca
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Eyelashes,
Thank you for growing back.
I'm so happy to see you again.
Sorry for killing you a few months ago.
I wasn't the same without you.
Please never leave again.

love,
becca
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Neighbors,
Please get a clue.
Your dogs are miserable.
Don't chain them up.
All you have to do is build a partial fence for your whole yard to be enclosed.
They are obnoxious barkers. That's because they are unhappy. Especially in the pouring rain.
I wrote down your address.
Not so I can send you this letter, but so I can send the authorities to your door if this continues.

love,
becca
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear God,
Please help me sort my life out.
Kthx.
You rule too.

love,
becca

What do You Think?

So I was just at lunch with this beaut and told her about a question I recently asked Cha Cha. With the impending election growing closer every day, it has gotten me thinking about prejudice that existed in the long ago past, the very recent past, and still today.

I don't know that I can say prejudice of one kind or another will make or break the election, but I am confident it WILL be a contributing factor to how people vote. So I would like to know what you think exists more prevalently today: racism or sexism? And why?

Time For a Vent

I am generally a pretty pleasant, easy-going person. But sometimes, there comes an hour where I just have to state some things to prevent a Becca explosion.

I can't stand salespeople. Sure, it's their job to sell things and they are only doing what someone who pays them told them to do. But still. Let me elaborate.

Now. I know it's bad tact to write about work in a blog. I know it could get me in trouble. Or even possibly fired. But when you don't even like your job that much and need a new one anyway, I say that rants about work are fair blog fodder.

At my place of employment, I am sometimes asked to do what we refer to as 'suggestive selling'. This can be described as employees 'suggesting' that a customer may want a little 'something' to go with their coffee, latte, iced grande whatever. Let me first make something clear. I hate suggestive selling. I HATE IT.

For starters, I don't like the fact that suggestive selling does not serve a genuinely heartfelt question. For example: 'Would you like a pumpkin scone to go with your coffee today?' You know in your heart that the guy you are asking does not want a scone. He never does. He drinks his coffee black and bland and bold. So really, do you think he is going to suddenly want a sugary, preservative-filled, empty calorie seasonal sensation? Of course not. And furthermore, did the customer not have ample amounts of time while in line to examine the pastries available and decide for his or her self if he/she truly wants something to eat? Cut the crap. If you ever hear suggestive selling coming out of my mouth, it's a sure bet that my boss is there too, holding a gun to the back of my head.

On to story two. Today, I was at the mall. By myself, but on a mission to get some clothes. Upon leaving Forever 21, I was basically attacked by a woman working at one of those damn kiosks you see throughout the mall. 'HELLO sweetie, COME sit down! Come now.' Sweetie? Do I know you? Sit down? Do I have a choice? I, taken off guard and not smart enough to get the H out of there immediately, scuffled over to the stool at her stand and took a seat. Only then did I even see what she was trying to sell. Hair straighteners. She then pulls out a straightener to do a demonstration. I happen to be wearing my hair wavy today. Little does she know, my hair is NATURALLY straight. I braid it to make it wavy. So 1. it's not like I lament the fact that I have waves in my hair and 2. I did not want her fugly straightener on my hair. She brings it near my hair and I am just like 'you are going to STRAIGHTEN it?' and she assures me 'I will fix it after!' So she straightens a section. Wow. Amazing. My hair is straight in that spot. Just like it naturally ALWAYS is.

She starts in on another section 'NO MORE.' I told her. She got kind of offended because she stopped being all suck up to me. She then put RINGLETS in the section she messed up. I would just like to state that RINGLETS are not the same as WAVES. SEE?


Ringlets


Waves

On the upside, I DID get some fantastic clothes.

Thank you for your time.

Kin

On Friday night, my whole family got to have dinner together.

I guess I should specify - my whole immediate family. That's Dad, Mom, Jeremy/Ashley/Micah/Tyler, Annie, Sarah, and myself.

Big deal? Yes.

Need context?

For a while, I lived in Montrose with Dad, Mom, Annie, and Sarah while Jeremy moved away to Greeley. Then, Annie moved to Seattle. Then Dad, Mom, Sarah, and I moved to Kansas City. Then I moved back to Montrose. Then I moved to Greeley. Then Jeremy and Ashley moved to Portland. Then they moved to Kansas City. Then Sarah moved to Liberty. Then Annie left Seattle and didn't have a place to call home at all. Then I moved to Texas. Then Annie moved to Nashville. Then I moved back here. And that is just the summary, really.

And Annie is not sure how long she will live in Nashville. And I am not sure how long I will live here. And Sarah doesn't know where she will be going after nursing school, but there is a good chance it won't even be in this country.

So. Having dinner with my whole family is rather special. I'm always amazed and even baffled by entire families that live in one place. The concept of it makes sense. But right now might be the closest my family will ever come to achieving that. So I'll take it while I can have it.

I love my family.