The Awkwardness that is Starbucks

when will they get it right?..

As you already know if you read my blog, I’m a Starbucks addict. Heck no am I afraid to admit it. But during my every encounter at this heavenly place, it seems something awkward always has to happen.

this is pretty much what every visit is like..

I wait in the long ass line, pretending to be on my phone but also angling my screen so that the snoopy girl behind me doesn’t see my ugly snapchats (or try to photobomb).

When it’s finally my then to order I still have to say “hold on” and decide my order because I was too preoccupied trying to look preoccupied while I was in line to think of my order. After about 50 seconds of thinking, I still order my Skinny Vanilla Latte that I’ve order for the past 6 years..

Next is time for the dooming question. “What name can I put on the cup?” “Mikah.” “How do you spell that?” “It really doesn’t matter” (sometimes I spell it for them anyway, but I like to see how it’ll turn out now).

Disclaimer: even when I spell my name out and literally pronounce it for them, it still comes up on the counter “mika” “mike” “mila” “mikala” and my latest favorite, “miki.” Oh and getting the person to pronounce it is worse than brushing my dogs teeth.

Then it’s time to pay and even though I have way over the $4.33 it is to buy my drink, I still have anxiety over the fact that my card could get declined (it happened sometime back in 2004 and I’ve never gotten over it). When my card goes through I can wipe the upper lip sweat off..

It’s time to walk up to the counter and there is usually about 5 other people there. Usually I pretend to be on my phone again, or uselessly scroll through my Instagram feed. Well the awkwardest part is if you didn’t hear them call out the drink up there (WHY DONT THEY JUST CALL NAMES SINCE THEY ASKED FOR IT AND THE SPELLING), you have to awkwardly turn the cup to see what kind it is.. I usually stand about 4 feet back and arch forward and use as little fingers as possible in case it’s not my drink and the Bellevue b*tch (for lack of better words) behind me yells and says I tainted her cup and got germs on it by turning it for 3 seconds.

the awkwardness is over when I get to leave.

XORelatable

Oprah: an inspiration in coffee culture

[yes they always spell my name wrong]

This may just be a sleeve to you. This may just be something you throw away after you finished your skinny vanilla latte in the 10 minutes you had to get to work. Or this may be something you completely fell in love with; I know I did.

Even though coffee is a definitely habit for me, I still take joy in it and love the whole coffee culture here in Seattle. Oprah has not only made that love stronger, but also managed to inspire me more. These quotes are sometimes what get me through those days..

Often times I drink my coffee before relaxing yoga and meditation. I drink my coffee between shifts at work and watch the birds fly around the trees. I drink my coffee while I walk around Greenlake with my teacup poodle. I drink my coffee while I’m writing my thoughts in my journal. So needless to say, I drink my coffee a lot and even though the caffeine does make me awake and jittery, it gives me a sense of comfort. And these quotes just made the feeling intensify!

XORelatable

Nature gets me through those days

If you don’t like nature, great. If you do, even better. Frankly, I don’t care. Nature gets me through my worst days. The days I don’t want to leave my dark room and turn off Netflix, the days I don’t want to put on “normal” clothes and take my hair out of my bun that’s bigger than my head, the days that I could punch anyone who even said “hi” to me… Those days. All I have to do is get myself out of bed and outside, and it’s like a completely new me! I could take on the world, or so it feels. So bottom line, whatever gets you through THOSE DAYS, is worth it. No matter how much other people hate or love it. It’s your thing! I choose nature and yoga.

Here are a few things that have gotten me through the bitter, recent “those days”…

College targets: An Uprising

The reason I’m choosing to write on this [controversial] topic is because the latest target college is less than 20 minutes from my house. Even if it wasn’t, this is [just] a tragic topic. 

It’s just not fair.

May 25, 2014: (UCSB) Santa Barbara, California

He [Elliot Rodger, 22] fatally stabbed three men in his residence, shot two women to death in front of a sorority house, shot a man to death inside a deli, exchanged gunfire twice with police and injured 13 people as he drove from block to block, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office said Saturday night. (Source)

Watch the horrifying film he posted warning people before the shooting here: Watch

Titles for news on this shooting:

• Santa Barbara Shooter Elliot Rodger Killed 6 Sorority Girls

My problem with this title is that it gives him fame. His name is pointless. Even though he’s dead now, often killers love the fame they receive from the media. My problem is that the victims deserve to be recognized, not the killer. He’s useless. He’s useless to the media because he did no good. Why doesn’t it say Santa Barbara shooter killed six sorority girls named ___? They deserve more recognition than the killer.

His father, Peter Rodger, works in the film industry and was the second unit assistant director on the first “The Hunger Games” film, according to a spokeswoman for Lionsgate. (Source)

More fame for this horrific shooter.

• Santa Barbara Shooting Reflects American Culture

My problem with this title is that it’s true. What is this nation coming to? Sure there are still many, many amazing people here.. but it’s become the norm to hear about killings in the media and on the news. Not to bash the media because you know, it IS their job to report what’s going on, but should they have so many shootings to report? Our nation is scaring me…

June 5, 2014: (SPU) Seattle, Washington

At least three people were shot on the Seattle Pacific University campus Thursday afternoon, police said.  The school was put in lockdown and one suspect was taken into custody, police added. (Source)

Police sources told Q13 FOX News that an “agitated” man with a shotgun told two people to remain still. When one moved, the gunman shot him. The second person sprayed Mace at the gunman, who then shot the second person in the face, police said. (Source)

There aren’t many news articles about this shooting yet because it was only about 2.5 hours ago. It just baffles me that someone would go to a young college town and shoot whoever they see, because they were “agitated.” I mean, I’m agitated sometimes but I take it out doing yoga, eating ice cream, or running. Not with killing people. [This is not to say there weren’t other factors, i.e. mental disease, because I don’t know yet].

The suspect was an SPU student.

Recap: My fear is that these College shootings are becoming a trend. People see that this Santa Barbara shooter “went down with fame,” and they want to copy him. There have also been a number of robberies in the Seattle area, that aren’t exactly related in such a close way as these two shootings, but still along the same lines. For some reason people like to outdo others, and I feel that maybe the College shootings are going to keep occurring at different locations, for other people to “prove their worth” [or so they think]. Hopefully I’m wrong.

-College towns are easy targets because young adults are away from their protective parents for the first times. Why not go and shoot them or steal from them? If you ask me, that’s as low as you can get. Targeting someone when they’re already struggling is just terrible.

XORelatable