Baristas and morning meetings

When I first started working at my new university, my the mornings were chilly and my office was even colder. I would stop on my way to work to get a Starbucks, an upside down caramel macchiato, and drive into work and sip on my coffee quietly throughout the morning. One day, I was extremely hungry and walked into a little market in the morning to get something to eat. The barista inside told me that he could make anything that Starbucks could make. And I told him I would take him up on that challenge and the next day I gave him the chance. I asked him for an upside down caramel macchiato. He tried his best. He really did....but as he watched me try his creation, I could barely stop my face from betraying the bitterness I tasted inside that coffee cup. However, the little market was so boring, and so quiet that the next day I had to go back to keep him from dying of boredom and if not to give him a second chance at the coffee making. And then it dawned on me, if my little barista was so bored and lonely, he could make the drinks exactly how I wanted. He had the time, and the sweet vibe to devote to my particular coffee tastes. So the next day, I went in and offered a suggestion on how I would like my coffee and he did it for me. At times, it was as if I had my own personal barista because no one would come in and he had all the time in the world to experiment with things that I liked or would want to try. Sometimes he reminds me of the guy in the movie Amelie, that is a little off and takes his time picking out the perfect fruits for the customers. My little barista attempts little bar tricks and puts on a show. He is such a character that I walk away with a smile on my face and ready to come back the next morning to watch his performance. It is pretty awesome.

Our conversations grew from coffee to work and life. He found out that I worked in Housing and he asked me specifically "do you get asked a lot of stupid questions?" Me? Asked stupid questions? Only everyday of my life. Each day I bring him a new question or a new story. After a week of not visiting him today was my first day back. It was as if he was waiting for me. He gave me a list of stupid questions he gets asked as a psychology major. This was a new step in our barista/customer relationship.

Even though I didn't get coffee everyday, I used to make sure to get a coffee from my barista every Tuesday for a weekly 2.5 hour meeting. I am not a meeting person, especially when I am on a temp assignment and much of the information in the other 2.25 hours of the meeting do not concern me. During the meeting I drew little doodles to keep myself awake. Coming from another university's housing department I would offer suggestions on what my old university did to perhaps help the new department out. My suggestions were often taken with a nod and with a tone of "let's move on." A couple of weeks ago with my warm coffee in hand, I walked into the conference room late due to working and updating some lists to report the most accurate information. Right after my update, the director asked me to leave and go back to my desk and work. Uh, awkward but very grateful because I had a lot of work to do. The next week, again with my coffee in hand, I walk into the conference room to find it completely empty. The student workers informed me that everyone had gone to the meeting at the student union center. Did that mean if no one told me about the meeting that I didn't have to go? The students all agreed and I was able to catch up on a lot of work. The next week, I asked my supervisor "so since last week I wasn't told about the meeting, does that mean I don't have to go anymore?" My supervisor, who I have a lot of respect for told me "yeah, the consensus is that you should focus on license agreements." I was insulted but pleased at the same time that I no longer was required to attend these pointless meetings where one topic lasted an hour. I have never had to bite my tongue so hard and for so long and keep myself restrained from sharing my thoughts, ideas and acknowledgements as I am during these meetings. I understood the body language from the director that my ideas were not welcomed and I was only here to work. On that note, as it is Tuesday, I will get back to enjoying the silence, my coffee and the company of the student workers around me.